{"id":105663,"date":"2024-02-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/?post_type=resource&p=105663"},"modified":"2024-02-13T12:37:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T17:37:38","slug":"delfingen-uses-jumpcloud","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/jumpcloud.com\/resources\/delfingen-uses-jumpcloud","title":{"rendered":"Delfingen uses JumpCloud as a cloud directory to secure identities, enforce robust password policies & manage devices for its global workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Delfingen<\/a> is an automotive equipment manufacturer that supplies products like fluid transfer systems, technical tubing, and wire and cable protection to carmakers, automotive parts suppliers, and industrial markets. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Anteuil, France, the company has offices across the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. In 2022, Delfingen brought in \u20ac420 million in revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Marc Lemke joined Delfingen 25 years ago, the company had a team of 600 workers. Over the ensuing years, the company has grown steadily both organically and through acquisitions. Today, Delfingen has 4,000 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a company that has always been laser-focused on keeping IT costs in check, Delfingen was an early adopter of open source products, including OpenOffice and an open source email server and client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt helped the company grow because we didn\u2019t spend too much money on IT back then,\u201d Lemke explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Delfingen knew it needed to improve its security stance. So, the company decided to move away from open source to more \u201cprofessional software\u201d and began looking to migrate some systems to the cloud. As the first step, they began eying an LDAP replacement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe wanted to move to the cloud, but we knew it would be a journey,\u201d Lemke says. \u201cGetting to the cloud with some sort of LDAP-as-a-service solution seemed like the smartest first step.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2016, as Delfingen was moving to the cloud, Lemke and his team came across JumpCloud<\/a>, a cloud directory service<\/a> that enabled them to ditch LDAP while managing and protecting internal identities and passwords<\/a> \u2014 the perfect solution to the company\u2019s dilemma.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, there\u2019s no more LDAP,\u201d Lemke continues. \u201cWe used to run replication every night of a local LDAP instance. All of this has been decommissioned, and we were able to move fully to the cloud.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Lemke and his team decided that moving to Google Workspace was a no-brainer since most employees had personal Gmail accounts, and the tools were already familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGoogle Workspace is very easy to use,\u201d Lemke explains. \u201cFor us, it was a great move because there was almost no training needed since people already knew how to use Google products. We were quite happy with the functionality.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe big issue was making sure people were following the rules for passwords,\u201d Lemke says. At a previous job, Lemke was managing user accounts; every Monday, people wouldn\u2019t be able to connect to their accounts because they forgot their passwords over the weekend. As a result, Lemke and his team had to reset accounts every week \u2014 not the most efficient use of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to JumpCloud, Lemke could rest comfortably knowing that Delfingen could enhance password security without suffering that same fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to make a special server that held sensitive data and needed to be managed internally,\u201d he continues. \u201cThe idea was to ensure that people had strong passwords and renewed them every month. We didn\u2019t want their passwords to be something like 1234, and we didn\u2019t want them to forget their passwords and need help resetting them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fast-forward to today and Delfingen\u2019s decision to use Google and JumpCloud has made their migration to the cloud a breeze. And that decision has delivered even better results over time thanks to the recently announced Google-JumpCloud partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Delfingen is primarily in the cloud today, the company still maintains an on-prem Linux server where its in-house ERP system lives. Roughly 68% of employees use Chromebooks to do their jobs while the rest of the team relies on Microsoft desktops and laptops. Thanks to JumpCloud, it\u2019s easy for the IT team to manage all of these devices from one central location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, Delfingen has acquired several companies. For example, they bought assets from Schlemmer in 2020<\/a> and purchased AHN Chem Co. Ldt and Reiku GmbH in 2023<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to any acquisition, IT teams need to figure out how to consolidate tools and build an efficient computing ecosystem, and Lemke is proud of what his team has accomplished on this front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith each acquisition, we make an effort to integrate systems,\u201d Lemke says. \u201cEven as a 70-year-old company, we operate like a startup in terms of IT with cutting-edge technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nEarly adopter moving to the cloud and driving innovation globally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Moving away from open source tools and on-premises infrastructure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shoring up its IT footprint with Google and JumpCloud<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Managing diverse infrastructure from one pane of glass<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Integration made easy after acquisitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n