Elanco, a global animal health products company, significantly improved its digital security and operational efficiency by migrating its operations to Microsoft technology solutions. Using modern technologies and artificial intelligence, the company reduced its response time to digital security incidents by approximately 50% and achieved annual savings of over US$ 300,000.
Since 2018, the company has embarked on a digital transformation process aimed at modernizing its technological architecture, increasing security, and fostering continuous innovation. Elanco has embarked on a cloud renewal process, migrating part of its on-premises infrastructure to Microsoft Azure and adopting integrated solutions, including Microsoft Cloud Security Center, to improve safety and operational efficiency. This built a solid foundation ready to quickly develop new business opportunities.
Rebuilding IT Infrastructure and Improving Security
Elanco is one of the world's largest independent animal health companies. Its focus on research and development leads the way in improving the health of animals, people, and the planet, discovering important medicines and treatments in more than 90 countries. The company needed a reliable technology foundation for its crucial internal drug discovery work, which helps it treat and prevent diseases worldwide. The company's portfolio spans six main species and is balanced between farm and pet health products.
Previously, Elanco had used on-premises data centers, workloads, and many different tools. It also used a third-party security provider for its infrastructure. However, when it separated from its parent company in 2018, Elanco saw an opportunity to optimize its architecture. “We were a 70-year-old company exiting a 150-year-old organization,” explains Matthew Bull, Elanco’s chief technology and information security officer. “Legacy architecture can result in technical debt and inertia, which can be a drag on innovation.” To modernize its operations, the company rebuilt its IT infrastructure with Microsoft in 18 months.
Elanco decided to migrate part of its infrastructure to Microsoft solutions to create an environment that strengthened security, accelerated development, and improved resilience. The company was already using Microsoft 365 and started its transformation by upgrading to the enterprise plan Microsoft 365 E5Elanco engineers wanted to drive operational efficiency, so the team modernized their systems as they migrated them.
The team then replaced their previous security service with Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR, which provides 24/7 extended detection and response, while also saving Elanco over US$1,400,000 annually. The migration helped the team better secure the entire cloud environment at scale. "We can make improvements in efficiency and response time because everything is designed to work together on Microsoft technology, and the people supporting us are also Microsoft experts," says Brad Klotzsche, senior cyber detection and response consultant at Elanco. "That's why we invest in the entire security chain, from endpoint protection to identity and cloud management."
Simpler infrastructure and faster responses
Elanco's approach to leveraging Microsoft offerings has improved its security posture and operational efficiency. To advance this transformation, Elanco provided training and professional development for its IT team and recruited talent to bring fresh perspectives.
Elanco migrated approximately 90% of its workloads to the cloud, running some of them in Azure and implementing conditional access policies in Azure Security Center to manage their usage. “Having Microsoft’s single platform helped us improve our security posture very easily,” says Mike Chilvers, Elanco’s deputy chief information security officer. “Using identity and endpoint security and privacy in a complete package is incredibly powerful.”
Elanco uses the Microsoft Sentinel for security analysis and Microsoft Security Copilot for AI assistance. The company reduced the time it takes to detect and respond to security issues by approximately 50% using unified management tools and automations. And it can configure security controls to meet its exact needs. “Azure Security Center uses Copilot for remediation action plans, and as these are escalated to our team, we also use Copilot to assist with queries in Sentinel or other Microsoft products,” says Klotzsche.
The company also uses the Azure OpenAI Service to incorporate AI into their workloads and unlock further efficiency gains. "We have thousands of users every day using all the Azure OpenAI models, both the foundational models available and some of the new reasoning models that have a tremendous opportunity to influence and shape how we run our businesses going forward," says Bull.
Engineers also enjoy a better development experience. Because the Microsoft solutions Elanco uses are designed to work together, the company can iterate on its internal workflows without worrying about changes impacting efficiency or security. Furthermore, the company deploys all applications within its security boundaries, allowing engineers to focus on building features rather than managing security. This allows Elanco to develop new ideas in days instead of months.
Improving the lives of animals and the people who care for them
Elanco has created a secure and resilient environment that supports its ambitious goals and fosters innovation, adding capabilities like predictive cyberthreat detection and customizable controls. The company is now exploring additional AI use cases and implementing Information Protection sensitivity labels. Microsoft Purview to help further categorize and protect your data.
At the heart of Elanco's mission is a deep dedication to improving the lives of animals and the people who care for them. This mission guides every decision, from adopting a cloud-first approach to adding robust security measures.
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