​​Setting up a good governance in Microsoft Teams is standard practice. Tomorrow’s challenges lie elsewhere.​

By Oliver Zeiser, Director Software Development at MondayCoffee.  

Reporting, naming, conventions, lifecycle management for teams and users, policies, approval processes or templates - you need to have all of this under control to enable secure, modern work. And even more so to scale with the organization or adapt to changing conditions in real time. Numerous providers for this can be found today. Microsoft itself has recognized the need for governance tools and offers solutions or has announced them, as the following examples illustrate:  

• Sensitivity labels: Use sensitivity labels to protect content in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 groups, and SharePoint sites (to the article).  

• Teams app policies: Know about policies to manage access and installation of Teams apps (to the article)   

• Sites lifecycle policies: SharePoint data access governance (DAG) insights V1 - general availability (to the article)   

• Microsoft 365 groups naming policy (to the article)   

• Access reviews in Azure Active Directory (to the article)   

• MS governance reports (to the article) 

So what issues should you be addressing today? What steps are worth taking to ensure that IT remains capable of operating and that users can concentrate on their core tasks?  

At MondayCoffee, we have been thinking about this for a long time. I would like to share some of these thoughts with you in this post.   

Having the ‘after’ under control is even more important than the ‘before’ 

It's clear that a good template engine should offer much more than the standard elements such as teams, settings, channels and tabs.   

For example, what about:  

• Planner tasks, buckets or labels?   

• Or with the underlying SharePoint sites, pages, lists and libraries, content, columns, content types or SharePoint permissions?   

• What about flows? Or with group settings, logos, colors, branding?   

And of course, WYSIWYG!   

A good template engine can do it all. Reproducing identical teams or workspaces using templates is a must. 

But what happens, once a team has been provisioned? What if the users need another private channel, for example? Or another library in the SharePoint site underlying it? 

Shouldn't this all be based on templates and defined governance rules, as well?   

The initial creation of new teams and workspaces and the clean handover to the users is important, but even more important is what they do with their teams afterwards!   

With our Modern-Work-Solution, CoffeeNet 365, end users are not left alone with their teams 'afterwards'. They go through a controlled framework and receive assistance in meeting the organization's policies without being hindered in their actual work and role.   

For example, end users have centrally managed templates for individual team channels, as well as templates for lists and libraries. These make it easy for them to expand their workspaces or adapt them to their needs, even at a later date. And in doing so, they also comply with the company's specified governance rules as a matter of fact, without having to pay attention. 

Continuous changes must be anticipated    

What happens to existing team workspaces when requirements change or new functionalities are to be added?  

Lifecycle management should also, but not only, focus on "sorting out" - archiving and deleting – teams that are no longer in use. Much more important are the teams that are still in use.   

With CoffeeNet 365, changes to templates and governance rules can be easily applied to existing workspaces, even after they have been created, so that they are always up to the latest standard.   

Another use case is also worth anticipating: A team that has already been created needs to be transferred from one template to another. What may have started as a small workgroup may eventually evolve into a project.   

Then the team should also correspond to the project template and get the appropriate features and settings for it. With the Switch Template Feature of CoffeeNet 365, this is possible with just a few clicks. It eliminates the need for time-consuming migration of content.  

Whatever is not there yet, can be done quickly with CoffeeNet 365

Many IT departments rushed the introduction of Microsoft Teams during the pandemic. There was no time for planning and orderly rollout process. Sorting out the mess is still on the minds of some. 

A modern template engine must also be able to bring existing teams workspaces into the ordered structures and configure them according to current governance requirements. Subsequently applying templates to already created teams is possible with little effort using CoffeeNet 365's Apply Template-Feature.  

Detected, reported, resolved in real time   

Of course, governance violations are bound to occur in day-to-day operations. It's not always possible to cover everything technically. Microsoft simply does not offer the necessary options and APIs. Therefore, a strategy for dealing with such cases is inevitable.  

A classic approach to reacting to governance violations would probably be: Reporting!   

IT sees the teams in the reports, which are not compliant. Which, conversely, means that a person in IT must regularly look at the reports and reach out to the users.   

This effort can be saved - with CoffeeNet 365's powerful rule engine and simple IF-THEN rules that can be created by IT and tailored specifically to the templates.  

Any governance violations are thus automatically detected in real time. An MS flow is started, which on the one hand resets the settings and on the other hand reminds the user again of the current governance rules. And not only that. The user can be offered additional help or a ticket can be created directly in the IT ticketing system. Or both. 

Improving the user experience  

The CoffeeNet 365 Rule Engine can also be used to improve the user experience.   

For example, when new users are added to a team, they automatically receive a welcome message, such as an email or chat. The message can be customized and personalized for external guests accordingly.   

If it’s an internal user, a rule can be defined that he or she is immediately added to a private channel ("Internal only"). Without the owner of the team having to do this manually over and over again. The Rule Engine of CoffeeNet 365 also offers such possibilities; and these are configured with just a few clicks.  

