Seeking a Better Intranet in SharePoint Online

A financial institution was experiencing challenges with their legacy intranet, which was based on an old version of Microsoft SharePoint. They knew that SharePoint Online via Office 365 in the cloud was the next step in replacing their aging SharePoint 2007 solution, and they sought out an IT consulting firm to help them envision, design, and implement a solution that would increase user adoption and enhanced worker productivity for all 250 employees.

After initially working with a consulting firm who was unable to deliver on a solution that met their needs, the financial institution made the difficult decision to cut ties after six months into the project and start over from scratch.

The solution they initially built was inefficient in disseminating organization-wide information and lacked the usability to achieve company-wide adoption. They knew that, in order to realize the full potential of their SharePoint investment, they needed to work with a partner who understood not only how to make SharePoint user-friendly, but who also understood the unique challenges of implementing and maintaining SharePoint Online in the cloud.

After evaluating the main players in the space, BDO Digital won out as a truly all-in-one solution. BDO Digital was able to step in to build a solution the met the following needs:

• Provide better access to relevant information for employees
• Improved user experience across devices
• Enhance information worker productivity
• Maintain and enhance security compliance
• Lay the foundation for future adoption of other Office 365 productivity-inspired features.

A Customized SharePoint Solution That Delivers Real Business Value

In the end, the financial institution was able to make up for lost time by implementing the new SharePoint solution with the help of BDO Digital within a short timeframe. BDO Digital’s experience having done these implementations many times before proved to be a vital component to ensuring a smooth transition. Throughout the project, BDO Digital worked in close partnership with the CIO and IT Manager to ensure the project was meeting their expectations and any adjustments were made prior to launch to ensure the solution was embraced by employees and provided real business value to the organization as a whole.

Plans for the Future

Since partnering with BDO Digital, the financial institution has seen a significant increase in user adoption of their intranet. By improving information worker productivity and collaboration, they not only reduced time and money spent on routine tasks, but they also improved the overall satisfaction of their employees who are now able to more easily communicate and collaborate from anywhere, on any device. The organization is no longer continuously dealing with issues related to aging technology, allowing them to focus on more strategic-value added projects and reducing the likelihood of security breaches in the future.

The company plans to continue to explore the productivity-inspired features available in SharePoint Online, such as personal note-taking, community development, instant communication and much more. They believe that BDO Digital Technology Partners will play a key role in helping to continue to customize their SharePoint solution to address their business goals, users, and success.