AG Real Estate gradually moving to the cloud - Reference case

The Belgian real estate group AG Real Estate is growing quickly. To facilitate this growth, digitalisation is high on the company’s agenda. As AG Real Estate’s cloud integrator, Ctac hosts various applications for the company. In addition, Ctac is always thinking about new opportunities for innovation within the organisation, from ERP to integration solutions and applications.

The request: a modern ERP-system and digitalization

AG Real Estate previously had a fragmented data landscape with a range of best-of-breed packages, meaning that many important business processes were not aligned with each other. The real estate group was therefore looking for a central ERP solution to better streamline its processes. Toon Sneyers, IT Project Manager at AG Real Estate: “SAP appeared to be the most suitable solution. We chose Ctac as our implementation partner due to their experience in the sector and their reputation in the field of cloud hosting. Ctac found a solution that supports our core business processes within the deadline. We now have full insight into financial monitoring relating to our products and services, from invoicing of rental amounts to the management of lease contracts, new-build and renovation projects and the construction of owneroccupied properties. The whole ERP solution is hosted by Ctac in the cloud.”

A solution: Desktop as a Service

Following the ERP implementation, Ctac also digitalised the work environments of AG Real Estate’s eight shopping centres. Sneyers: “It wasn’t easy to set up the whole infrastructure for eight shopping centres. Ctac helped to establish a Desktop as a Service (DaaS) environment in which all employees at our shopping centres have access to their applications in a user-friendly manner at all times wherever they are. Ctac also placed the processing power for our devices in a data centre, from which they provide us with basic functionalities such as back-ups and security. We no longer install new software in our own environment, but it is hosted by Ctac. All employees in the shopping centres now work in a stable, secure and fast Citrix environment.”

Integration Platform as a Service

Furthermore, Ctac was involved in developing a solution for AG Real Estate in order to comply with GDPR legislation. Sneyers: “Ctac advised us to use Dell Boomi, an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), to integrate our applications and websites containing personal data into our specific GDPR solution. And that worked well – we now have a stable solution to exchange data between various platforms in a secure manner.”

More effective collaboration with SharePoint Online

Sneyers: “Ctac then helped us with the transition from Microsoft SharePoint On-Premises to Online (Office 365), partly thanks to their knowledge of our virtual desktops. On-Premises made it difficult for our Design & Build department to share files with external stakeholders. That’s why they worked on various platforms of external stakeholders when developing new buildings. With SharePoint Online, they now work in a single environment so as to structure projects better and quickly share documents with internal and external parties. We implemented SharePoint Online using the Agile method, which ensured quick results and a high level of satisfaction with internal end users as the changes they requested were implemented quickly. The project was such a great success that we will also start transferring other departments over to SharePoint Online.”

“We don’t have to worry about which server our solutions are on and whether applications work. Ctac keeps their finger on the pulse, evolves with our organisation and supports us in looking to the future. That’s what I call a partner!”

Toon Sneyers, IT Project Manager at AG Real Estate

The impact: Ctac keeps their finger on the pulse

According to Sneyers, it is no coincidence that Ctac often appears to be the most suitable candidate in a request for proposal (RFP). “For each project we look at which solution suits us best and which partner can offer us the best support. We often choose Ctac because they really listen to what we want. They are a very professional organisation that finds a suitable solution for every challenge”, says Sneyers. “At AG Real Estate, we not only see Ctac as our SAP supplier, but also as our cloud integrator. We don’t have to worry about which server our solutions are on and whether applications work. Ctac keeps their finger on the pulse, evolves with our organisation and supports us in looking to the future. That’s what I call a partner!”

AG Real Estate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AG Insurance, is active in various fields within the real estate sector: asset and property management, development and construction management, PPP and real estate finance as well as car park management through its subsidiary Interparking. AG Real Estate manages a portfolio of approximately €6 billion on its own behalf and for third parties.