Collaboration

Collaboration Case Studies

Review the following case studies to learn more about the collaboration capabilities of Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Southern Union

Major U.S. Gas Company Boosts, Refines Information Access, Increasing Risk Avoidance

Posted 2009-09-02

Southern Union, one of the largest diversified natural gas companies in the United States, faced a challenge familiar to most large, fast-growing companies: the need to use information to support growth rather than put up roadblocks to that growth. Employees needed faster access to authorized information and a better way to boost security around restricted data. They needed to share information not only with team members within the company, but also with business partners. The company now has the solution it needs in Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. Southern Union has used the software to create a comprehensive and highly successful information platform that is unifying employees throughout the company, increasing the speed and accuracy of collaboration and work processes.

Department of Family and Social Affairs

Irish Social Services Web Portal Wins Accessibility Award, Boosts Traffic 50 Percent

Posted 2009-07-20

The Department of Social and Family Affairs in Ireland promotes a caring society by providing income and other supports to enable active participation in society, promote social inclusion, and support families. It wanted to use the reach and immediacy of Internet communications to raise public awareness of its mandate and provide secure e-government services. To accomplish these goals, the Department had to upgrade its HTML-based Web site and streamline its content publication processes. It chose Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 to support its portal and launched www.welfare.ie to immediate acclaim. The site boasts 50 percent more content, improved search, intuitive navigation, and new online services. It won an Irish eGovernment accessibility award. The new portal is supported by a streamlined Web publication process that significantly reduced the time required for major site updates.

Tampa Police Department

Police Department Scores for Taxpayers with Super Bowl Incident-Management Solution

Posted 2009-07-15

When the City of Tampa, Florida, was chosen to host Super Bowl XLIII, it fell upon the Tampa Police Department to ensure public safety for the event. To coordinate efforts with more than 25 other agencies and first responders, the department used E•SPONDER, an online collaboration environment based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. The solution provided a central repository for multiple agencies to gather planning information prior to the event; during the event, it enabled personnel on the ground and at incident command centers to share information in real time via a Web-based portal. With E•SPONDER, which provides deep insight into resource allocation and is built in compliance with National Incident Management System criteria, the department successfully managed the big game at a fraction of the cost of previous Super Bowls, a true win for the taxpaying citizens of Tampa.

AirTran Airways

Communication and Collaboration Solution Helps Low-Fare Airline Do More with Less

Posted 2009-07-14

AirTran Airways, a growing, low-fare airline focused on the business traveler, prioritizes efficiency in all aspects of its business. Even during an economic slowdown, the company continues to make investments that promote long-term cost savings. AirTran invested in Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 to improve communication and collaboration among its geographically dispersed employees. Now, the company is able to deliver critical operations notifications instantly to nearly 10,000 people. Employees have access to tools that significantly streamline everyday tasks and minimize paper costs. Finally, Web-based collaboration sites have simplified communication with external partners and help AirTran reduce operational costs. The company expects the solution to deliver ongoing operational cost savings while improving its ability to best serve its customers.

Cushman & Wakefield

Global Real-Estate Firm Builds ECM Solution by Integrating Fast, Effective Search

Posted 2009-07-10

Cushman & Wakefield built itself into one of the world’s largest real-estate services firms. But could it build a search application for its Marketing department, which wanted to help the firm keep its leadership position? The marketers wanted a solution tailored to the document types and metadata tags that they already used to categorize content, in order to make searches as intuitive as possible. That’s what they got with a tailored search application built on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. The solution, which includes out-of-the-box features in Office SharePoint Server yet looks and feels highly customized, was fast and easy to create, is flexible enough to meet new business needs as they arise, and translates to a low total cost of ownership for Cushman & Wakefield over time.