The use cases of the CoffeeNet 365 Rule Engine are almost unlimited.   

But it is through such tools that automation is possible, helping end users comply with governance in the long run and quite incidentally.  

Rule the rules 

It goes without saying that the rules in the Rule Engine may have to be changed and adapted centrally at any time. Only then is true teams governance possible, which does not prevent users from doing their work and sharing knowledge but supports them in doing so. And, meanwhile, IT retains full control at all times and remains flexible and responsive.   

What could be more important in today’s rapidly and constantly changing age of cloud?  

The workspace explosion

How we can avoid it with life cycle management

In the cross-linked organization, everyone and everything is connected with each other. Employees participate and shape in a wide variety of constellations. New teams, workgroups or communities of purpose are formed every day.

They organize themselves digitally, independently, in virtual workspaces that can be opened quickly and easily with a click.

And when the team is finished with the project, the workgroup dissolves or the community of purpose has fulfilled its purpose, then...

...the digital workspaces are left behind. Many have the potential to become productivity hogs. If it weren't for the functionality of lifecycle management (LCM).

Workspaces have a lifecycle

Our Modern Work solution for Microsoft 365 enables decentralized self-organization for employees and teams. Depending on the situation, standardized, virtual workspaces - in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint - can be created for teamwork.

As Microsoft 365 gets adoption throughout the organization, the number of workspaces increases. Many are used for just a short time, some are created for testing purposes only, and others serve a longer-term purpose.

All workspaces have a lifecycle. In MondayCoffee's Modern Work solution CoffeeNet 365, lifecycle management of workspaces is already integrated to reduce the risk of losing overview and productivity.

Open with a click, close automatically

Microsoft Teams workspaces can be archived manually (which no one does), but there is no automatic mechanism available. Moreover, the associated SharePoint sites remain unaffected.

The LCM of CoffeeNet 365 enables the archiving of Microsoft Teams workspaces AND associated SharePoint sites at the same time to ensure overview and orientation:

• Archived workspaces have corresponding labels in Microsoft Teams and in SharePoint. That way, users immediately understand that an archived workspace no longer functions the same as it did before, in its "active" state.

• Functionally, this means that users have read-only rights in the archived workspace.

• Optionally, archived workspaces can also be hidden from M365 search so that users have less need to search irrelevant items.

Friendly Reminder

CoffeeNet 365's LCM works with automations to reliably remind workspace owners that they should archive or delete virtual spaces according to predefined criteria:

• So-called LCM policies (automatic guidelines) determine after how many days of inactivity workspace archiving should take place. This ensures automatic sorting out of unused workspaces and relieves their owners.

• LCM policies can also be based on more sophisticated criteria, e.g. based on a date field defined in the workspace (e.g. 1 year after the "project end date").

• CoffeeNet 365's LCM also allows multi-level actions, e.g. deletion 2 years after the workspace has been archived. There are countless options available.

• In case workspace owners do not respond to the request to archive, this is taken care of: a time-delayed escalation ensures that necessary action will be taken, e.g. if the owner has left the organization meanwhile.

For more productivity

Complexity and fast pace will continue to shape our working world. At MondayCoffee we want to make working life as easy as possible for employees. Our feature LCM pays off on our promise - with the following benefits:

• Increased user productivity when dealing with many workspaces, as those that are inactive are automatically archived or deleted.

• Valuable additions to existing Microsoft functionality - at no additional licensing cost - for a more comprehensive, multi-level and versatile LCM of Teams Workspaces and SharePoint Sites.

Would you like to learn more about this topic or our Modern Work Solution? We look forward to hearing from you.

Get in touch

Contact: LCM

Modern Work: Proper preparation prevents chaos

In the Modern Work environment, as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Moving to the cloud is a good start. But to realize the many benefits in the hybrid, the tools must also be configured and used correctly.

Public cloud platforms such as Microsoft 365 play a central role in the digital transformation of companies: the workforce demands apps such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 for working in the hybrid, and CIOs are tasked with realizing cost-saving potential by replacing expensive on-premises solutions.

But what happens after that?

Once Microsoft Teams has been installed on employees' PCs and mobiles?

The first impression: simple and flexible

The superficially simple usability is followed by various chaos scenarios, because IT, users, management are often unaware of the challenges of the many hidden settings of Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams is a very versatile application. In addition to telephony, conferencing and chats for communication, there are Teams and Channels for collaboration. More and more additional functions are being integrated. The goal is to integrate formerly separate applications into one interface that works for all devices and delivers on the promise of simplicity and flexibility to users.

At length, it can get messy

Yes, the apps are easy to use. But it's the ease of use that is the bane of many companies - namely, where users work uncontrollably with the various Microsoft applications.

