Solution
After intensive investigation and detailed analysis, IHHP chose Microsoft Office 365 as their online platform, and pavliks.com to be their vendor for implementation and support. From their perspective, the advantages of this solution were:
Provides the most features
Security of the system
Service and free training
Microsoft program to assist with the costs of the implementation
Reliable local vendor
Communication package (Lync)
Net annual savings of $5,400 through the suite of services
As with any new solution, change and user adoption can be a challenge. Dany Spencer from IHHP attended training with pavliks.com, and has taken a scaled approach to present this to her team. Now they are all using the solution effectively.
Benefits
The immediate benefits were improved productivity. Visibility into calendars has resulted in more independence for individuals to schedule meetings, and having immediate knowledge of each other's availability. Less time is spent tracking people down, and more time is now available for program development and delivery.
The use of SharePoint to share files and manage documents, means that information is readily available for all staff and remote workers do not need to VPN into the central server to access files. The SharePoint site has provided a central location for a full view of the events calendar and all company announcements/news are posted which eliminates the need for mass emails. In addition, operational tasks are handled such as parking availability and boardroom bookings are easily viewed and booked through SharePoint.
Following implementation of this solution, a partner's laptop crashed while on a road trip. Although the situation was stressful, this person was able to log onto the web service from another computer and access all email, calendar and necessary files. He was able to continue with a successful trip and not lose touch with the business at hand and back at the office. Without this solution, he would have been stuck. This was an important moment for IHHP as the realization of "it's all safe and available in the cloud" became a sudden reality. The true benefits of the solution were felt that day. Business continued as usual.