WorleyParsons

Engineering Services Firm Saves Three Days a Week with Simplified Web Site Management

Posted 2009-06-30

WorleyParsons, a provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries, has grown substantially through a series of mergers and acquisitions. To best reflect its international presence, and to be able to publish information in a timely manner, the company had to replace its outdated Web site. WorleyParsons used Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 as the foundation for its new Web site. In less than three months, the company launched a new global corporate site, with tools that allow users to seamlessly publish content to WorleyParsons.com—with minimal involvement from IT. The publishing process is so much simpler that the company saves three days of time each week among IT and marketing personnel responsible for the publishing process.

Coca-Cola Enterprises

Coca-Cola Enterprises Selects Microsoft SharePoint Online to Advance Productivity

Posted 2009-06-22

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) employs approximately 72,000 people in 431 facilities around the globe. Much of its workforce is mobile with 55,000 vehicles and 2.4 million coolers, vending machines, and beverage dispensers. With increasing competition in the marketplace, CCE needed a more effective way to collaborate with its employees, to increase its productivity, to enable better flow of information and to create more time for sales persons to engage with customers. Its worldwide presence required employees and executives to spend numerous hours on the road every week, travelling to internal meetings. With Microsoft® Online Services technologies, CCE can save travel expenses through online meeting tools and collaboration platforms that span time zones and geographies.

National Australia Bank Group

National Bank Boosts Staff Training with Online Collaboration Solution

Posted 2009-04-07

The National Australia Bank (NAB) has served Australian companies and citizens for 150 years. It created The Academy to herald a new corporate culture that supports self-directed employee learning and development. NAB chose a collaboration solution from Microsoft to create a portal called The Academy online that delivers an interactive virtual learning and development experience to support this culture. Employees use social networking capabilities, My Profile site personalization, and Internet search to find content and job openings, connect with colleagues, and access learning opportunities. NAB expects an increase in informal and formal training opportunities and more opportunities for professional development and career planning, resulting in a highly motivated staff capable of driving business strategies. In the long term, NAB expects to achieve an improvement in overall performance.

HOK

Architecture Firm Enjoys Home Use, Training Benefits of Software Licensing Program

Posted 2009-02-10

For greater collaboration and productivity, leading architecture firm HOK implemented the 2007 Microsoft® Office release and deployed the company intranet on Office SharePoint® Server 2007. To deliver the benefits of the software in the most efficient manner, the firm began using the Home Use Program, Training Vouchers, and Microsoft E-Learning benefits available through the Microsoft Software Assurance program. Today, HOK IT professionals and other employees are enjoying greater opportunities for learning the software, and the company is better prepared for future deployments.

Numonyx

High-Tech Startup Creates Public Web Site and Collaborative Intranet in 80 Days

Posted 2009-01-29

Numonyx, a newly formed innovator of nonvolatile memory solutions combining the flash memory assets of Intel and STMicroelectronics, had just 80 days to create a public Web presence for customers and a collaboration intranet for its 7,000 employees. An extraordinary public site would establish brand value from day one. The internal site would forge a new corporate culture for employees from parent companies on two continents. Numonyx created a dynamic solution within its aggressive deadline by implementing Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. Employees modify site content in real time, rather than waiting days or weeks for IT assistance—key in this fast-paced industry. Customers receive news while it is fresh, enhancing the Numonyx reputation for customer orientation and increasing return traffic. Internally, employees share information instantly, no matter where they are located.

A.T. Kearney

Global Management Consultancy Boosts Client Service, Competitiveness, with Extranet

Posted 2008-12-29

A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions, a unit of the global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, is a leading provider of technology solutions for procurement challenges. While deploying a series of Web-based tools for clients, the unit identified the need for a more effective collaboration mechanism between its consultants and clients. This led to the establishment of a client extranet based on technologies from Microsoft and SharePoint Solutions, a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner. The use of familiar Microsoft technologies made the extranet as easy for clients to use as it was fast for the unit to deploy. Thanks to the extranet, the unit has increased the range and usefulness of its services, and clients have round-the-clock access to comprehensive and meaningful information.