Untangling Babylonian Confusion

The multi-layered nature of Microsoft 365 often means that no one can see or keep track of the big picture in order to manage the necessary digital transformation.

At MondayCoffee we focus on a holistic and integrated approach consisting of software, business consulting, engineering and adoption. This way we address different target groups in the organization and meet their needs and goals.

For business departments and individual employees, we improve the user experience and provide them with additional functions for more productivity in work and collaboration.

For IT, we enable efficient management of an orderly and secure Modern Work environment through automation and standards.

We accompany the management on their way to modern and secure work.

Want to know more? We look forward to an exchange with you.

Get in touch

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Are we communicating, or still on the phone?

Screen sharing killed the audio call - at the latest since the pandemic. Meetings are being held by video conference. The telephone number is almost obsolete. About the advantages of integrated telephony in Microsoft Teams with CoffeeNet 365.

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TELEPHONY AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF COLLABORATION

Today, even sophisticated telephony requirements can be implemented directly in Microsoft Teams and with our modern workplace solution CoffeeNet 365. Companies no longer think of telephony as a separate special topic - with separate systems and providers - but as one of several reliable communication formats for a modern way of working.

Technical capabilities allow us to think of telephony as an integratited part of collaboration. It no longer has to be locked into a technical silo. The different systems are getting closer and closer together, and that's a good thing:

• Telephony systems

• Contact center solutions

• Video conferencing systems in meeting rooms

• Collaboration software

• Intranet software

• Fileshare systems

• Workflow software

Employees want simple solutions - everything together, without context switching. A platform that puts everything they need, and more importantly, at their fingertips.

A SELF-EXPLANATORY, DIGITALLY INTEGRATED WORKPLACE

Microsoft Teams has brought us closer to that goal. The pandemic massively increased the pressure for change and adoption of digital working.

We have fully integrated Microsoft Teams into our Modern Workplace solution so that employees and organizations - small and large - can tap into its potential. With Microsoft Teams as an integrating interface, the various communication formats can be selected on a use-case basis - independently of time, location and device.

• Chat for informal communication - as a group or bilaterally

• Calling and video conferencing with screen sharing for collaboration in real time - also integrated in the physical meeting rooms.

• Intranet functionalities for presenting information and sharing knowledge

• Document management for storing and collaborating on documents

• Bundling of all communication channels in a central platform (contact center)

Telephony is one of several reliable communication modes for a modern way of working.

We are convinced that an overall concept for all these communication formats - voice, video, screen sharing, connection to a secure file storage - brings many advantages. So that everything fits together in a secure, structured and self-explanatory for way the employee. We are constantly advancing our CoffeeNet 365 modern workplace solution with this goal in mind.

We have already implemented telefony integration for several customers. And often, this very step became the driver for a modern and increasingly digital way of working.

On the one hand, we bring the technical expertise for the individual applications. On the other hand, our experience and knowledge in dealing with the employees - with the business, contributes to a successful adoption.

As we all know, providing digital capabilities does not make the organization more digital. I don't dial the phone anymore, I share - but only if I also understand the benefit behind it and can translate it into added value.

Get in touch

Contact

Everything just a few clicks away

"Didn't know that!"

"I missed that news."

"I didn't hear about that."

Since the hybrid world of work has helped define the New Normal, statements like this from employees have become more frequent. We no longer feel as strongly integrated as part of a team as we once did. The employer has become more abstract.

While I used to catch the latest company gossip during my coffee break, nowadays a lot of things remain hidden from me. Partly even things that an employee needs to know to be efficient, to be innovative and to drive company growth.

EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT MUST BE PUT BACK ON THE AGENDA

The virtual portion of cultural interaction between companies and employees and among employees, has become an much more important role.

With Viva Connections, Microsoft brings a technical solution - especially for mobile users - to strengthen the sense of togetherness.

We have integrated the new functionalities and benefits of Viva Connections into our Modern Workplace solution. So that employees can keep their finger on the pulse of what's happening every day, even if they're not always on site.    

PERSONALIZED NEWS FEED 

Using our Modern Workplace solution, employees can access their personalized news feed directly on the Microsoft Teams app. Posts can be liked, commented on, forwarded or even saved - just like you're used to on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.  

The news feed brings the latest or most relevant content directly into employees' field of sight - wherever they are. 

YOUR OWN WORK MANAGEMENT DASHBOARD

Especially when you're on the road, accessing your most important documents, communications, tasks, meetings, etc., can be complicated. Not with our Modern Workplace solution. Through Microsoft Teams, each employee has their own dashboard at their fingertips, with personalized quick links to everything they need day-to-day.

Linked items are:

• Tasks from Microsoft Planner that need to be completed,

• documents that have been recently edited,

• meetings that will take place soon,

• workspaces that have been visited frequently,

• approvals that are pending or that you want to record,

• and much more

GOODBYE BROWSER!

