Client: NürnbergMesse GmbH
The NürnbergMesse Group is one of the 15 largest trade fair companies in the world. It consists of NürnbergMesse GmbH and its 15 subsidiaries and affiliates. Around 900 employees work for the company at eleven locations in Germany, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Greece, Austria and the USA. In addition, the NürnbergMesse Group has a network of international representatives in over 100 countries.
The portfolio comprises around 120 trade fairs and congresses, which focus on five theme areas as in-person events and digital events: Retail & Consumer Goods, Building & Construction, Process Technology, Electronics & Security, and Social & Public. Their events secure jobs and generate billions in tax revenue and purchasing power effects annually. This makes NürnbergMesse an important economic engine for the Nuremberg metropolitan region and all of Germany.
Initial Situation and Challenges
At the end of October 2020, NürnbergMesse contacted us with the requirement to support them in replacing and transitioning from “Skype4Business” (based on Microsoft365 Service) to Microsoft Teams. As they had already had positive experiences with Microsoft Teams in a small business area, the transition was to take place as quickly as possible.
It was quickly agreed that before starting the transition to Microsoft Teams, the topic of Microsoft365 needed to be considered holistically. In order to precisely structure all requirements and expected challenges in the project from the beginning, it was essential to define a clear roadmap and include it in the strategy.
Therefore, the focus of the project in a first phase was on a technically innovative but also temporally feasible introduction of the essential functions of Microsoft Teams. It was always important to keep in mind how the other services could be integrated in 2021.
With digatus, we have found a very competent partner who accompanies us on our journey into the Microsoft365 world. Together, we introduced Microsoft Teams with some additional functions within a few months, bringing great benefits to NürnbergMesse. We are pleased that digatus continues to support us on our further path to the workplace of the future.
Dirk Zapp – Head of Technology Operations, NürnbergMesse GmbH
Solution
We began with strategic workshops to gain a deeper understanding of the people and processes within the company. Additionally, through short, effective workshop series, we examined all relevant existing IT infrastructures in the company to identify major problems early on and, above all, to define preliminary project activities.
All these experiences and insights were incorporated into an initial high-level roadmap (2021-2023), which was integrated into the final presentation. This presentation served as the basis for all further discussions between IT and the company organization, providing a clear picture from the outset of how the transition would proceed and which topics should be considered.
Following these preparatory measures, the first phase could be specifically initiated, which initially involved planning all activities for a successful transition to and implementation of Microsoft Teams.
The project implementation began in February 2021 and was scheduled for a project duration of five months. At the project’s start, all necessary initial adjustments that needed to be completed before the transition were carried out. This meant that authentication, identity management issues, and security settings had to be revised and redefined.
In parallel, we supported the client in preparing all necessary information, as well as training sessions for employees. Before the company-wide transition to Microsoft Teams, a trial run was first conducted with a small group. To ensure that these test users could later share their experiences with their colleagues, great emphasis was placed on the correct use of the applications, especially during the training sessions.
For a sustainable and structured approach to implementation, a three-phase model was defined to activate the Microsoft Teams functions. Furthermore, it was essential to ensure that employees could manage their new structures in a structured and simple manner. Therefore, we established our partner ExpertInside’s product EasyLife365 to implement both IT governance and company-specific requirements in a simple and employee-driven way.
In mid-June, the three phases of the transition were launched, and by mid-July, all employees were able to gain their first experiences in the new environment. Due to the intensive training during the test phase, the client was able to conduct internal training independently during this phase.
Customer Benefits
In such client projects, we define our recommendations and actions as if it were our own company, ensuring long-term success. To achieve this, we master the speed of changes, organizational transitions, and technical hurdles together with the company and implement all necessary steps with the client.
But the most important thing for us is: The client’s employees must be involved, not just once during the project, but over an extended period within the organization. This requires intensive engagement with the challenges and structures within the company before new technologies can be meaningfully implemented.
In this project, the goal was for NürnbergMesse to establish a smooth entry into the new technologies. This was achieved with a 4.5-star rating in an internal survey, leading to further steps towards new and flexible technologies being initiated in a subsequent phase.
Through the structured introduction, initial special, business-related requirements could also be addressed, which play a crucial role especially during the pandemic in organizing and positioning new ideas and concepts more quickly.
