Creative agency Megawatt relies on Apple specialist Pro Warehouse for carefree IT.
A cooperation that delivers more than just technical support.
Megawatt, an Eindhoven-based 360-degree activation agency, grew into an organisation with 60 employees in ten years. The agency works for high-profile brands such as Douwe Egberts, Mexicano, Grolsch, Netflix and Jack Daniels. With that growth, new IT challenges also arose. ‘From experience at previous employers, I know that at smaller organisations you can do a lot yourself. Laptops are bought at an electronics shop and everyone works together on Google Drive,’Bouwmans says. ‘But an organisation the size of Megawatt has long since outgrown that level. We wanted to professionalise further.’
Last year, Niel Heesakkers, Teamlead Creation at Megawatt, and Office Manager Lisa Timmermans came to the conclusion that the cooperation with the then IT partner was no longer working properly. A search was on for a new partner that would better suit the needs of the growing creative agency. Two parties emerged from the selection process.
Pro Warehouse was one of those parties. For Heesakkers, it was not an unfamiliar name - he already knew the company from his network and previous experiences. After talks with both candidates, Pro Warehouse's account manager Martijn's proactive attitude and solid story was the deciding factor. It confirmed what Megawatt's team already suspected: that they had found the specialist partner they needed here.
When Bouwmans started at Megawatt in August 2023, the choice for Pro Warehouse had already been made and the transition had just started. ‘I came in at exactly the right time,’ she says. ‘The implementation had just started and I was able to experience the benefits immediately.’ As IT manager, she noticed the difference from day one. ‘Before, colleagues spent a lot of time manually arranging on- and offboarding. But with sixty employees, you simply can't spend all day answering questions about IT problems. The structure that Pro Warehouse brought was exactly what the company needed.’
Specialist knowledge makes the difference.
The switch to Pro Warehouse marks an important development for Megawatt. ‘The biggest difference for employees is that they now have more control and direction themselves,’ explains Bouwmans. ‘They are less dependent on someone within the organisation and can interact directly with Pro Warehouse. If an employee works at home and cannot access the server, they call Pro Warehouse directly. They can watch and solve the problem.’
The specialist Apple knowledge turns out to be worth its weight in gold in situations where things get really tense. Bouwmans recalls an incident where the internet connection virtually went down. ‘You can imagine that a company like Megawatt runs on the internet. We call customers, sometimes even pitch via Teams. When that doesn't work, it's particularly annoying.’ Although the network was not under Pro Warehouse's management at the time, the service provider did immediately jump into the breach for Megawatt. ‘They then came here almost immediately, with two engineers. They checked the entire network, did tests, adjusted things and issued a report. They optimised various settings, turned some things down, others up. After half a day, we were able to use the internet again and at higher speed too.’
What Bouwmans particularly appreciates: ‘The network was actually scheduled to be completely rebuilt by Pro Warehouse. But we were now facing an acute problem within the existing infrastructure that was not yet managed by them. Yet they immediately thought along as troubleshooter, and came up with a solution that helped us out. Until the new network is in place, we can go full steam ahead again. I am extremely happy with that.’
'In a business where creativity plays the leading role, technology simply has to work. Without fuss.'
From separate services to integrated approach.
The collaboration started with Mac management, but soon expanded. ‘We started with Mac management and Microsoft 365. Now they are also tackling our network and we are looking at implementing a password vault with 1Password,’ Bouwmans says. This integrated approach delivers immediate benefits: ‘All our Macs are now in management. We have logged exactly who has which Mac. They are properly wiped and reinstalled when changing. Everything is rolled out automatically when you start up a Mac. That saves a huge amount of time in on- and offboarding.’
Pro Warehouse also actively thinks along in other areas. ‘For example, they have turned many mailboxes into shared mailboxes, which saves money every month. And with a different network security system, we also save again. It's nice when a party thinks along with what your company needs.’
Flexibility in a growing company.
Pro Warehouse's flexibility comes in handy in a fast-growing company like Megawatt. ‘If I have a new employee and am short of a Mac, I immediately order it from Pro Warehouse. They make sure everything gets into the system and rolled out as soon as the Mac starts up. Cost-wise, they make sure the prices match what you find online, so you are not more expensive.’ That flexibility is also evident in how Pro Warehouse deals with unexpected situations. ‘If a laptop is not available on time, they even send someone over to bring a laptop. I really like that, because a new employee without a laptop, that is of course undesirable.’
Certainty and trust.
Asked what the cooperation means to her personally, Bouwmans elucidates. ‘Pro Warehouse makes our professionalisation and digitalisation really tangible. As a growing agency, with the ambition to develop much further in the coming years, that gives us a foothold. We work with sensitive customer data that needs to be well protected, even when our people are on the road or working from home. This solid IT basis brings security and makes it possible to continue developing with pleasure.’
Bouwmans' advice to other creative agencies considering switching to an Apple-specialised partner? ‘Do it! The very best thing for a creative agency is when you can put all your time and energy into making sure you have fat ideas. IT is often other red tape - it just has to work, it just has to do. The moment you get this right, you can focus on what you're really good at. You really get unburdened.’ She also emphasises the security aspect: ‘For your feeling, it's also nice that everything you create for clients, all the files you receive, that it's all secure.’
Professional partner for growing agencies.
The collaboration between Megawatt and Pro Warehouse shows how a specialised IT partner can contribute to a creative agency's growth path. By taking away the technical worries, creatives can focus on what they do best: coming up with campaigns that make an impact. ‘It's like with sports,’ Bouwmans concludes. ‘You want to put your energy into the performance, not the preconditions. Pro Warehouse makes sure we can perform so that our clients can excel.’