Another advantage of integrating all Microsoft technologies through our modern workplace solution is the elimination of the browser. Employees have the ability to manage their day-to-day work in a secure, regulated and uncomplicated way via the Microsoft Teams app. That way, nothing stands in the way of the hybrid work model.

Would you like to learn more? Arrange a meeting with us.

Get in touch

Contact

Setting the course for Modern Work

If we were to ask people of different generations about the way they worked then and now, the statements could not be more different. The world of work has changed fundamentally.

People spend 80% of their time working together. Remote work and hybrid work have finally taken hold with Corona.

Traditional organizational models are reaching their limits in our fast-paced world, as are many employees struggling with data overload and continuous distraction.

Two questions get asked:

• How can management establish an organization that is reliable and efficient, yet fast and agile to operate successfully in a fast-paced environment?

• How do they ensure employee satisfaction and well-being in the process?

The immediate answer: Digital transformation. Technology.

Our answer: A new way of working.

Studies show a productivity increase potential of 20-25% through the use of collaboration tools. However, only those companies that adapt their way of working, encourage open communication and knowledge sharing, and bring a networked organization to life will be able to realize the potential.

7 GOLDEN RULES OF A MODERN WAY OF WORKING

Over the past 20 years, we have had the privilege of accompanying a number of companies on their journey towards a more modern way of working. The following 7 golden rules for a modern way of working have emerged:

1. Networked organization instead of rigid silos

2. Hybrid collaboration culture

3. Scalable collaboration standards

4. Reduction of redundant information

5. Open communication as default

6. (Pro-)active knowledge exchange

7. Increased autonomy of employees

FROM THE RULES TO ADOPTION

How do you create the right conditions for these rules to be applied? How do you get employees to want to comply with them?

We have developed our own Modern Work solution for this purpose.

It focuses on employees and their work scenarios. In dialog with them, we want to understand how they work today - as individual workers, in departments, in teams, on projects or in work groups. With our out-of-the-box modern workplace solution and best-practice configuration of Microsoft 365 technologies, we then demonstrate directly how their work steps and work processes can be digitized and made more efficient as individual workers or in collaboration with others. Most importantly, we let them personally experience how a more modern way of working can simplify everyday work. More independence. Faster knowledge retrieval. Easier communication. Users don't have to focus on the tools, it is about the new way of working.

ORGANIZATION-WIDE SCALING OF MODERN COLLABORATION

We store and configure the individual work scenarios as corporate standards and on the basis of best-practice templates in our Modern Work solution. This enables the organization-wide scaling of long-term orderly and structured collaboration with Microsoft 365, while ensuring the necessary governance and security in a networked organization.

We were recently awarded by Microsoft for our expertise on the topic of 'Adoption & Change Management'.

Would you like to better understand the potential of a modern way of working in your organization? Our experts are looking forward to an exchange with you.

Get in touch

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The digital optimists

THE CIRCLE

Microsoft Switzerland will soon be moving into the CIRCLE at the airport Zurich. There is plenty of open space and collaboration rooms of all sizes for the approximately 400 employees in the Zurich region. Classic focus workstations, on the other hand, are down to 88. Hybrid working is no longer a vision of the future. We spoke with Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland, about the hybrid future. This much is certain: we have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now.

Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland

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Mr. Holitscher - around 400 of Microsoft Switzerland's 600 employees will soon be moving into the CIRCLE. What awaits them?

Not a place to write emails or make phone calls, but a place to meet and innovate.

Microsoft has been using remote work principles since 2012. Already in Wallisellen, the focus was on communal spaces. What is different in the CIRCLE? Had the pandemic led to short-term changes in the room design?

We have rented another 1,000 m² for the Microsoft Technology Center, which will open its doors in January 2022. There we want to meet with customers to discuss new technologies and bring them to life.

70 percent of our office space in the CIRCLE is also open to our partners and customers. We want to come into the office to innovate together. This trend has intensified once again. In Wallisellen, there were 290 focus workplaces. In CIRCLE, there are still 88.

A clear sign that physical presence is not required for employees.

Yes. With us - with a few exceptions - no one has to be on site. The individual teams should organize among themselves - in a way that it's right for the customer, but also for each individual team member. Studies show that people do want to get together. We want to offer attractive opportunities for this in our space in the CIRCLE.

You address the paradox that Microsoft's annual Work Trend Index highlights: 71 percent of the Swiss employees surveyed would like the hybrid work model, and over 70 percent would like to spend more time physically with their teams. Does Microsoft already have answers to this?

Technology makes many things possible. The experience of hybrid meetings, for example, is improving continuously - with Microsoft Teams, but also thanks to modern infrastructure in meeting rooms. Speakers and cameras automatically focus on the person who is speaking. The meeting rooms here at CIRCLE have been designed and equipped to ensure an optimal meeting experience for people on-site and virtually.

