a person standing in front of a mirror posing for the camera

Microsoft solutions that are transforming 3 companies

Shirley Finnerty

Shirley Finnerty

Former M365 Lead

Read Time, 4 min.

Can you imagine your workplace without the internet? Think of the difference in culture, the pace of change, the connectedness of colleagues and clients. Technology has always had a significant impact on the culture of work. But in today’s workplace, this has proliferated as the speed of technological evolution has continued to accelerate at a rate that few could have predicted.

We are now in an era where new technologies are so abundant – and their application so varied – that we have more choice than ever about how we want to engage with them. This is giving us increasing control over how we use technology to define the culture of our workplace.

Here we look at the way that three very different companies are using Microsoft technologies to help reinforce and guide their organisational culture.

Crazy about chocolate, serious about people

Dutch company, Tony’s Chocolonely, has always been about more than the chocolate they make. Grown out of a journalist’s dream to make the chocolate trade slavery-free, the company has had ethics and principles at its core ever since it was founded in 2005.

And those principles aren’t limited to the way that their chocolate is produced – it’s also about how their team is organised and interacts. “We say that our team comes first”, says Rick van Doorn, IT Manager at Tony’s. “Without the team, there is no company. And keeping that team collaborating optimally is vitally important to everything we do”.

Teams: A solution that fits the culture

As the company has thrived and its team has grown from six to over 100, the challenge has been keeping the company’s cultural values consistent through a period of significant organisational transformation. According to Angela Ursem, Marketing Communications Manager, an important part of this has been choosing the right technologies to keep the company “open, honest and communicating”. This has included upgrading to Windows 10, moving company data to SharePoint, and managing devices with Microsoft Intune.

But perhaps the most significant innovation has been the company’s use of Microsoft Teams. As with every other aspect of work life for Tony’s employees, that strategy is carefully aligned with company values and organisational culture. “We use the chat feature in Teams to build the personal relationships we want to encourage”, says Ursem. “Email is more formal, more time-consuming. Chat lends itself to the shared humour and quick check-ins that naturally fit our culture and make us more efficient”.

But how new technologies are implemented doesn’t just depend on organisational culture – it’s about the size of a company too. For global automobile behemoth, BMW Group, the challenges were markedly different.

BMW Group: Creating new ways to collaborate

In the automobile industry, disruption is a fact of life. BMW Group executives know that maintaining excellence in today’s connected world means using technology to move from a process-oriented way of working to a more agile, collaborative ethos. This has required a complete shift in organisational culture and the company’s approach to teamwork.

But for a company with 134,682 employees, 150,000 devices and 70,000 phones in 500 locations, making that shift was no small task. It meant choosing the right software and apps to keep everyone productive, while also underscoring its values of security and teamwork. Migrating to Windows 10 was the answer.

“What I value is that Windows 10 is the foundation for our modern workplace transformation”, says Markus Boenisch, General Manager of Global Workspace at BMW Group. “It will honour our commitment to a new way of working – new ways of collaborating, all while staying more secure”.

And it’s not only software and app solutions that are helping companies drive workplace transformation and define a new organisational culture – it’s the devices they are using too.

Vinnova: Attracting new talent with Surface

Public administrator, Vinnova, aspires to be Sweden’s most inviting employer. To achieve this, the office atmosphere has to be “open, creative, smart, and cool”, explains Ulf Trulsson, Chief Information Officer. Having the right devices for the team to use has been the key to realising this vision.

“By our very nature, we are highly collaborative”, he says. But the original mix of technologies the company had been using since 2001 did not support that culture or vision.

“By adopting Surface devices that so closely suit the way we work, we now have the kind of tools an organisation all about innovation truly needs,” he says. The introduction of Microsoft 365 and the Surface device has not only improved the working lives of Vinnova employees, it is attracting new talent too. “Everyone has everything they need on their desk on the day they start. That’s very important for being an attractive employer”.

Technology to support your culture

The new culture of work is about embracing collaboration and fluid teamwork – and selecting the right technology to support the company culture and ethos that underpins this.

Solutions like Microsoft Teams, Windows 10 and Surface can be used to work with the culture that you define. Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise, a non-profit or a Fortune 500 company, the technologies of the modern workplace have a solution for everyone.

Free AI Report: Artificial Intelligence in Ireland. How 277 major European companies benefit from AI

Discover how your Western European and Irish peers use AI to digitally transform their organisation

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

Healthcare

  • 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 […]

  • Patient consultation using Microsoft Teams

    Improved Quality of Life for Cystic Fibrosis Patients through use of Microsoft Teams for Consultations

    Improved Quality of Life for Cystic Fibrosis Patients through use of Microsoft Teams for Consultations at University Hospital Limerick   Pilot programme reduces infection risk and improves therapy outcomes for patients and clinicians Part of the Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland, University Hospital Limerick (UHL) has been piloting online consultations using Microsoft Teams for […]

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

Discover more related articles per dossier:

Customer Stories

  • Ineco

    Ineco improves employee productivity with modern tools and AI

    Struggling with software doesn’t help people get more done. Likewise, if sharing files and collaborating on documents is difficult, productivity takes a hit. Ineco, a Spanish public sector company, understands this, which is why it set out to change the way employees interact with technology and one another. By deploying Microsoft 365 to its over […]

Digital Transformation

Press

  • Microsoft Research Reveals Digital Culture’s Key Role in Irish Organisations’ Competitiveness

    Microsoft Research Reveals Digital Culture’s Key Role in Irish Organisations’ Competitiveness

    NEWS RELEASE Microsoft Research Reveals Digital Culture’s Key Role in Irish Organisations’ Competitiveness Without a strong digital culture, introducing more technology reduces employee engagement Microsoft Ireland’s research shows: Only 11% of Irish employees feel highly productive in their job and 14% feel highly engaged. While 90% of employees report low innovation in their organisation. Where […]

Security & Privacy

  • 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 […]

Tips

  • Are you making the most of Microsoft Teams while working remotely?

    Are you making the most of Microsoft Teams while working remotely?

    There are many reasons and requirements for remote work. We created Microsoft Teams to help you stay connected with your teams and ensure you can continue working collaboratively and efficiently when working remotely. Here are a couple of tips to help you get the best from Microsoft Teams while working remotely: 1. Meet more efficiently […]