ICT Concept recognised as Automation Innovator following migration of more than 10,000 endpoints

According to Frank Hoekstra, CEO of ICT Concept, the award is primarily recognition of the direction the company has taken:

“This award is a welcome acknowledgement of the progress ICT Concept has made. But for us, it is not just about automation or tooling. It is about making our operations stronger, more scalable and better prepared for the future, so that we can support our customers more consistently and proactively.”

For ICT Concept, the award is therefore not an isolated achievement, but part of a broader transformation: building a more efficient, scalable and AI-ready MSP operating model.

An award recognising a broader transformation

The Automation Innovator Award is an important milestone, but it is not the end goal. The real value lies in the transformation that preceded it.

ICT Concept supports almost 700 customers and manages more than 10,000 endpoints. At this scale, automation is not a luxury. It is essential for continuing to deliver services reliably, predictably and efficiently, particularly in a market where customers increasingly expect speed, security, transparency and proactive support.

Martijn van Zoeren, Operations Director at ICT Concept, describes the progress in practical terms:

“We are not there yet, but we have now taken the right steps. The foundations are in place for us to optimise our processes further.”

The award is therefore not presented as an end point, but as recognition of the clear progress ICT Concept is making towards a more scalable and future-ready MSP model.

Over the past few months, ICT Concept has focused on reducing operational complexity. This was not simply a matter of replacing tools. The company critically reviewed its processes, suppliers, data flows and the way its teams work every day.

As Van Zoeren explains:

“You have to standardise and automate. Otherwise, you simply will not get there.”

The central question was clear: how can we build an operation that performs better today while being ready for further automation and AI tomorrow?

Why standardisation was necessary

Many MSPs will recognise the challenge. Years of growth, customer requirements, acquisitions, bespoke solutions and new technologies can create a broad and fragmented landscape of systems and processes. Each system comes with its own logic, management requirements, knowledge dependencies and exceptions.

This can make service delivery vulnerable. Not because teams lack expertise, but because complexity eventually begins to restrict speed, scalability and consistency.

ICT Concept therefore chose to simplify its environment. The number of technology suppliers was reduced from 14 to eight. This reduced overlap, made it easier to retain knowledge within teams and provided greater control over operations.

Van Zoeren explains:

“Automation is not an objective in itself. It is about making processes easier to manage, organising recurring work more intelligently and, ultimately, delivering a more consistent service to our customers.”

This standardisation is important. The less fragmented the environment, the easier it becomes to automate processes, improve data reliability and manage customer environments consistently.

Migrating 10,000 endpoints in four weeks

One of the most tangible elements of the transformation was the migration of more than 10,000 managed endpoints to Datto RMM. The migration was completed in four weeks.

For an MSP supporting hundreds of customers, this was a substantial and sensitive project. The continuity of customer environments could not be put at risk, while the internal team also needed to work quickly, carefully and predictably.

ICT Concept therefore adopted a clear approach: detailed planning, close cooperation with Kaseya and an internal project team with sufficient authority to make decisions. The old and new environments continued to run alongside one another until the new environment was confirmed to be fully operational. Only then was the old environment decommissioned.

This approach allowed the migration to be completed in a controlled manner. At the same time, the project gave the technical team an opportunity to demonstrate what can be achieved when focus, expertise and decisive action come together.

From internal improvement to a better customer experience

For customers, this development is not about the names of tools, suppliers or internal systems. What matters most is whether their IT partner can work reliably, respond quickly and act proactively.

That is where the real value of the transformation lies.

More consistent support

A more standardised service environment makes it possible to apply proven processes consistently across different customer environments.

Teams need to switch less frequently between separate systems and are less reliant on manual checks. This creates more capacity to support customers efficiently and with greater care.

Greater continuity

A more manageable technology landscape makes it easier to carry out monitoring, updates and recurring management activities in a predictable way.

This reduces operational vulnerability and supports the continuity that customers rely on every day.

Identifying issues and risks earlier

Better access to operational data gives ICT Concept greater insight into recurring incidents, unusual patterns and potential risks.

This enables the business to identify issues sooner and, where possible, address them before they develop into more significant disruption.

Greater transparency and more proactive advice

When information is more accessible and reliable, ICT Concept can give customers a clearer view of what is happening within their IT environment.

This is not simply about reporting when something goes wrong. Better data also makes it possible to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement earlier, allowing ICT Concept to provide more focused and proactive advice.

The value for customers therefore does not lie in automation for its own sake. It lies in greater predictability, faster follow-up, improved transparency and a stronger foundation for proactive service delivery.

The strength of the Your.Cloud model in practice

The ICT Concept case also demonstrates where Your.Cloud adds value.

Your.Cloud operates a decentralised model. Companies retain their own identity, customer relationships and entrepreneurial spirit, while gaining access to the knowledge, scale, experience and support available across the wider group.

This combination was clearly visible at ICT Concept. The transformation was carried out locally by the people who understand the company’s customers, processes and organisation. At the same time, ICT Concept was able to draw on knowledge from across the group, best practices, economies of scale and support with analysis and decision-making.

Van Zoeren specifically highlights the role Your.Cloud played in accelerating the transformation:

“Your.Cloud helped us identify opportunities to improve processes and efficiency, partly by drawing on best practices from other companies.”

This enabled decisions to be made more quickly and on a better-informed basis.

The scale of Your.Cloud also played an important role. Through shared knowledge and group-wide supplier agreements, ICT Concept was able to move more quickly towards a more integrated technology landscape. Van Zoeren notes that some solution packages had been negotiated with the support of Your.Cloud, enabling multiple technologies to be brought together more effectively.

According to Harmen Dikkers, Portfolio Director at Your.Cloud, the case demonstrates the strength of the model:

“ICT Concept shows how local companies can retain their own identity and entrepreneurial spirit while gaining access to the knowledge, scale and experience they need to improve more quickly.”

This is the essence of the Your.Cloud model: not centralising everything, but helping companies become stronger from their own individual position. Where required, the group provides knowledge, experience, supplier leverage and strategic direction. Implementation remains close to the company itself.

This creates acceleration without sacrificing local identity or entrepreneurship.

Building the foundations for AI-ready managed services

The next phase will focus on AI-ready service delivery. However, being AI-ready does not mean that AI will automatically solve everything tomorrow.

It primarily means creating the right conditions.

AI can only deliver value when processes are clearly defined, data is reliable and systems are connected. Without standardisation, AI can quickly become an additional layer on top of existing complexity. With the right foundations in place, however, AI can help identify recurring tickets, route service requests more intelligently, improve reporting and enable more proactive customer advice.

Through this transformation, ICT Concept has established an important foundation. By consolidating tooling, standardising processes and bringing operational data together more effectively, the company is creating room for further automation and more intelligent service delivery.

As a result, the role of the MSP is changing: moving beyond simply responding to incidents towards increasingly predicting, advising and improving.

Not an end point, but the beginning of the next phase

The Automation Innovator Award recognises the progress ICT Concept has made, but the transformation is not yet complete.

Standardisation, automation and operational excellence are not one-off projects. They are disciplines that require continuous attention. The foundations are now in place. The next phase will focus on further optimisation, more proactive service delivery and using data and AI to support customers even more effectively.

For ICT Concept, this represents an important step forward. For Your.Cloud, it demonstrates how companies within the group can accelerate their development by combining local strength with shared knowledge, scale and experience.

This creates the capacity to improve more quickly, deliver a better service to customers and build the MSP of tomorrow, one step at a time.