Technology allows for flexibility. Spaces can be customized. We should use that to our advantage - for the well-being of employees as much as for the long-term success of the company.

Since the pandemic, Microsoft Teams is probably as well known to typical Swiss citizens as Migros or Coop. What do you make of it?

We're enormously proud that we've been able to empower so many people to use Teams to continue working, continue their studies, or simply stay in touch with family and friends. At the same time, it was and is a huge responsibility and a real stress test for the system. The good news: our data centers passed the test. The enormous and rapid demand could not have been cushioned with any other infrastructure. It is gratifying to see that more and more companies are making use of the benefits of the Microsoft Cloud in Switzerland and that Microsoft Teams is becoming the center of everyday work.

“The hybrid is a reality. People want to work this way. We have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now.”

Technologically, some Swiss companies have made a leap forward. They have brought their infrastructure up to date. But Microsoft also often talks about culture. The new Microsoft Technology Center wants make technology tangible. After infrastructure, where do CH companies still have the most catching up to do in order to successfully create a hybrid working model?

At Microsoft, we live in a kind of bubble in terms of technology. At many companies, there are still people who don't have mobile devices. No webcams. That's where we're in a very privileged situation at Microsoft. We have and get everything to fully embrace the hybrid work model.

We think the 3 Ps are paramount for a hybrid future.

PEOPLE: People need to understand and be able to assess how they can use technology to improve things for themselves. This requires regular education and training.

PLACES: Spaces need to be redesigned to serve different purposes and new needs.

PROCESS: Every single process, no matter how small, must be put to the test and rethought.

For example, how will we handle confidential documents that exist only on paper in the future? Can confidential documents be taken home? How do we ensure that we get the necessary signatures for contracts when not everyone is working on site anymore?

We have a unique opportunity to completely rethink the way we work now. The hybrid is a reality. People want to work this way - for Generation Z, anything else would be unthinkable.

Jedes Unternehmen braucht jetzt einen genauen Plan, wie man in Zukunft physisch und digital verbindet. Aber wir brauchen dafür auch die richtigen regulatorischen Rahmenbedingungen, die es uns ermöglichen, modernste Technologien einzusetzen. Die heutigen Gesetze wurden teils vor der Internet-Ära gemacht. Auch sie müssen neu gedacht werden. Dies soll verantwortungsvoll und keinesfalls auf Kosten von nicht verhandelbaren Werten wie Transparenz, Sicherheit oder dem Schutz der Privatsphäre geschehen.

Wir bei Microsoft sind digitale Optimisten. Wir glauben daran, dass sich eine hybride Welt schaffen lässt, in der wir erfolgreicher zusammenarbeiten und besser leben.

Mobile, desk-less - close to the customer: Why the digitization of frontline workplaces pays off

What do a ski instructor and a factory maintenance worker have in common? They are often forgotten when it comes to digitizing the workplace - with the aim of simplifying collaboration and communication. Perhaps because they don't have a workplace in the classic sense. Maybe also because it's harder to reach them. At least, that used to be the case.

Today, technology (software and hardware) has advanced to the point where there's no reason not to tap the potential of frontline employees. After all, they are the ones who have the greatest impact on the customer experience, guarantee the quality of products or keep production running.

At MondayCoffee, we also used to focus on knowledge workers. Today it's different. The ski instructor and the factory maintenance worker can benefit just as much from our Modern Workplace solution, because with dedicated use cases the potential and needs of these employees can be addressed really well.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL TO ACCELERATE BUSINESS SUCCESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE.

80% of the global workforce is deskless. This includes firstline workers. These are employees whose work primarily takes place away from a computer - but requires some access to technology. This technology is out of date in many companies. While knowledge workers enjoy the benefits of a Modern Workplace, frontline workers are at risk of disconnect. Here are a few reasons why this challenge needs to be addressed:

Frontline workers are...

... the first to make contact with customers.

... the first to represent a company's brand.

... the first to see products and services in action.

They are the people behind the counter, on the phone, in the clinics, in the workshop. They build our vehicles, care for our patients, run our factories, deliver our packages, grow our food and erect our buildings. They include maintenance workers, salespeople, nurses, flight attendants, electricians, baristas and store managers.

They form the backbone of many of the world's largest industries. Without them, the ambitious plans and strategies of business leaders could not be realized.

DIGITIZING FRONTLINE WORK BRINGS EFFICIENCY, QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

Frontline employees have tremendous but untapped potential to drive growth, spark innovation and accelerate a company's success in the digital age. This potential can be unlocked by equipping them with technology, information and a degree of autonomy to perform their jobs. Individuals must be empowered to deliver high-quality work.

AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS PROVIDED BY OUR SUCCESSFUL PROJECT WITH THE WEISSE ARENA.

The Weisse Arena Group (WAG) is an integrated service company in the tourism and leisure industry in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. Its employees offer customers unforgettable experiences in all seasons.

