How HAFN IT is Shaping the Future of Managed Services with AvePoint
Location Hamburg, Germany
Industry IT Services
Platform Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure
HAFN IT GmbH was established in 2020 by a team of seasoned IT professionals. Since its founding, the Hamburg-based company has grown into a recognized specialist in the standardized deployment and management of Microsoft 365 and Azure infrastructures. Its primary focus lies in serving German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with user bases ranging from 50 to 1,500 employees.
With a dedicated team of approximately 25 professionals, HAFN IT supports its clients in the efficient implementation of modern cloud environments and ensures their sustainable operation. The company's methodology is highly structured, built for scalability, and relies extensively on automation to deliver consistent quality and reliability.
Whether for digital workplaces or cloud infrastructure, HAFN IT offers end-to-end services—from initial deployment to continuous operation. While headquartered in Hamburg, the company serves clients across the entire DACH region. Many of its customers operate internationally and count on HAFN IT as a trusted partner for the secure and future-ready management of their Microsoft cloud environments.
The Challenge
When working with mid-sized enterprises, HAFN IT regularly faces a set of recurring challenges: Microsoft 365 and Azure environments must not only be implemented securely but also operated sustainably and continuously developed. Clients demand transparency, compliance, and a high degree of automation—without sacrificing flexibility.
HAFN IT has deliberately adopted an approach that moves away from one-off migration or consulting projects, focusing instead on the delivery of a standardized, scalable operations platform. The core challenge lies in creating a platform that can be consistently tailored to meet each customer’s unique requirements—regardless of their size or international footprint.
The goal was to embed HAFN IT’s own Microsoft 365 best practices into a solution that ensures reliable implementation, clear documentation, and efficient operation across all client projects.
Previously, HAFN IT utilized tools such as AvePoint Fly for secure data migration and Policies & Insights to enhance security and governance. The next strategic step was to identify a solution that could standardize cloud environment deployments, provide thorough documentation from the start, and enable a seamless transition to managed services.
With AvePoint Elements, HAFN IT found exactly the solution it needed.
The use of AvePoint Elements is much more than the introduction of a single tool—it is the basis for a consistent, scalable, and future-proof service offering. What is crucial is not a single feature, but the total package.
Managing Director, HAFN IT GMBH
The AvePoint Solution
The partnership between AvePoint and HAFN IT began with individual migrations using AvePoint Fly, followed by the transition of most backup clients to AvePoint Cloud Backup. Over time, this evolved into a close collaboration, where AvePoint products became a core part of HAFN IT's managed services, including licensing and seamless integration into service packages.
The introduction of AvePoint Elements marked a significant turning point: it enabled HAFN IT to centrally manage all customer tenants in a standardized and automated manner. Processes that were previously handled manually through Microsoft's built-in tools or custom scripts are now consolidated into a single platform. This streamlined approach has made project handovers to operations more efficient, reduced error sources, and alleviated the burden on internal teams.
It became immediately clear that using AvePoint Elements was more than just the deployment of a single tool—it provided the foundation for a consistent, scalable, and future-proof service offering. The true value lies not in any one feature, but in the comprehensive solution it provides: the seamless integration of backup, Policies & Insights, configuration management, and the potential to gradually incorporate additional areas such as endpoint management.
The configuration management feature has been particularly valuable. It allows HAFN IT to further develop and consistently roll out standardized configurations across all customer environments. This creates clear operational guidelines while maintaining enough flexibility for tailored adjustments.
The implementation process was smooth: existing scripts and configurations could be easily migrated to AvePoint’s platform with minimal effort. Since mid-2023, HAFN IT has been using Elements to configure customer backups. With the planned introduction of AvePoint Baseline Management in 2025, new customer tenants can be directly set up via Elements, streamlining the entire onboarding process.
For HAFN IT's customers, AvePoint operates behind the scenes, delivering enhanced security, improved governance, and comprehensive documentation of their cloud environments. For clients, this means top-tier security, governance, and future-readiness. For HAFN IT, it translates into scalability, reduced team workload, and a solid foundation for expanding managed services efficiently and profitably in the long run.
Moreover, the platform lays the groundwork for future advancements: with Policies & Insights, HAFN IT ensures that data governance is maintained, guaranteeing that AI services like Copilot only access the data explicitly intended for them.
Outcomes
By implementing AvePoint Elements, HAFN IT has made a pivotal move toward a more efficient, higher-quality, and future-proof managed service. Both employees and clients directly benefit from the new opportunities the platform provides.
For the teams, Elements primarily enhances ergonomics and quality: manual, error-prone processes are replaced with automated workflows and clearly defined standards. Technicians can now focus on the strategic elements of their work rather than routine tasks, which fosters a more engaging and impactful work environment.
With less time spent on repetitive tasks, technicians are able to concentrate on new functionalities, configuration options, and the continuous development of standards. This not only elevates work quality but also boosts employee motivation, as tasks have become more meaningful and less monotonous.
Customers also experience tangible benefits. They enjoy faster implementations, consistent environments, reliable documentation, and more proactive support. Rather than merely reacting to tickets or incidents, HAFN IT can now leverage Elements to assess how new features or updates in Microsoft 365 impact customer environments in advance, ensuring that these changes are thoughtfully integrated.
This proactive approach is particularly valuable in the dynamic Microsoft 365 ecosystem, which introduces over a hundred new features and adjustments each month. HAFN IT can centrally evaluate innovations, incorporate them into its standards, and efficiently roll them out across all customer environments—while retaining the flexibility to accommodate any specific custom configurations.
For HAFN IT, Elements has evolved beyond just a tool: it has become the strategic operating system for managed services. It lays the foundation for sustainable growth, reduces the workload for employees, improves service quality, and assures clients that their digital work environments are always optimally managed.
Continued Partnership
The collaboration between HAFN IT and AvePoint has evolved into a strategic partnership built on mutual respect and shared goals. For HAFN IT, AvePoint is more than just a technology provider—it serves as a close partner, offering direct support, active knowledge exchange, and valuable strategic insights. Certifications in technology, sales, and operations further emphasize the shared commitment to excellence.
One of the standout aspects of the partnership is that AvePoint doesn’t just listen to feedback from the field, but actively integrates it into product development. This collaborative approach has allowed HAFN IT to participate in initiatives like the private preview, helping shape future innovations.
This dynamic partnership brings tangible benefits to all parties: HAFN IT is able to deliver services more efficiently and in a more standardized way; customers enjoy faster implementations and higher quality outcomes; and AvePoint gains invaluable feedback that informs the ongoing evolution of its platform.
Ultimately, this partnership creates operational efficiencies while laying the groundwork for helping customers achieve sustainable progress in critical areas such as compliance, governance, and security.