GOED secures IT continuity with AXI as a strategic partner.
For more than 15 years, healthcare retailer GOED has been relying on AXI's IT expertise. What started as a collaboration on hardware deliveries has grown into a lasting partnership that now includes strategic advice, implementation, and support. Thanks to a proactive SLA approach and a solid on-premises data center environment, GOED's IT infrastructure remains high-performing, secure, and manageable.
GOED is an organization that makes comfort and care accessible to everyone. The organization operates 35 home care stores in Flanders and supports its customers with aids and advice.
GOED's IT department plays a crucial role in keeping the stores, the network, and the digital workplaces for employees operational.
New data center and full support
A recent project (2024) with AXI involved upgrading GOED's existing data center infrastructure. The hardware was seven years old and no longer up to date in terms of firmware and software patching. Support contracts were expiring, and as a result, the infrastructure could no longer offer sufficient guarantees of stability and security.
In addition, GOED wanted more peace of mind and support in managing its IT environment. The internal IT department is relatively small - about twelve employees - and was looking for a partner who could contribute ideas, provide proactive advice, and also take on operational tasks when necessary.
AXI delivered a renewed infrastructure based on HPE hardware. GOED deliberately opted for an on-prem architecture after a thorough analysis of alternatives such as private and public cloud. AXI guided the organization through this process without imposing its own architecture.
"AXI was the partner that thought along with us best, without pushing us in a direction that didn’t suit us. Our needs are relatively stable, so we’ve deliberately taken a somewhat conservative approach to our data center architecture. AXI understood and supported that.”
Maarten De Raedt, ICT manager, GOED
Trusted partner for infrastructure and advice
What began as a collaboration around hardware supply has since grown into a mature IT partnership. Today, AXI provides a wide range of services:
- Compute, storage, and tape solutions, with annual audits and recommendation
- Custom SLAs, with semi-annual checks and updates
- Setup, configuration, and support for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)
- Advice and support for license management for VMware, Veeam, Ivanti, and others
AXI conducts semi-annual audits on both the endpoint management environment and the data center infrastructure. Based on these audits, updates are planned and rolled out by AXI and GOED in co-creation.
AXI also acts as a bridge to the larger vendors. Thanks to their intervention and decisiveness, we get better terms and conditions, as well as advice in clear language. That is extremely valuable to us as a smaller IT department.
Maarten De Raedt, ICT manager, GOED
In addition to stability, the comfort of peace of mind is also important. AXI not only provides advice, but also acts as a safety net when internal expertise is temporarily unavailable; a great reassurance for an organization where continuity is crucial.
Continuity, comfort and control
The new data center project was an important milestone for GOED in 2024. The renewal of the firewall infrastructure is on the agenda for 2026. AXI will once again be competing as one of the regular partners, alongside other established names.
“We always start with our regular partners. With AXI, we already have the confidence that they will contribute ideas and provide the right solution,” says Maarten De Raedt.
Thanks to the collaboration with AXI, GOED now has a stable, secure, and future-proof IT infrastructure. The IT department retains control, but knows that there is always a partner ready to contribute ideas or step in.
The choice of on-premises in combination with proactive SLAs offers GOED the ideal balance between autonomy, security, and support. AXI remains a crucial link in this story, not only as a supplier, but as a true IT partner.
