Etex Group Headquarters: 100% Smart Workplace Migration as the Group's First Reference Site
How Zaventem HQ became the lighthouse site for a global high-tech construction company's modern workplace rollout.
Etex is a global high-tech construction group headquartered in Zaventem (Belgium) with operations across Europe, the Americas and Asia. As Regional Service Delivery Engineer, I led the migration of the Zaventem HQ to 100% Smart Workplace devices — Windows 10 + Microsoft 365 + Intune-managed — making it the group's first reference site for the rollout. In parallel, I coordinated the deployment of Cisco Meraki networking and Logitech RoomMate meeting rooms, ran Level-2 support with Problem/Incident/Change discipline, and held the asset and Active Directory management for the site.
Context
Etex's HQ was running on a heterogeneous estate accumulated over years: mixed Windows builds, locally-installed productivity tools, manually-domain-joined machines, ad-hoc meeting room hardware, and a Citrix path used as a workaround when local laptops misbehaved. The group had committed to a global Smart Workplace standard — Intune-managed Windows 10, Microsoft 365 productivity, modern device management — and HQ had been chosen as the first reference site because what works in Zaventem would set the operating model for every other Etex country.
First-reference-site programmes carry an asymmetric risk. If the migration drags or breaks user trust, every subsequent country negotiates concessions and the global standard erodes. If it lands cleanly, the rollout becomes a copy-paste exercise. The pressure was less about the volume of devices and more about turning a one-off project into a documented, repeatable model.
On top of the migration, the day-job continued: Level-2 support tickets, problem/incident/change management, asset register accuracy, Active Directory administration, plus the parallel projects on Cisco switches and Logitech RoomMate meeting rooms. Smart Workplace had to land without making the existing service worse.
Approach
I sequenced the migration so that the first weeks went into the foundations Intune actually needs to be reliable: clean Azure AD groups, accurate device records, predictable autopilot enrolment, and policies that wouldn't fight the user on day one. Devices were prepared in waves matching the business calendar — finance closes, legal review windows, executive travel — so that no team hit Smart Workplace day in the middle of a quarter-end.
Hardware decisions were made with the same lens. Cisco switch installation was synchronised with the new device wave so that network-side controls aligned with Intune-side controls. Logitech RoomMate meeting room systems and Barco Clickshare units were rolled out in parallel so that the new Smart Workplace experience extended into meeting rooms, where the perception of 'modern IT' is actually formed for senior staff. Microsoft AVD and Citrix paths were kept available during the transition for legacy applications that hadn't completed compatibility testing.
Throughout, ITIL discipline kept the rest of the service intact. Problems were registered when ticket clusters indicated a deeper cause; changes went through change management with rollback plans; incidents on legacy devices were closed without sliding into 'just migrate them faster.' Asset Management and Active Directory hygiene were handled in the same cadence — because if the migration ends with a 100% Smart Workplace fleet but a stale AD and a drifting asset register, you've cleaned the front room and not the back office.
Key decisions
- Treat HQ as a first-reference site, not a one-off project — every step documented to be re-used by the next country.
- Front-load Intune foundations (Azure AD groups, device records, autopilot enrolment) before touching user devices.
- Sequence migration waves around business calendars (finance close, legal windows) to protect critical periods.
- Roll out Cisco Meraki networking, Logitech RoomMate and Barco Clickshare in parallel so the modern experience extends to meeting rooms.
- Keep Microsoft AVD and Citrix paths alive during transition for applications still in compatibility testing — no forced cutovers.
- Run Level-2 support with formal Problem/Incident/Change discipline so business-as-usual didn't degrade during the migration.
- Maintain asset register and Active Directory hygiene at the same cadence as the migration itself.
Results
- →100% Smart Workplace devices migration completed at the Zaventem HQ, the group's first reference site.
- →Cisco Meraki switch deployment delivered in parallel with the device migration.
- →Logitech RoomMate and Barco Clickshare meeting room systems rolled out across HQ.
- →Level-2 support, problem and change management maintained throughout the programme without service degradation.
- →Asset register and Active Directory accuracy preserved during a fleet-wide migration — not always the default outcome.
Lessons learned
- ▸First-reference-site programmes are templating exercises disguised as migrations. Document like the next country is reading over your shoulder.
- ▸Modern endpoint management fails when the foundations are rushed. A clean Azure AD and accurate device records are worth more than any migration tool.
- ▸Meeting rooms shape the perception of 'modern IT' for executives more than laptops do. Sequence them in.
- ▸ITIL discipline (Problem/Incident/Change) is what keeps a transformation programme from secretly degrading the underlying service.
Planning a global modern-workplace rollout and need the first site to land cleanly?
I take ownership of reference-site migrations — Intune, Microsoft 365, Cisco/Meraki, meeting rooms — so the next country doesn't have to relitigate the standard. 30-minute scoping conversation.