McKesson

Healthcare Services Company Fosters Rapid Adoption for New Collaboration Environment

Posted 2008-10-09

To promote collaboration among its many dispersed business units, McKesson, the nation’s largest healthcare services company, deployed Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007. McKesson realized, however, that its new technology would help the organization function as a cohesive entity only if users successfully adopted and took full advantage of the product’s capabilities. By taking a well-planned approach to deployment that included collaborative, Web-based training for users rather than individualized help-desk support, McKesson was able to foster a groundswell of excitement around Office SharePoint Server 2007. Now, more than 10,000 employees rely on the new collaboration environment to find and share information, manage documents and projects, and work together across business units—and that number grows every day.

Pella Corporation

Manufacturer Deploys Desktop Software to Speed Collaboration and Customer Deliveries

Posted 2008-09-16

As Pella expanded its products, manufacturing locations, and customer base, its employees needed to find new ways to quickly and consistently share information necessary to meet delivery commitments. The company migrated its 5,000 client computers to Microsoft® Office Professional Plus 2007 to take advantage of messaging, communication, and collaboration enhancements, as well as to improve employee productivity, communications, and delivery speed.

GSD&M Idea City

Ad Agency Saves Hundreds of Hours Weekly with Integrated Collaboration Solution

Posted 2008-09-08

For 36 years, GSD&M Idea City has delivered visionary solutions to its clients, including AT&T, BMW, Southwest Airlines, and the U.S. Air Force. The company’s business strategy centers on extensive sharing of innovative ideas to solve advertising and marketing problems and create new market opportunities. To best support its collaborative environment, GSD&M Idea City built an IT infrastructure based on the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. With its new software—including Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007, plus Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007—employees are able to communicate and collaborate more easily, can work more efficiently, and are saving hundreds of hours each week through easier access to business-critical information.

Chesapeake Energy

Natural Gas Producer Deploys New Intranet Solution, Meets Growth Challenges

Posted 2008-08-25

Chesapeake Energy, the leading natural-gas producer in the United States, is a rapidly growing company that tripled its employee headcount between 2005 and 2008. To meet the challenges of such rapid growth, the company needed a more powerful intranet solution to boost worker productivity, improve workflow, and enhance collaboration across the oil and gas value chain. Using Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007, Chesapeake Energy developed and deployed a new solution that integrates the company’s intranet, extranet, and Internet presence. Through its extensibility, the solution streamlines collaboration across project teams, boosts productivity, simplifies data analysis, and creates the basis for consistent communications. With the business capabilities gained through the new solution, Chesapeake Energy is well positioned for future growth.

MTV Networks

Standardized Portal Solution Increases Collaboration and Efficiency for Media Giant

Posted 2008-07-29

As an entertainment company, MTV Networks must ensure the free flow of ideas and content. However, the company’s previous portal infrastructure wasn’t helping much, as end users could not publish their own content. MTV Networks standardized on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007, upon which the company deployed a new intranet portal, a Viacom corporate portal, and multiple Internet sites. Self-service content publishing enables groups across the company to communicate better, while rich collaboration and search features are helping global employees to easily find and share information. With Office SharePoint Server, MTV Networks is benefitting from a standardized portal platform that delivers new capabilities in a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective manner, and will serve the company well into the future.

Defra

Government Department Adopts Two for the Price of One Records and Collaboration Tool

Posted 2008-07-01

The United Kingdom (U.K.) government’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) discharges its responsibilities through 3,000 core employees, dispersed throughout the country, who collaborate with a range of outside experts and stakeholders. Defra wanted a combined electronic document and records management (EDRM) system, and a tool set for 10,000 people to improve collaboration and comply with the government’s modernising agenda for e-government services. Defra chose Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 to fulfil all three objectives with a standardised solution. Users are now creating records as part of their everyday work due to the automated workflows, without any extra burden. The department hopes to make significant cost savings by adopting a single system for records management and collaboration.