Navakka’s expert work occasionally requires extensive access rights, but a safer and more flexible solution was needed to manage them. The implementation of Admin By Request by Above IT was part of Navakka’s systematic development of its Microsoft cloud environment.
Navakka Group Oy is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central partner that implements cloud-based ERP deployments, support services, and extensions for its customers. The company employs around 36 specialists and has offices in Helsinki and Tampere.
Why EPM?
At Navakka, admin rights are needed, for example, to install applications, but the need varies by user and job role.
Under the previous approach, users had extensive, permanent administrator rights. This made work easier but created an unnecessary security risk.
– Restricting all rights from everyone was out of the question. Our users can be trusted, so it’s enough for us to know who installed what and why, says Mick Wynne-Ellis, application specialist at Navakka.
A separate group of technical users, who would have handled the installations needed by others, was also considered as an alternative. However, this model would have required ongoing maintenance as staff and job roles changed.
In the end, Navakka settled on Admin By Request’s Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM) solution, which allows users to be granted temporary administrator rights as needed. Approval from another person can optionally be required to obtain the rights, but at Navakka, users receive the rights directly, so their work is never interrupted.
Deployment and pilot completed in under a month
Above IT first configured Admin By Request for a limited pilot group, whose members tested its functionality in their daily work tasks. After the pilot, the deployment was extended to the entire organization, and no user now has permanent admin rights.
– Getting the pilot up and running was practically as easy as pressing a button. For the whole project, we’re talking about weeks, not months, says Mick.
Feedback from users has been positive. Some initially wondered about the new feature appearing, as they hadn’t yet seen the internal announcement.
Four tips for a successful EPM deployment
- Inform users in advance. Explain the change and how admin rights will be requested going forward. At Navakka, a simple one-page guide was enough.
- Test broadly enough. Include a variety of users and devices in the pilot so that any issues are found before the organization-wide rollout.
- Identify conflicting policies. Check the admin settings in Intune and other management solutions, as well as any potential conflicts, before deployment.
- Remove old permanent rights. Once the new approach is working, make sure that unnecessary admin rights are actually removed.
Development continues according to the roadmap
Navakka and Above IT’s collaboration is guided by a shared roadmap that brings together the environment’s development areas and Navakka’s own wishes.
– Above IT always has time for us when needed, and they come up with great suggestions. They look beyond the current state of the IT environment and anticipate the business’s future needs as well, says Mick, with thanks.
Navakka’s end-user support, meanwhile, is handled by Below IT, which manages day-to-day IT support and helps prevent problems in advance through proactive maintenance.
