HORSCH faced a classic barrier to growth: while its agricultural machinery across global fields grew increasingly smart, hybrid IT infrastructure behind the scenes was consuming valuable resources.
Within Microsoft Azure, complex identity management and labor-intensive security retrofits tied up the bandwidth of the highly specialized, 10-person IT team. Technological dependencies—such as tethering the SAP system to on-premises Exchange servers—acted like sand in the gears.
For leadership, the mandate was clear: bringing in the "digital harvest" requires an operational foundation that runs with the exact same precision as a HORSCH seed drill.
HORSCH has always cultivated off the beaten path. In Zoi, we found like-minded partners to build an infrastructure that translates the mechanical precision of our equipment directly into process speed.
What sets this project apart from standard IT migrations is its sequencing: rather than treating artificial intelligence as a late-stage add-on, HORSCH and Zoi placed AI at the very beginning. The rollout launched in mid-August, and by the end of August, more than 644 employees were already actively using the AI tools.
- Mindset Before Migration: Employees were granted access to Gemini AI features before the first email inbox was ever migrated. This proactive activation dispelled initial hesitation within a safe environment. An internal network of 150 "Google Guides" decentralizes and anchors knowledge directly across departments, while formats like the "Gemini Experience Day" turn technology adoption into an engaging shared journey.
- Speed-to-Market: By focusing on Google Workspace with Gemini and implementing a minimal landing zone on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), HORSCH avoids constructing another cumbersome, heavy security architecture.
For HORSCH, staying grounded means actively shaping our own progress. We want to modernize our processes and working models with integrated AI. Backed by their proven experience in complex enterprise transformations, Zoi is our trusted partner for this journey.
While the transformation continues to unfold, projected metrics are already setting new industry benchmarks:
ROI Projection: Financial modeling targets a return on investment of approximately 590% over five years.
Efficiency Gains: Annual savings exceeding €530,000 by retiring costly legacy licenses and eliminating redundant systems.
Time-to-Value: Break-even is projected to occur after just nine months.
For decision-makers looking under the hood:
- GCP Minimal Landing Zone: Implementation of a high-security middleware layer within Google Cloud Platform that seamlessly connects Google Workspace to the core enterprise ecosystem (SAP S/4HANA) and critical applications without introducing architectural bloat.
- Security by Design: Deployment of Workload Identity Federation instead of static API keys, enabling secure, seamless inter-cloud communications while removing the vulnerabilities of conventional service accounts.
- Shadow IT & Citizen Development: Zoi systematically replaces legacy shadow IT structures—such as fragile VBA macros—through targeted AI-driven code analysis. In parallel, Google AppSheet provides a governed foundation for citizen development, allowing operational departments to digitize processes independently and securely.
- Data Isolation: Enterprise compliance through isolated tenant containers. Proprietary engineering designs and sensitive communications remain fully protected; corporate data is technically blocked from feeding back into the training loops of public foundation models.
- Sovereignty by Design: Utilizing the "Workspace by STACKIT" solution—with optional client-side encryption and optional cloud backups hosted in Germany on STACKIT—HORSCH maintains complete sovereign control over its data, eliminating the trade-off between productivity and strict data privacy.
We are dismantling technological rigidity. Together with Zoi, we are establishing a highly secure framework based on Google Workspace with Gemini that empowers our business departments to reinvent workflows autonomously via AI agents—while retaining complete sovereignty over our proprietary data.
HORSCH and Zoi have tilled the digital soil. The depth of this transformation is anchored by top-level executive sponsorship: Philipp and Frederic Horsch actively champion the initiative, turning corporate evolution into a unified mission through open, direct communication.
In a business landscape defined by relentless acceleration, intelligent software architecture takes precedence over raw hardware power. The digital harvest is underway.
We look forward to sharing deeper looks into HORSCH's initial live AI use cases and agents in the near future.
About HORSCH HORSCH Maschinen SE & Co. KG is a world-leading manufacturer of innovative agricultural technology and modern solutions for soil cultivation, seeding, and plant protection. Every single customer and their individual requirements are at the center of everything they do. Learn more about HORSCH here: https://www.horsch.com/us/home
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