Engineering firm PGESCO sought to migrate from an on-premises setup to the cloud to capitalize on an information-centered corporate culture. Through digital transformation leveraging Microsoft 365 and Power Platform, PGESCO boosts productivity and efficiency, shortening cycle times by nearly 50 percent and reducing its carbon footprint significantly.
PGESCO is an engineering firm based in Cairo, Egypt. Established in 1993, they provide engineering, procurement, project and construction management, and consulting services related to the design, monitoring, and management of power, utilities, infrastructure, water, desalination plants and logistical parks in Egypt, Africa, Asia, and countries within the Gulf Cooperation Council.
PGESCO has played a leading role in the development and supervision of Egypt’s power infrastructure, with its projects providing a total output of more than 36 gigawatts (GW). It also manages energy contracts in Libya and Iraq amounting to more than 14+ GW. In addition, the company oversees desalination plants that process more than 300,000 cubic meters of seawater daily, 30 wastewater treatment facilities, and 2,000 kilometers of overhead transmission lines (OHTLs).
With the changing global and regional market in the last five years, PGESCO has strengthened its key offerings and diversified operations. “Beyond maintaining our core competencies in traditional power generation, we’re also investing in renewable energy, desalination technologies, distribution and transmission, and Digital Transformation services for Power, Utilities and industrial sectors,” says Ahmad ElGhazouly, Information Systems & Technology Manager at PGESCO.
Addressing challenges through digital transformation
To achieve these goals, PGESCO identified its key objectives: empowering its workforce, enhancing risk management and information security awareness, building engineering design platforms, and migrating from on-premises data servers to the cloud.
“Our intent was to change the culture and transform our people into information workers,” ElGhazouly explains. “We didn’t want them to go to the tech guys whenever they needed a solution; instead, we empower them to utilize our ecosystem capabilities.”
Microsoft was already involved early in the process, “not only as a software service provider, but as a technology partner,” ElGhazouly says. PGESCO worked closely with the IT vendor to develop its digital transformation strategy, formulate training, and implement its cloud-based services.
PGESCO’s partnership with Microsoft couldn’t have come at a better time—the COVID-19 pandemic kicked in just as the team had begun onboarding the cloud-based collaboration solutions.
“We were ready, thanks to our digital transformation program,” adds ElGhazouly. “We wanted our people to be able to access their resources and do their work whenever they want from anywhere, using any technology.”
Transforming processes mid-shift to the cloud
As the pandemic continued, PGESCO relied on the cloud for critical mobility and availability-dependent services. Microsoft Teams, for starters, became essential for remote collaboration, “not only as a communication platform, but we extended it to be an information hub,” notes ElGhazouly. “Microsoft Teams became the center point for accessing all their project resources - whether it is documents, emails, and even reporting.”
Integration with Power BI helped PGESCO standardize the project dashboarding and extend its visibility throughout the organization. “Project reporting, planning documents, and communication are all in one place,” ElGhazouly explains. “It’s accessible from mobile devices, from tablets, in regional and international offices alike.”
Power Automate helped streamline many repetitive, time-consuming processes, “for example, when we need permission to go to the office,” says ElGhazouly. The platform was used during the pandemic for required approvals, such as office entry permissions. As he puts it, “all the required permissions can now be done using the mobile device.” The workflow application resulted in a 50-percent reduction in cycle time.
Pushing towards higher productivity and reducing carbon footprint
The deployment of Microsoft’s cloud-driven software has resolved many of PGESCO’s challenges. Information and data were moved to Microsoft 365, reducing upkeep costs and maintenance. More than 90 percent of the Project teams migrated to the collaborative solution.
Power Apps permits users to develop low-code applications, while Power BI provides data and insight sharing. Both tools help employees make better decisions. “The beauty of Microsoft’s technologies is that they help us empower our people to deliver solutions,” observes ElGhazouly.
Higher security measures have also been set in place with Azure Endpoint Protection for all the data in the cloud and on-premises. “Using Microsoft’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solution, we created policies based on data classification to ensure no data leakage whatsoever,” states ElGhazouly.
Another significant benefit of cloud technology is the decrease in onsite servers, leading to a drop in PGESCO’s environmental impact and creating a more sustainable future. “When we switched to virtual servers, we reduced our environmental impact by reducing the need for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning,” says ElGhazouly.
The cloud-enabled shift to a “paperless office” has also helped reduce the company’s carbon footprint. “Many internal processes that need an approval or request through paper forms are now done electronically,” ElGhazouly explains. As a result, printing and ink usage have decreased by as much as 60 percent, and paper and ink costs have been reduced by at least 40 percent.
To further digital transformation
There’s no endpoint in sight for PGESCO’s digital transformation journey; the company plans to enhance its processes further by using Microsoft applications. “We aren’t starting from scratch; we are simply using the best technology to suit us. Microsoft systems support us in delivering our vision and plans,” emphasizes ElGhazouly.
He adds that business and technology alignment has been crucial to PGESCO’s successful digital transformation. “The key success factor is the alignment we have with Microsoft. We provide services built on its technology and that gives us the edge in a competitive market,” concludes ElGhazouly.
“We see Microsoft not only as a software service provider but as a technology partner. During the implementation, we work closely with them. We have training, documentation, and guidelines that are always available. It's straightforward.”
Ahmad ElGhazouly, Information Systems & Technology Manager, PGESCO
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