EKOME becomes the new success story for Microsoft by adopting Microsoft 365 E3 that enabled staff mobility and teleworking during the pandemic and saved several hours on administrative tasks providing a secure working environment.
Αfter the COVID-19 outbreak, EKOME wanted to be better prepared for threats and disruptions. “We needed a solution that would accommodate over 80 employees in a space with only 35 workstations. The only way for that to happen was to shift our workspace to the cloud, where all documents and information could be made available remotely, anytime, and anywhere so that people could work flexibly,” says Kyriakos Mamoukaris, Head of the ICT and Technical Operations Directorate at EKOME. Maintaining security was also a crucial point for EKOME. “Being in the public sector, it’s essential that we comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect all personal and company data,” adds Mamoukaris.
Τhe institution turned to the General Secretariat of Information Systems for Public Administration (GSIS) which is responsible for IT and distribution of cloud services among government bodies, that helped EKOME find the optimal solution and provided the licenses needed. The adoption of Microsoft 365 E3 enabled staff mobility and teleworking and saved almost 10 hours weekly on administrative tasks. The cloud strategy has also placed it in the world’s 10% most cyber-secure companies in the sector.
EKOME has been a pivotal part of Greece’s creative landscape for the past years. Its mission is to protect, support, and promote the Greek audiovisual sector. “We work to attract funds to the Greek audiovisual sector and help create jobs,” says Dimitra Koutsou, Head of Communications, and International Relations Department at EKOME. “Over the past four years, about 400 different audiovisual content have been produced in Greece thanks to our incentives.”
There are several different systems on the cloud like human resources, payroll, and auditor evaluation registers. This also includes the recently developed EKOME portal coordinating 15 Film Offices all around Greece and enabling production companies to look for film locations, staff, and various professionals.
A centralized communication environment and constant, reliable remote access to sensitive content files, allow the team to collaborate both internally and with external partners easily. “We have fostered a culture of storing and sharing documents online and relying on digital collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, which has been a game-changer,” says Mamoukaris.
EKOME has drastically improved data and communication security. “Microsoft 365 provided us with a robust security portfolio. We are now ranked among the top 10 percent of the most secure companies worldwide in the media and entertainment sector. As a result, we are now ranked by Bitsight Security Rating among the top 10% of the most secure companies worldwide in the media and entertainment sector. And we couldn’t have accomplished any of this without GSIS support and experience” underlines K. Mamoukaris. For Aris Meletiou, General Director at GSIS, EKOME sets an important example: “Our goal is to provide modern secure and efficient information systems to as many public bodies as possible, and EKOME can serve as an inspiring case.”
Continuing to innovate, EKOME is now working on new, ambitious projects like smart apps, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Microsoft 365 E3, for the operation of company drones to enable automated procedures for flight management.
This is a new distinction for EKOME, after its digital business operating model having been included in the list of best practices of the Public Sector Innovation Repository by the Ministry of Interior.