3 SharePoint customer voices
Intranet problem and solution overviews + audio interviews
Hello Peer,
The art of the possible is, at times, easy to digest - food for thought. This article is a virtual review of what others have done with SharePoint to bolster their modern workplace. Take a few moments. Listen to each customer voice. And then decide if that art - that technology change - would look good on your intranet, or extranet, walls.
Each month, my co-host, Chris McNulty, and I interview a customer and their solution partner on the Microsoft podcast, The Intrazone. Our goal is to spotlight the people and companies who deliver SharePoint-based solutions and services that empower employee experience and help organizations achieve more.
Below, you’ll find three customer voice ‘exhibits’ - including the corresponding podcast episode with their full customer and partner interview:
Special Olympics Canada | “An extranet streamlining content and conversation from HQ to branch offices - and back “
Grant Thornton | “Combining SharePoint + Power Platform + Yammer + Stream”
Millennium Services Group | “The self-maintaining intranet integrated into Microsoft Teams”
1 | Special Olympics Canada | “An extranet streamlining content and conversation from HQ to branch offices - and back “
The Special Olympics Canada team wanted to further centralize and organize on a single, digital location. Much of their workforce is distributed across Canada; their content spread across siloes. They worked to up-level their extranet, moving away from Dropbox, and streamlining content and conversation from headquarters to branch office – and back.
"We wanted all, internal & external people, to have one site - with a logical framework to control what each sees." - Denise Strong (Director of Information | Special Olympics Canada)
In the below episode, jump to 00:05:25 to hear the full conversation with Denise and her solution partner, Noorez Khamis from Creospark.
2 | Grant Thornton | “Combining SharePoint + Power Platform + Yammer + Stream”
At Grant Thornton, SharePoint has become their intranet base, with numerous integrations with the Power Platform for user feedback, Stream for company-wide video, Yammer to support communities of interest, and Power BI for site analytics. Their implementation took a programmatic approach to custom development and governance established and continuously revisited by their intranet advisory board. Through multiple phases, the modern intranet evolved into a home for the needs of day-to-day work, improving content access and people retention.
"This is changing the way people access information and content. This is not just a replacement of an intranet. This is true digital transformation, including a better user experience so people are more likely to stay at our firm for a long period of time. "
- Doug Kalish (Head of Knowledge Management | Grant Thornton)
In the below episode, jump to 00:07:25 to hear the full conversation with Doug and his partner, Jesse Murray from Rightpoint.
3 | Millennium Services Group | “The self-maintaining intranet integrated into Microsoft Teams”
At MSG, the design goal was to establish a self-maintaining, SharePoint-based intranet, including integration into Microsoft Teams – in their words, an “enterprise knowledge platform.” And to help with onsite incidents, they built a policy center that reduces time to content and rectifies issues faster. Looking forward, Millennium is reviewing SharePoint Syntex to improve insider risk management and communication compliance.
"Having Microsoft 365 as our platform, we can do things that we're previously not possible; with more agility." - David Benjamin (CIO | Millennium Services Group)
In the below episode, jump to 00:06:45 to hear the full conversation with David and his partner, Hamish Toll from Circle T.
Final thoughts…
The SharePoint art gallery doors are always open. It’s an honor to be both curator and guide through the above exhibits. I hope some or all above sparked creative ideas to consider, ones that can help update and optimize your digital workplace.
You can listen to all episodes of The Intrazone, including other customer and partner stories. Visit the SharePoint community blog where you’ll find more SharePoint customer stories, news, and best practices. And finally, head over the broader Microsoft Customer Stories site for even more technology solution examples; easy to search and filter by region, industry, product, and more.
Cheerios, Mark
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