Harkwell migrates to the cloud with Innovate

IT company Innovate assisted Harkwell, a UK-based label and flexible packaging converter, in its migration to the cloud.

Harkwell had previously used its own on-premise server but faced the challenge of its server running out of space, leading the converter to bring in Innovate. 

Innovate migrated Harkwell to the cloud and to Microsoft 365, and also took on managing additional behind-the-scenes services for Harkwell. The IT company also worked with Harkwell's third-party software suppliers, developing a platform that was suitable for both the converter and its suppliers.

A smooth migration was crucial for Harkwell. 'Being a digital operation, some of the jobs we turn run in 24 hours. If the artwork's not coming through from the system, then we're dead in the water,' said Andrew Mansfield, managing director at Harkwell. 'So it had to be switched off, switched on.'

The automated workflow system, powered by the cloud, now supports Harkwell's operations, from pre-press to printing and finishing. The migration has led to reduced downtime and increased processing power, and Harkwell no longer needs to be concerned about its servers running out of capacity.

'The scaling of the business is exponential now,' Mansfield said. 'We're now just governed by the capacity of the machinery and not the capacity of the front end.' 

'The new system keeps Harkwell secure and protected by leveraging Microsoft's cloud technologies and security offerings,' said David Pape, director at Innovate. 'These effectively combine to provide us full visibility of all end users, activities, behaviors. This enables us to provide Harkwell with the peace of mind that they're secure at all times.'