Migration to Microsoft Defender for Stada

Challenge

The customer wanted to streamline endpoints’ security management across a global infrastructure that had the following challenges:

Project Scope contained 5,000+ workstations, 600+ servers and operations in 120+ countries.

• Non-unified Antivirus solution across the infrastructure, with multiple solutions (Sophos, Kaspersky, Trend Micro) and custom rules and policies, creating operational inefficiencies.
• High-business-impact production systems, requiring careful downtime planning and coordination with business owners and the global security team.
• GXP-certified workstations and servers, requiring strict validation and compliance measures.
• Large-scale, globally dispersed operations, adding complexity to synchronization and security enforcement.

Solution

GDC Services led the project with expertise, dividing the work into key areas:

• Conducted a global discovery process with business and security teams to design a minimal-impact migration strategy.
• Migrated from multiple legacy AV solutions to a unified Microsoft Defender platform with Advanced Threat Protection.
• Developed custom scripts for silent uninstallation and cleanup of existing AV solutions.
• Deployed in controlled waves using Microsoft MECM and Intune, aligning with device MDM authority for accurate targeting.
• Advanced troubleshooting and fine-tuning ensured a seamless transition with minimal impact to business-critical systems.

Results

• Stronger security posture with real-time threat detection and response.
• Significant cost savings through bulk licensing and AV consolidation.
• Unified security management platform, improving efficiency and monitoring.