A new player has entered the Luxembourg tech market last year. Who is ASP? What sets this innovative newcomer apart in the sphere of automation solutions, cybersecurity and digital transformation? Jean-François Grégoire, Director at ASP Luxembourg, sheds light on the company's ethos, approach, and ambitions in this exclusive interview.

1. Can you introduce us to ASP and its approach in terms of managed services?

First, I think it is important to mention that ASP - Advanced Service Provider - is a company of enthusiastic engineers; What we like at ASP is to use technology and innovation to bring rapid returns on investment to our customers.

We use to say that our mojo is "ASP keeps the lights on"… and you can focus on the most important things like innovation. This means, for instance, that we provide technologies - like automation - to simplify IT Operations, smoothing and securing all processes. And we give time back to system administrators and business owners. Manual tasks are reduced, error risk is reduced, and the ROI is on the time saved. As you know, time is money.

2. As a new player in Luxembourg, how does ASP plan to stand out from the competition?

In Belgium, we have been active since 1995, almost 30 years already! Over the years, we have acquired an extensive experience in IT Infrastructure management. Moreover, during the last decade, we have even operated customers environments.

As you probably know, engineers are always trying to simplify their daily activities. At ASP, we have been looking for solutions to simplify the way we work. We adopted automation a long time ago, and we decided to use it for our own activities. A unified portal with all tasks automated in the background is a significant business differentiator.

I am convinced that ASP's experience alone can bring a concrete added value to the Luxembourgish market.

3. Having flexibility in IT solution integration is a major challenge for most rganizations. What specific skills does ASP have in integrating monitoring, cybersecurity, and automation products?

Indeed, integrating IT solutions can be a real puzzle. As ASP is a mid-size company, we must cautiously select our solutions and partnerships. We can only work with products intensively tested, validated by our experts, easily deployable.

Our engineers are certified on innovative and very specialized solutions like IT Automation (Red Hat Ansible, ServiceNow), monitoring (Checkmk, MonitorNow, Dynatrace) or cybersecurity (Crowdstrike, CheckPoint). We also partner with Microsoft Azure and Dell.

Our main differentiator is that we can integrate and all these solutions together. It's not just a theoretical concept; we put it into practice for our own internal operations.

4. Automation, efficiency or competitiveness are hot topics today. Can you summarize your expertise in these domains?

We can divide the ASP automation expertise into two domains. The first one is IT operations. We have a strong expertise in Red Hat Ansible. We can automate deployments on premise and in the Cloud. All aspects can be covered: virtual machines, containers, networking, patching, system compliance, you name it.

The second domain is process digitalization. For years we have been partnering with ServiceNow, and we have acquired a strong expertise on multiple aspects of the platform. IT operations again, with ITSM/ATOM. Simplification of IT processes, reducing cost, controlling assets... that creates a smoother user experience.

ASP can also develop customized business applications to transform legacy processes - with paper documents, scans, Excel files - into a digital journey, where ServiceNow replaces 'manual' tasks. Users have access to a unique platform with all tasks consolidated, automated, secured, with the ability to create business reports.

With the implementation of ServiceNow Customer Service Management – CSM - the B2B experience can be upgraded to the next level. The integration of a Virtual Agent - with a consolidated knowledge database, making recorded assets available, following up processes, etc. - makes the life of both the customers and those handling the requests really simplified. And a happy customer is a loyal customer!

HR Service Delivery is also a domain in early development at ASP.

As we always look to the future, we are also looking for fresh solutions to give back more time to our customers. GenAI is a buzz word but it is really changing the automation world.

5. Luxembourg is considered a multicultural hub. What is your approach to the success of a project?

We believe that diversity is a strength. We have a multicultural team, and we know it's an asset for project success. We value teamwork, intercultural communication, equality, and always listen to different perspectives.

6. Customer satisfaction is a key element of your success. What testimonials and experiences illustrate the quality of your services?

We want to be as close to our customers as possible. Proximity helps to understand the current and future challenges. And it seems to work, as most of our clients are long-time loyal customers. I would like to thank them for their trust and loyalty! You can find different testimonials on our website.

7. What are ASP's future plans for managed IT services in Luxembourg?

We have great ambitions for the future! We aim to become a major player on the Luxembourgish market by reinforcing our automation expertise. To achieve this, we will continue to invest in innovation and the development of our skills. Currently, we are actively recruiting to ensure a constant presence with our Luxembourgish clients. We want to strengthen our market presence and establish partnerships with local actors.