Frendy is the modern IT partner of the VAV Group
VAV Group is a major housing provider in Vantaa. The group manages more than 11,500 rental homes, and nearly 20,000 residents live in VAV properties — meaning roughly one in ten people in Vantaa calls VAV home.
VAV provides high‑quality and affordable housing, particularly for low‑ and middle‑income households, supports residents in challenging life situations, and works to prevent evictions and homelessness.
Work related to housing services requires a reliable, secure and easy‑to‑manage IT environment. Frendy acts as VAV Group’s IT partner, enabling smooth and secure everyday operations.
VAV Group’s partnership with Frendy began five years ago, when Mikko Toivonen started in his role as Head of ICT.
“One of my first responsibilities was to run the tendering process for an IT partner. We chose Frendy, and since then I have had strong confidence in Frendy’s ability to maintain and develop our IT environment,” Toivonen says.
In everyday knowledge work, IT must simply work
VAV Group’s IT environment is built around the modern Microsoft ecosystem, using Microsoft 365 Business Premium licences. Cloud services enable mobile work and provide scalability across the entire organisation.
“We use a wide range of SaaS services, and our Microsoft 365 environment is fully cloud‑based. In other words, we are a ‘cloud‑only’ organisation and no longer acquire new systems that aren’t in the cloud,” Toivonen explains.
The VAV Group employs 65 housing professionals, whose daily work largely consists of processing and managing various types of information. Since the COVID‑19 pandemic, work has become multi‑location and more mobile.
“We have knowledge workers who do their jobs at the office, at home, in the car and at our housing sites. Connections and devices must work everywhere. The cloud environment and the support provided by Frendy have worked very well in our daily operations.”
“Toivonen says, ‘If an issue comes up, our employees don’t have to worry about it — they can call Frendy and enjoy a cup of tea while a specialist fixes the problem remotely”.
VAV Group, owned by the City of Vantaa, consists of the parent company VAV Yhtymä Oy and its subsidiaries VAV Asunnot Oy, VAV Palvelukodit Oy and VAV Hoiva‑asunnot Oy. Its large and diverse housing stock meets the growing needs of the City of Vantaa and supports residents in a wide range of life situations.
- Industry: Housing development, ownership and management
- Founded: 1986
- Revenue: €100 million
- Number of employees: 65
- Location: Vantaa
- IT management: Head of ICT
- IT environment: Microsoft‑based, aiming for a cloud‑only model
- IT partnership: Frendy’s customer for five years
- Frendy services in use: Sopiva IT (Workstation, Cloud, Server, Mobile and Network), development projects for the Microsoft environment, mobile environment and cybersecurity
An IT manager needs a sparring partner
Toivonen is solely responsible for the group’s IT operations. The partner’s expertise and support are therefore a critical part of day‑to‑day work — especially in a cloud‑based environment.
“As the only IT professional in the organisation, I find that sparring with Frendy is extremely important for developing our IT. How should we improve our cybersecurity? Which of Microsoft’s new services should we take advantage of? In many of these considerations, Frendy’s expertise has been invaluable.”
The significance of the partnership can be summed up in one idea:
“Wisdom doesn’t live in just one head. The broader team of experts we get through Frendy is essential for keeping our IT operations running.”
Based on the joint sparring sessions, VAV and Frendy have, for example, assessed the state of the Microsoft environment and carried out projects that enhance cybersecurity.
“We have also taken part in a phishing‑awareness campaign, where our staff received simulated phishing emails. The campaign gave us valuable insights into our employees’ level of cybersecurity awareness.”
From the most recent development projects, Toivonen highlights the review of mobile device management:
“A specialist went through the work applications used on our mobile devices as well as the related Intune settings, and then provided recommendations on what should be improved.”
Sopiva IT unified the service model
In spring 2025, the VAV Group adopted Frendy’s new Sopiva IT maintenance and support services across the entire IT environment.
“Our previous service setup worked, but we wanted a partner who could operate using their own standardised models. This brings fewer errors and better cost‑efficiency. The changes from the previous model were easy for us to accept, and Frendy carried out the transition smoothly.”
The adoption of Sopiva IT services does not require — nor include — separate development projects. The services can be implemented directly in the existing environment. However, standardising the services has strengthened, for example, the organisation’s cybersecurity.
“Previously, when contacting support, the user had to read a security code from TeamViewer to initiate the remote session. Now, with N‑able, the support team can connect to the device directly. This eliminates the risk of someone attempting to obtain the code and remote access to the computer through malicious intent,” Toivonen explains.
VAV purchases Sopiva IT services for a fixed monthly fee, which includes both maintenance and support services.
“We wanted support tickets to be included in the monthly service fee. This means the partner has an incentive to minimise tickets. In addition, the partner can propose development projects that help reduce the number of tickets. I believe this model benefits both the customer and the partner.”
A monthly‑priced service is not only easy to budget — it also saves time.
“In a ticket‑based model, every ticket has to be checked to determine whether it’s included in the basic fee or should be billed separately. That is surprisingly labor‑intensive. I’d much rather pay for a service where tickets don’t occur — meaning everything simply works.”
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