In 2020, WAG had implemented LaaxNet (MondayCoffee's Modern Workplace Solution) to support modern collaboration in their holocratic organization. Today, employees "on the slope" and "on the road" can digitally complete manual processes via their smartphones and the Microsoft Teams app, have real-time access to critical information, and share customer experiences with their colleagues.

Knowledge workers and frontline workers easily collaborate in the same solution across different devices. They are served with real-time information to the same extent and both benefit from state-of-the-art hardware and software.

To ensure that all WAG staff know what is happening on the mountain at all times, a special news flow has been developed. This provides the frontline workers with important and time-critical information via their mobile devices (Microsoft Teams app). For example, daily news posts are posted about the current weather situation, temperature, open facilities, or disruptions in rail operations.

FIRST THE FOUNDATION, THEN THE OPTIMIZATION: COLLABORATION SCENARIOS AND PROCESSES GET THINGS STARTED.

Investing in the right technology plays an important role in empowering the firstline workforce. It is equally important to challenge tasks and processes, rethink digital, and instill digital skills.

IT infrastructure must be ready to support a much larger and more distributed employee base. Securing devices and data requires new approaches. Especially in high-volume, high-turnover work environments.

But even before thinking about issues such as data security and governance, it is important - together with the employees - to understand the different collaboration scenarios and record them in a structured way so that you can then work specifically on the technical challenges.

How home office makes our offices more human

Before the pandemic, no one would have expected such a rapid switch from the model of phyical office presence to remote working in the home office. Some 18 months later, a number of companies, including the architectural firm Marazzi + Paul Architects, have arrived at a hybrid working model - and this is also having an impact on future office and residential buildings. We spoke with Alfred Paul, co-owner of Marazzi + Paul Architects, about the transformation of their own office and how the pandemic will impact the architecture of tomorrow.

Alfred Paul, Co-owner von Marazzi + Paul Architekten

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Mr. Paul - you seized the moment and remodeled the office during the second Corona wave. Did you have the blueprints in place beforehand?

We had the plans in the drawer for some time, but there was no urgency to change anything. As a classic architecture firm, our open office was simply used for working. You came in the morning, had lunch outside, worked in the afternoon at your desk or together in the meeting room, and went home in the evening.

With the pandemic and the introduction of a hybrid work model, office habits have changed, and with them the demands on the space. Today, our employees come to the office primarily for social moments. Our kitchen and coffee corner now take up a lot of space, as do the dedicated meeting corners.

So the way you work is different today?

Yes. In the first wave, we had to say goodbye to the fixed workstation in the office within 24 hours and switch completely to a digital and location-independent way of working. I would never have thought that this could be so uncomplicated.

But we have learned that we don't need fixed desks to be able to work well as a team and with customers. Technologically, such a set-up would not have been possible two years ago. Today, we want to benefit from this and offer our employees a flexible working model.

How do you define the flexible working model? Are there any new regulations?

We involved our employees in defining our new working model. During Corona, we conducted a survey. The result: no one wants to work 100% from home or in the office. In our employment contracts, we have now stipulated that employees have the option of working from home between 40-50% (for a 100% position). One regulation stipulates that each employee must decide in advance what his or her split will be. Block times also apply in our home office, and we have also reorganized the issues of ergonomics and infrastructure in the workplace. For example, our employees now receive a fixed annual contribution to the cost of investing in their home office, but they are responsible for complying with labor law regulations at home. And - Thursday is office day for everyone. On one day, we want to be able to talk personally with all employees in the office.

“New needs evolve from changes and these can be addressed through continuous dialogue with employees.”

You've been living the hybrid work model for some time now. Are there any blind spots?

New work models have to be well thought out. Setting up the workplace at home should not be underestimated. There are certainly things we need to adapt again in the long term. New needs evolve from changes. We have been able to respond to many of them and currently have a very high level of employee satisfaction. Others we do not yet know. I think it's important to maintain an ongoing dialog with our employees.

Change of perspective: Marazzi + Paul Architekten designs and implements office renovations and new buildings. Are the first Corona effects already noticeable in the architecture? What ideas are architects dreaming about for new or redesigned office buildings?

The pandemic is a catalyst for trends that were already there before: from fixed, dedicated desks to shared desks. Sharing is being demanded more than average. The office is becoming a hub, workplaces are becoming denser, meeting zones are multiplying. Employees come to the office because they feel comfortable there, have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with others in a welcoming environment.

What developments do you predict in the planning of residential buildings? Will there be more co-working spaces in housing developments? Or will the office in the apartment become the standard?

Do you remember the common room in a block of flats that was not used by anyone? And mostly served as a storage room? Now there is a real need for such a room.

We are currently working on a project where we are thinking specifically about a co-working space in a housing estate - from the kitchen to the infrastructure to the technology.

