The ‘Big Bang’ approach to digital transformation – and how to make it work

Shirley Finnerty

Shirley Finnerty

Former M365 Lead

Read Time, 3 min.

These days there’s no such thing as ‘business as usual’. Change and disruption are the new normal. Just think of the changes affecting your organization right now, with new technology and techniques driving new attitudes and expectations from employees and customers alike. Everything is changing.

And the one thing all those changes have in common is speed. It’s happening exceptionally fast. Which is why, for a business to survive and thrive in a fiercely competitive market, it must react with equal alacrity. Especially when making a technological response to a transformational need.

Meeting the need for rapid innovation

‘When change is the new normal’, a 2019 study by Microsoft in partnership with Dr. Michael Parke of the London Business School, corroborates this view. The research shows that 92% of companies have recently faced technological disruption and concludes that now is the time “to double down on workplace innovation to drive growth”. Specifically, it finds that the most pioneering businesses today are actively building bridges across organizational and operational silos. And that empowerment in the workplace continues to be critical for innovation.

So, what is the best way for a business to successfully introduce a new technology or platform?

The 48-hour rollout: Coloplast’s success story

Arguably, there is no right or wrong way. Every organization is different. But Coloplast, a leading life science company famous for introducing the life-changing ostomy bag, decided to do it with a ‘bang’. A big innovative, organizational bang that – just like the scientific theory of the same name – happened incredibly fast. In short, to get everyone in Coloplast working better together they got 8,000 employees worldwide to use Microsoft Teams – in a mere 48 hours.

Microsoft Teams brings together workplace chat, video meetings and file storage in a single, unified platform. Which is exactly what Coloplast required: “What we needed was a solution that would allow our teams to be agile and to collaborate instantly,” explains René Rasmussen, Coloplast’s Vice President of IT Operations & Support. “That’s why Teams seemed like a such a good fit for us.”

What’s more, by achieving this feat of deployment, Coloplast managed to tick the two boxes that the ‘When change is the new normal’ study found to be the hallmark of an innovative business: breaking down silos and empowering employees, all in double-fast time.

How did they do it? There were four key stages…

  • The pilot programme

200 employees from all 43 of the countries in Coloplast’s network started to use Teams and fed back in detail on their e

  • A structured and detailed migration plan

Starting on a Friday evening, the plan was so meticulously thought out that migration ran ahead of schedule and was complete by Sunday afternoon. On Monday morning when 8,000 people returned to work, the IT team waited nervously by their helpline. Hours passed. The first call was at 11.30: it was an amazed support manager asking if the feedback was correct that no-one had called the helpline. There were only six other calls that week.

  • Migration ambassadors

To help their colleagues adapt to Teams, the 200 participants of the pilot became ambassadors during the wider migration process.

  • An official feedback loop

Feedback was encouraged – urging employees to share their thoughts about features that could be added or improved. This helped established a culture of continuous improvement.

Conclusion

What Coloplast proved so convincingly was that even a global operation with thousands of employees can complete a rapid roll-out if all the right processes are in place. Proper planning really works, but only if it fully considers the human as well as the technical implications of change. Read the full Coloplast story.

Free eBook: Crash course in Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Business can make your technology more manageable while improving productivity

Discover more related articles per industry:

Education

  • A guide to GDPR for universities

    A guide to GDPR for universities

    With the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation coming into effect on May 25, understand how universities like yours can take the right steps towards compliance with this free eBook – and other useful resources. Your university on a journey on a journey Your university is on a journey with lots of ‘data subjects’. They’re […]

Government

  • Image of a large RTE sign at their HQ

    Microsoft Teams has quickly spread across the RTÉ campus

    Microsoft Teams has quickly spread across the RTÉ campus How an untapped resource in RTÉ helped dispersed teams collaborate and improve efficiency We recently worked with RTÉ to drive learning and collaboration. I was struck by how they have embraced Microsoft Teams and how they are now using it as a tool to drive information […]

  • Iceland runs on Trust

    How the cloud helped a small nation realise big ambitions

    In December 2015, the Icelandic government kicked off a digital infrastructure review. With more than 100 different suppliers managed by over 100 IT managers in each public institution, the brief was clear; to simplify operations and streamline IT for over 20,000 users. The solution: Fast forward two and a half years, and a decision was […]

Healthcare

  • logo

    Why trust is the essential ingredient in healthcare digital transformation.

    My phone had scarcely stopped ringing for weeks. Now it was ringing again. “Veronica,” said the voice at the other end, “we have an idea!” Immediately, I recognized who it was. I’ve known Carlo Tacchetti for almost as long as I’ve been at Microsoft. He’s a professor at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and the […]

  • Two female nurses having a virtual conversation through Microsoft Teams

    Belfast Trust: Reimagining patient care

    “There have been many heroic actions by our staff but we’re not heroes for what we’ve done – I’m just glad we could do our bit to help.” Paul Duffy, Co-Director of IT and Telecommunications at Belfast Trust, is talking about the monumental impact COVID-19 has had on the healthcare sector and how virtual consultations […]

Manufacturing

  • Etex

    Etex uses modern tools to unite its business and better focus on customers

    When it comes to construction, all components must come together in a timely manner in order to produce the optimum product. While Etex, a Belgian building solution manufacturing company, helps make this a reality on a day-to-day basis, it wanted to find a way to enhance productivity and collaboration internally. With locations across more than […]

Retail

  • HeadBrands is ready for the future with Microsoft 365 Business

    HeadBrands is ready for the future with Microsoft 365 Business

    Since its creation in 2010, HeadBrands has continued to grow, rapidly becoming the leading retailer of hairdressing products in Scandinavia. HeadBrands needed a modern IT solution to increase its business productivity and improve collaboration, both within the company and externally. Its response to this challenge was to replace most of its previous services with Microsoft […]

  • GDPR and Retail: Four GDPR requirements and how Microsoft can help

    GDPR and Retail: Four GDPR requirements and how Microsoft can help

    Learn how we can help you meet GDPR requirements with solutions available today: Assessing your current risk profile “How do I understand where I am already compliant and where I need to focus next?” This is one of the most common questions from retailers in regard to the GDPR. It’s also one of the hardest to […]

Discover more related articles per dossier:

Customer Stories

Digital Transformation

  • Digital Culture is not just for Millennials

    Digital Culture is not just for Millennials

    Digital Culture is not just for Millennials Last week the IoDNI invited me to sit on a panel with Dr Neil Bentley (WorldSkills UK) and Tony Danker (Be the Business) chaired by Dr Wendy Austin MBE. We discussed how can we ‘Boost Productivity through Technology and People’; an incredibly interesting discussion with many different perspectives! […]

Press

Security & Privacy

  • How to accelerate your journey to GDPR compliance

    How to accelerate your journey to GDPR compliance

    Since GDPR took effect, many organisations are facing significant changes to the way they gather, use and govern their data. It may seem daunting, but there are ways to accelerate the process. A single, always-up-to-date solution Data governance already poses major challenges for any organisation, but the introduction of GDPR compels businesses to consider whether […]

Tips