A partnership that helped Granngården steer through crisis

From chaos to control in five weeks

Cepheo and Granngården had been in the middle of planning a cloud migration that would eventually move Granngården’s business application environment to Microsoft Dynamics 365. The cyberattack changed those plans.

“That planned and structured upgrade turned into a complete system rebuild almost overnight, because we had to start from scratch,” says Palebo and adds that in a situation like this, you need to keep cool to make the right decisions under pressure.

Cepheo and Granngården had to rethink their approach. Rather than a traditional large-scale implementation, they prioritized restoring essential functions first.

“After five weeks we had our financial system up and running and gradually began rebuilding other systems. We were literally working with pen and paper at one point, but Cepheo helped us restore digital operations quickly,” Palebo explains.

A partnership that made the difference

Cepheo played a crucial role in stabilizing the situation. “We could not have done it without them. They understood our business and quickly identified the most urgent priorities. If we had started with a new partner, we would never have recovered so quickly,” says Palebo.

Cepheo and Granngården had to pull together and combine their strengths  to find a way through the crisis. The long-standing relationship meant that Cepheo was more than a supplier. It was a partner that could adapt and respond fast. “Many of Cepheo’s consultants have worked with us for years. That made a huge difference because they knew our needs, processes and company culture,” he says.

The Head of IT also adds that everyone involved from both Cepheo and Granngården deserves praise for their dedication and hard work which made the retailer's quick return to near-normal operation possible.

Lessons learned: smaller projects, greater efficiency

A key takeaway from the crisis was that large IT projects can be difficult to manage. “When the attack happened, we were in the middle of planning a large scale upgrade, but when the crisis hit we had to start over and work in smaller, more rapid deliveries. That turned out to be far more effective,” says Palebo.

Instead of following the original master plan, Cepheo and Granngården worked with the situation at hand and focused on the most critical functions first. Along the way, they were able to switch from focus on reestablishing business-critical functionality to looking at future needs.

Lars Palebo and Granngården have learned important lessons from a tough year. Granngården now work with an IT strategy focused on incremental improvements to the new Dynamics platform that currently consists of the Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management and Dynamics 365 Commerce applications, while also making use of Power Platform and Azure Integration Services.

 “We have a solid foundation and will focus on consolidating and optimizing our Microsoft Dynamics 365-based business solution, rather than launching large-scale projects,” he explains.

Building a resilient future on trust and expertise

Granngården has now restored its operations with a more resilient IT landscape and its relationship with Cepheo has grown stronger.

“When you go through a crisis together, you build trust that is hard to replace. We see Cepheo as an important partner that does not just deliver technology but truly understands our business and needs,” Palebo concludes.