In the future, work will no longer be spatially bound. With 5G and the tools that are available to us, we will also increasingly work in public spaces.

This is also a huge opportunity for us architects. At Marazzi + Paul Architekten, we always take a very close look at the place where our buildings are created. If we can now work on site, on location, in the future, this can create a completely different relationship with the people in the surrounding area.

In the previously mentioned project, we had the residents draw a postcard in order to understand how they envision their surroundings in the future. Such a place analysis could take on other dimensions in the future.

“In the future, work will no longer be spatially bound. With 5G and the tools that are available to us, we will also increasingly work in public spaces. ”

What effect would such developments, working from anywhere, have on the planning of public space?

Whether private, semi-private or public, spaces are being used in ever more complex ways. The restaurant becomes a place of work. The bank branch becomes a place to work. The park bench in the green becomes a workplace. In the future, we could also welcome co-workers from other industries in our office. School rooms or even soccer stadiums could be used twice.

I have always had the vision of a flying classroom. Students move around the city like nomads, exploring places, learning new things as they experience them. Technology gives us room for new ideas. Let's see what comes of it.

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Illustrations: The Office of Marazzi + Paul Architects

Transparency as standard - company groups unite with CoffeeNet 365

A blog post by Melodie Fleury, Business Consultant at MondayCoffee

Strictly speaking, we are very lucky: the market is neither lacking in technologies, systems nor solutions for modern working. New tools are continuously being developed, existing ones improved or entire tool landscapes consolidated to simplify collaboration - or so the theory goes. Practice shows that many companies still lack the right infrastructure, a uniform basis for everyday work. The result: complex processes, information chaos, loss of time and money. Especially in corporate groups, this is a brake on success, but one that can easily be solved.

TYPICAL CHALLENGES IN CORPORATE GROUPS

As a rule, the larger the company, the more information and communication there is to process - and the more difficult it is to maintain an overview. In addition, work and communication often takes place in silos. Without the right collaboration solution, it becomes almost impossible to exchange knowledge or information between different companies in a group. This is also the case with one of our customers, a Swiss group of companies. The challenges, which often grow over the years, are mostly of a technical, cultural and structural nature.

Technical challenges: The system landscape of companies has often existed for years, if not decades. Once set up, it has hardly been touched or changed in any major way. As a result, there is a lack of infrastructure that meets current work requirements. This starts with digital places of collaboration and extends to the processes and access rights for smooth working. In many cases, data is still sent as attachments by mail. This quickly results in umpteen different versions - and confusion about which file is the most current.

Cultural challenges: Especially in conservative industries, the corporate culture is still strongly hierarchical. Communication is more top-down than bottom-up. In addition, there is a lack of role models who exemplify the "modern workplace" and demonstrate potential. Employees are not sufficiently empowered to obtain relevant information, share knowledge or take responsibility.

Structural challenges: One of the most common symptoms of the siloed landscape is an uneven flow of information. Without uniform processes and specifications across the company, chaos quickly follows. This starts with distribution lists: If distribution lists are not maintained centrally and synchronized automatically, someone is quickly forgotten and lost in communication. Knowledge is shared informally in small groups: Those who were not present at the right time during the smoking break or at the coffee machine are not informed or are informed late. Within an organization there are departmental silos, within a group of companies there are corporate silos. Another problem is that employees do not have the opportunity to contribute themselves and their skills in the right places. The skills and knowledge of those involved remain hidden in the silo jungle.

Getting an all new meeting culture

The solution is simple: "Keep it simple" - digitally. This is exactly where MondayCoffee's Modern Workplace solution (CoffeeNet 365) comes in. Based on best practices, the collaboration platform enables centralized, simplified and efficient work - in real time and from any location.

“One of the most common productivity killers in companies is still having too many meetings.”

The rethinking already starts with the meeting culture. One of the most common productivity obstacles in companies is still too many meetings that are unstructured and without an agenda. This was also the case for our customer. MondayCoffee provided the Swiss group with a meeting app that makes recurring meetings easy, efficient and structured.

The app enables each individual to plan meetings, prepare for topics or introduce meeting points with just a few clicks. Meetings are now much more efficient and transparent than before, which was met with great enthusiasm by our customer's employees.

AWAY FROM INFORMATION SILOS, TOWARDS COMMUNITY

Modern collaboration solutions are designed to create transparency. Projects, but also individual topics, are visible at a glance with the help of such a platform - for everyone with the necessary authorizations. Relevant documents and personal tasks are easier to find and keep track of. And especially helpful in corporate groups: You can finally see what is happening in other departments and companies.

Work becomes more transparent and efficient

At the same time, everyday work becomes more efficient: The introduction of a new Workplace solution is an opportunity to clean up the old chaos in structures, processes or documents and to redesign the basis. Uniform communication channels, media and tools such as the meeting app streamline processes and free up resources for actual tasks. Documents are stored and edited in a central location on the platform - so that everyone has the latest version available at all times and from anywhere. Outdated email attachments in dozens of versions are a thing of the past. The tedious manual creation of distribution lists is also a thing of the past - the Workspaces feature takes care of that.

