Customer Solution Case Study
/ Events Planner Excites Employees and IT Team with Move from Google to Office 365
“One of the key benefits of Office 365 is the way all products in the suite work seamlessly together.... It’s a brilliant solution that is easy to use, easy to build, and full of great features.”
Gehan Madhanayake, Head of IT, dmg Events Middle East & Asia
dmg Events Middle East & Asia wanted to transition from an on-premises email system to a cloud-based solution. The company moved to Gmail, but employees were frustrated by the interface and the IT team was burdened due to lack of support. So, dmg migrated to Microsoft Office 365, and it has been very pleased with the robust email provided by Microsoft Exchange Online, in addition to the many features of SharePoint Online and Lync Online.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published April 2013
Business Needs
dmg Events Middle East & Asia in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust, one of the largest media companies in the United Kingdom. The Middle East & Asia division was founded in 1995, and its 150 employees produce exhibitions, conferences, events, and publications across the energy, construction, hospitality, commercial, residential, and interiors industry sectors in the Middle East and Asia.
Prior to 2011, dmg used an email system based on Microsoft Exchange Server and running in its parent company’s UK data center. “We had some problems due to the time difference with the United Kingdom, and the fact that our work week runs Sunday to Thursday,” says Gehan Madhanayake, Head of IT at dmg Events Middle East & Asia. “It was sometimes difficult to get timely support when we had email issues.”
dmg decided that a cloud-based email solution was a good way to avoid dependence on on-premises hardware and support. “I had seen a demo of Microsoft Office 365, and I was impressed. But at the time, it was not available in the Middle East,” notes Gehan. “Given our pressing need for a cloud solution, we felt that Gmail would be our best option.”
The company moved to Gmail in November 2011, and the transition was rough. Users lost email messages, they found the Gmail interface cluttered and difficult to use, and the email editor in the Google Chrome browser lacked the formatting features that employees were used to in the Microsoft Office Outlook messaging and collaboration client. dmg also planned to use Google Docs, but employees were so frustrated by the email system that few of them wanted to try it. Additionally, IT staff members were frustrated by problems getting support from Google.
In mid-2012, as the renewal date for the company’s Google contract approached, dmg made the decision to find a new email system.
Solution
By this time, Office 365 was available in the region, so dmg chose to move its email to Microsoft Exchange Online. To ease the transition, the company engaged the services of LiveRoute, a Dubai-based member of the Microsoft Partner Network with Gold competencies specializing in Office 365 and other Microsoft cloud solutions. LiveRoute provided project management, technical expertise, and key migration tools.
“Google blocks automatic direct email forwarding to Office 365, which can make a migration difficult,” explains Faisal Zafar, Director of Operations at LiveRoute. “But we have developed tools to get around that, so dmg was able to run its old Gmail system and its new Exchange Online solution in parallel to ensure a seamless transition with no lost email.”
The migration team completed the entire process in only two weeks, migrating mailboxes one department at a time. So far, employees have been pleased. “Our employees are very happy to use Outlook, and they love the Outlook Web App interface,” says Gehan. “Department managers have reported that their teams are working more effectively, and Office 365 has made it easier for people to connect remotely so that they can be more mobile.”
In addition to Exchange Online, dmg is excited by other products in the Office 365 suite. Employees are now communicating with each other using Microsoft Lync Online, and dmg is building a new intranet based on Microsoft SharePoint Online. “With SharePoint Online we can easily create an intranet which is customized to our needs and which can grow with the company,” says Gehan. “And Lync Online makes it easy to see who is logged in and to contact them no matter where they are in the world.”
Benefits
With its move from Gmail to Office 365, dmg has given its employees a robust, reliable, easy-to-use and easy-to-manage email system, in addition to a convenient messaging tool. The company will also soon have a new intranet that integrates with its other Microsoft solutions.
Increased Productivity
dmg users were frustrated by the Gmail interface, and that impacted their day-to-day work. “One problem with Gmail was that it negatively affected productivity,” says Gehan. “The learning curve was steep and people often couldn’t find the features they wanted. Now that we are using Office 365, employees are happy with the ease of use, and department heads are happy because people are more productive than when we had Gmail.”
Simplified Administration
Moving to Gmail took dmg to the cloud and reduced its dependence on on-premises hardware, but the company had difficulties using the solution, and it was a challenge to get support from Google to solve issues. Since moving to Office 365, the IT team has seen a drop in email support calls from users by 50 to 60 percent. “IT support call volume has decreased significantly since we transitioned away from Gmail, giving our IT team more time to focus on new and existing projects, rather than responding to problems,” saysGehan.
Integrated Applications
The difficulties with Gmail prevented dmg from using other online tools from Google, like Google Docs. With Office 365, the company is excited by the way email integrates with other Microsoft applications. “One of the key benefits of Office 365 is the way all products in the suite work seamlessly together,” says Gehan. “Once the intranet is online, employees will be able to log on to a single portal to access email, communicate with colleagues, download documents, view event calendars, create online forms, and create workflowsto automate approval processes.It’s a brilliant solution that is easy to use, easy to build, and full of great features.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published April 2013