Digital Transformation Starts

Business success has its pains. Rapid growth creates several challenges, the most important of those being how to handle that growth. As organizations quickly climb to new heights, employees find themselves flunked with work, trying to respond quickly to problems using the tools at hand.  

Tools that are often deployed without a plan, hoping that just making them available to the teams will solve the problems they were aimed at resolving. That was the case with Maresa Corporation. A leader in the automotive sector representing major automotive brands such as Chrysler/ Jeep/ Dodge, Mazda, and Fiat in Ecuador and employing more than 2000 people, which for Ecuador constitutes an exceptionally large enterprise. But a leader is in pain. Suffering from overloaded communications, with managerial staff receiving upwards of one thousand emails per week, and barely responding to three or four hundred of those.  

Several disconnected teams, scattered information, and lack of collaboration resulted in less productivity, added costs, and growing frustrations. A recipe for continued failure, made worse because the company leadership is accustomed to holding endless meetings, communicating solely by email, and having individuals work on their own to achieve.  

There came Fabian Eguiguren, Corporate Director of Maresa Corporation, with a clear message. “Let us get rid of unnecessary emails. Be brief and put a limit to this sort of communication. The fewer emails I receive, the better we are functioning” Fabian was not alone in wishing for fewer emails and more direct collaboration, but a meaningful change of attitude was needed.  

Our hero, Enrique Cruz, Head of Intelligence and Communications, took the lead in making this happen. He decided to call Cloudtivity, his supplier of choice for Microsoft licensing and services. He called Ximena Alcivar, his trusted advisor at Cloudtivity. He had a dream. He wanted their staff to collaborate in teams, share documents online, broadcast videos for training and sales, have access to company news and he wished for the entire company to work as one towards becoming a service-oriented enterprise, with an emphasis on customer satisfaction.  

Ximena had the right solution. So, she told Enrique Cruz “Why do we not put all the power of Microsoft 365 to the service of your company goals?” Forget about email and on-premises meetings, company travels, and tired team members. Why do we not use Teams, Planner, Stream, Flow, and SharePoint and build a platform of shared strengths? Enrique said: “Is that even possible? Our staff is so used to working the old way…I mean, we have Microsoft 365. But there are several applications we hardly ever use. Our staff mostly uses email and Skype. Do you think they will adapt?” Ximena replied: “everything is possible with the power of Microsoft 365 and our own Cloud Productivity Enhancement Solution.” And so, together they started dreaming of what they could do with what they had, and what they needed to invest in to make it happen.  

They talked about project timelines, deadlines, and steps to take. They are involved in Marketing and Human Resources so their project would reach everyone at the corporation. Ximena had done it for other customers, so she had a clear picture of what was needed. She included change management, marketing stands, training, raffles, awards. The whole nine yards. It was not easy though. However, our heroes Enrique and Ximena never gave up. Today, Maresa Corp has seen a sizable reduction in email exchange. Meetings using Microsoft Teams are now the norm, as new teams are created every day. Yammer is now extremely active, and Stream is used to share video content. Information and news are now available to all, and not just a few.  

Today, all Maresa Corp employees can sell to potential customers. By opening SharePoint on their mobile phones, they can stream videos of the cars sold by the corporation to family, friends, and others. If the car is sold, no matter who the employee is that initiated the sale, he or she will get a bonus for having shown their products to a potential customer that made a purchase.  

Maresa Corp has migrated from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams for collaboration and meetings. Microsoft Teams hold documents, chats, and online meetings, where members of the staff share their knowledge and collaborate on shared documents to reach their goals faster. Yammer is now the tool to share the news. Team members across the country share their pictures, videos, and comments with others using Yammer. News travels faster, and more people get involved when things are shared.  

Staff recognition has spiked, and so has the overall morale of the team. Usage reports of Microsoft 365 see a reduction in emails close to 20%, and growth in the use of Microsoft Teams (1000%), Yammer (800%), Stream, and Flow. The management at Maresa Corp has recognized the success achieved and is now planning to add users that were not before considered for Microsoft 365, such as mechanics at their dealerships. This has resulted not only in making use of existing licenses but also in creating additional sales of licenses. Because everyone should get involved and now Maresa Corp wants every staff member to get involved. 

Cloudtivity, with its integrated “Cloud Productivity Enhancement Solution” has made possible a change of ways for customers like Maresa Corp. Cloudtivity’s Cloud Productivity Enhancement Solutions utilizes Microsoft SharePoint, Teams, Flow, Yammer, and Stream, and a component of change management, in a solution that turns several separate applications into an integrated set of tools that work together to enhance collaboration and teamwork. Cloudtivity’s Cloud Productivity Enhancement Solution is accessible from a single portal built on Microsoft SharePoint and tailored to the industry vertical the customer belongs to.  

Customers such as Fundación Espoir, Automotores y Anexos, Renovallanta, Datafast, Hidalgo & Hidalgo and many others are also taking advantage of it. Microsoft Ecuador is involved too. In the case of Maresa Corp, we maintained a line of communication with their corporate account manager, our partner account manager, and the head of the local subsidiary, involving all available talent as documented to make this project a total success. 

Cloudtivity is the Microsoft trusted provider of cloud services in the region, with an outstanding Gold Partnership. Its mission is to “Empower organizations of all sizes to create business advantage by adopting digital transformation.” Cloudtivity’s unique formula is to help organizations lead the way through the smart use of technology so that they can continue to serve their customers and employees. The main priority is to establish the ultimate customer experience driving transformational changes. 

(*) Our hero Ximena Alcivar has sizable experience in delivering solutions to leading enterprises in Ecuador. Maresa Corporation is only one of these customers. Many other entities are benefiting from the strength of Cloudtivity’s customer portal, where licenses and services are bought with only a couple of clicks. The Cloudtivity Customer Portal makes it easy to gain insights into software spending and provides the ability to adjust the subscriptions and purchase new cloud products in real-time.  

Now it is immediately provisioned and deployed. That separates Cloudtivity from any other supplier, as we are the only Microsoft Cloud Solution provider that offers an automated way to source Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Cloudtivity also holds several competencies that are jointly applied to cases like this. A roster of Microsoft Certified Trainers provides training to final users. Engineers design advanced workflows that simplify decision-making processes. We drive customers to solutions. Solutions for humans at work. Using intelligence. 

Problem:  

Growing companies struggle to keep a lean flow of communications within all organization levels to accompany the increase of workflow generated when they are successful and expand.  

When traditional methods of communication (email, meetings, and chat) become cumbersome, productivity is hindered and can have a real impact on performance at all levels. 

Solution:  

Deploying our Cloud Productivity Enhancement Solutions allows thriving companies to ensure that C-level and staff maintain streamlined communications to ensure they keep focused on achieving business goals