Prysmian & Microsoft: transforming business with smart working and cloud

‘Smart working’ is improving productivity and work-life balance for employees at the group’s HQ. All HQ employees have switched from desktop computers to notebooks, and C-level staff have adopted 2-in-1 Microsoft Surface convertible laptops for instant access to tools and information at any time, from any location. Enterprise social networking service Yammer, acquired by Microsoft in 2012, facilitates content sharing and collaboration. The introduction of Office 365 has already resulted in enhanced productivity, reduced environmental impact and efficiency gains. The new way of working is more environmentally friendly. Paper use has fallen by 60%, there are fewer printers and country meetings are now organised exclusively through Skype for Business. A similar project will be undertaken at Prysmian Group’s new building in Brazil, which will have the Milan HQ as a reference.

 

4ward, a Gold Partner in Cloud Productivity and Communication, integrated Skype for Business with existing solutions, minimising impact and speeding up implementation. International offices are connected with cloud-based Skype for Business communication and collaboration tools, eliminating lag and sync issues and improving call quality. Users in different countries simply call a local number supported by the Microsoft network, optimising costs and making service more reliable and secure.

Application architecture components such as SharePoint have been migrated onto the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The entire Azure authentication process has been implemented by installing Active Directory Federation Services to assure optimal security logic. Cloud and digitalisation of the Private Branch Exchange (PBX) network are offering a number of small offices in APAC increased flexibility by centralising operations.

 

IT efficiencies are significant, with software installations and automatic updates supported by the cloud. The collaboration between Prysmian and Microsoft is already proving successful. This is reflected in time and cost savings, whilst resources may now be freely allocated to added value projects.