Case study: How OpenSSL scaled global onboarding with GroWrk

 The challenge

Onboarding employees within the Czech Republic was simple and cost-effective for OpenSSL. Equipment could be purchased locally at competitive prices, and new hires were quickly set up and integrated. However, when the company began expanding its workforce beyond local borders, the process became significantly more complicated.

We spoke with Dmitry Misharov, a DevOps Engineer at Illumio, about the challenges his team encountered while trying to scale outside of the EU.

• Procurement delays abroad: Local vendors couldn’t reliably support employees outside the EU, which meant longer lead times for sourcing devices.
  
  
• Logistics complexity: Coordinating shipping, postage, and customs clearance across multiple countries created uncertainty and slowed down the onboarding process.
  
  
• Lack of centralized tracking: As OpenSSL transitioned from a loose network of freelancers into a unified organization, the absence of a centralized system for asset management made it difficult to keep visibility across devices.
  
  
• Cost trade-offs: While local procurement was affordable, international onboarding required a more predictable but often more expensive approach.

For a lean team without a dedicated IT department, these challenges put pressure on productivity and risk delaying the integration of new international hires. OpenSSL required a partner that could streamline equipment procurement and facilitate predictable, scalable onboarding for a globally distributed team.

 The solution

To simplify onboarding outside the Czech Republic, OpenSSL turned to GroWrk’s global procurement and device management platform. The goal was to establish a predictable process for sourcing and delivering equipment internationally while reducing the operational burden on its small IT team.

• Standardized procurement: GroWrk provided a consistent method for sourcing laptops and devices across multiple regions, replacing fragmented vendor arrangements.
  
  
• Logistics and customs handling: By managing shipping, postage, and customs clearance, GroWrk eliminated the uncertainty and manual work that slowed international onboarding.
  
  
• Centralized asset tracking: A unified dashboard gave OpenSSL visibility into every device, ensuring accountability during the company’s transition from freelancers to a formal team.
  
  
• Seamless employee setup: Google SSO allowed employees to sign agreements and access systems quickly, reducing administrative overhead and enabling smoother day-one readiness.

Together, these solutions gave OpenSSL the structure it needed to onboard globally distributed employees without adding complexity or requiring significant in-house IT resources.

 The results

GroWrk enabled OpenSSL to simplify international onboarding, provide predictable procurement for distributed employees, and eliminate the operational burden of handling customs and shipping internally.

Since implementing GroWrk, OpenSSL has:

• Onboarded nearly all of its 15–17 employees through a centralized process
• Equipped international hires without delays caused by customs or vendor limitations
• Gained full visibility into device ownership and status through a single dashboard
• Reduced IT overhead by outsourcing shipping and logistics to GroWrk
• Established a repeatable model for onboarding distributed employees outside the EU

The improved consistency and predictability have enabled OpenSSL to scale beyond its local market while maintaining lean IT operations. Looking ahead, the company views GroWrk as a key enabler for future international growth, with ongoing improvements set to further enhance the experience.