Known by its German acronym BVB, Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe – the largest partner to the North-Western Switzerland Tariff Association (TNW) – is responsible for local public transport in the Basle area. It carries nearly 127 million passengers a year, which works out at about 348,000 people a day. The company is keen to stay abreast of advances in digitalization, and that means equipping all its bus and tram drivers – who are naturally central to what BVB does – with mobile digital workplaces. In a hybrid SaaS environment based on VMware vSphere, VMware Workspace ONE gives BVB a comprehensive solution to this challenge, thanks to its partnership with JevoTrust Management AG. “BVB can thus supply its transportation employees with company-owned mobile devices that they can also use for private purposes,” says Robert Jenni, Managing Director of JevoTrust Management AG. iPads thus let drivers access internal applications and documents such as timetables and duty rosters. BVB uses Content Manager, Web Browser and Boxer as its main VMware Workspace ONE applications.
Company-owned but personalized devices
“We chose VMware fairly quickly,” says Rosario Vassallo. “The possibilities offered by VMware Workspace ONE convinced us immediately.” Since Vassallo’s IT department is fairly small and has limited capacity, implementing Workspace ONE proved to be the best strategy for the fast, stable implementation of digital workplaces.
For Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe, it was important to supply employees with devices that were open enough to maximize individual and personal configuration options. Transportation employees are given the option of setting up and activating the iPads themselves. When a device is switched on, it identifies itself as a company-owned iPad and requests entry of a user name and PIN to ensure that only suitably authorized persons can access internal applications and documents. “One critical factor for us was allowing staff to use these devices for their own individual needs too”, Vassallo explains. “So we needed devices that belong to the company but can also be used privately.” BVB thus even lets employees’ family members use the iPads – albeit without access to internal information.
Secure and easy to use
“One highlight in our collaboration with VMware was fast implementation,” says a clearly delighted Rosario Vassallo. “We were able to implement Workspace ONE – a crucial step for us in the direction of digital workplaces – in just three weeks.” This roll-out is, however, to be followed by the implementation of further applications. BVB currently has more than 1,200 Workspace ONE licenses, of which between 850 and 900 meet the needs of end users.
“Thanks to VMware Workspace ONE, our transportation employees are enjoying a superior employee experience and their productivity has improved: They can now access information faster, more conveniently and more flexibly – and respond accordingly”, Vassallo says. The platform also gives BVB the benefit of an integrated zero trust security concept that operates in the background and is effectively invisible to users, who thus experience no restrictions. Users authenticate themselves and sign on with a fingerprint, which is much faster and easier. In addition, remote access to devices has reduced the number of inquiries placed with the help desk and accelerated troubleshooting.
BVB is now planning to include smartphones in its array of mobile devices to give employees even greater flexibility. The wider aim is to consolidate all devices, including Android devices. Going forward, the number of licenses is to be doubled to around 2,200. Yet even now, the new digital workplace solution leaves BVB excellently equipped to master the future of local public transport – and to make a major contribution to sustainability in the city of Basle.