Projects, topics and processes are more transparent on the Modern Workplace platform and can be viewed by all - in dedicated virtual collaboration rooms that are set up simply and uniformly. Instead of the old e-mail flood, Microsoft Teams is used for short-term exchange.

Potential becomes visible - at employee and group level

The new way of working on the collaboration platform automatically strengthens the sense of unity within the group. News posts can be used to send targeted messages across the various departments and companies. All areas have the opportunity to present themselves there and show what they are working on and what competencies they offer. The contribution of new ideas meets with public appreciation and is actively promoted.

Often, this is also accompanied by a subtle change in culture: employees can show themselves, learn from each other, participate more easily and act as role models. High potentials, i.e., particularly committed employees, emerge more easily and can be promoted in a targeted manner. On the one hand, this has a positive effect on employee motivation; on the other hand, it also simplifies personnel planning and succession planning. In the long term, hierarchies become flatter and people work together as equals.

Working together more efficiently in virtual collaboration rooms

Onboarding new employees can be made more efficient, speeding up the onboarding process. But collaboration also becomes easier as information silos are broken down. Roles and responsibilities can be defined uniformly and clearly - whether within a company's own team, across departments or with external parties.

All in all, the potential of the whole group can be better utilized and interdisciplinary collaboration can be promoted throughout the group. This also opens up the opportunity to present a modern company or group to employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders - with an attractive, contemporary and modern working environment.

HOW DOES THE COLLABORATION WITH MONDAYCOFFEE WORK?

The procedure in such projects is always similar: In the so-called discovery workshops, we analyze the previous collaboration. This includes, for example, communication and collaboration, target/actual comparisons, opportunities, and potential risks and dangers. In the next step, we talk about the effects of these changes in relation to the current way of working and derive new collaboration scenarios together with our customer.

The third workshop aims to obtain a big picture of the new form of collaboration and to plan the procedure, structure and responsibilities. In the later workshops, we get down to the nitty-gritty, such as mapping the structure, working out the various concepts, such as for authorizations, news and also automating processes.

“Our work is done when employees can work well and, above all, happily with the new solution.”

Throughout the process, we provide our customers with advice and support and work together in a close and friendly exchange. Our work is done when everyone is satisfied with the new solution at the end. And to ensure that employees can later work well - and above all happily - with the new solution, we train everyone in the use of the new platform.

The importance of never standing still: MondayCoffee meets Fluid Framework

For our SharePoint Master and long-term employee Oliver Zeiser, trying out new technologies and the continuous development of our modern workplace solution CoffeeNet are part of his daily business. Together with Oliver and his team, we want to make sure that our solutions also remain modern for our customers.

In this blog post, Oliver talks about what it means to be at the forefront of technology behind the scenes. And he does so using the most recent example of Microsoft's Fluid Framework for real-time collaboration. A first-hand report for anyone who wants to take a deeper look into Microsoft's technological developments.

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Blog post by Oliver Zeiser, SharePoint Master at MondayCoffee

When I started in 2013 to leave the on-premises world step by step and to develop our modern cloud-based workplace solution CoffeeNet for SharePoint Online, I went into it with a fair amount of doubt myself. Today I know that it was the right decision. Focusing on the right technologies at an early stage pays off in the long run.

Eight years later, working with the latest technologies is by no means easier, but it has become my daily business. In this new, rapidly changing cloud age, nothing is worth more than being able to make real experiences with the latest technologies and to bring them into our products. A current example is the Microsoft Fluid Framework.

“Investing in the right technologies at an early stage pays off in the long run.”

THE MICROSOFT FLUID FRAMEWORK - FROM VISION TO REALITY 

On May 6, 2019, Microsoft introduced the Fluid Framework at the Build Conference as a new framework for real-time collaboration. Of course, at that moment, the Fluid Framework was not a finished product, but rather a vision.

Definition Fluid Framework: “First, experiences powered by the Fluid Framework will support multi-person co-authoring on web and document content at a speed and scale not yet achieved in the industry.”

For us, however, the vision quickly became reality: we have been dealing with the topic since May 2019 and made an early effort to be able to gather initial personal experiences with it.

Hence, back in October 2019, we traveled to Redmond to gather hands-on experience, build prototypes, and provide feedback on-site at Microsoft with the Fluid Framework developers and the SharePoint Framework team. During our stay at Microsoft, we quickly understood what the Fluid Framework is about and what differentiates it from classic real-time frameworks like SignalR and WebSockets.

FLUID FRAMEWORK VERSUS CLASSIC REALTIME FRAMEWORKS

SignalR and WebSockets are often used to run so-called last-write-wins data structures. For example, a message is sent over a WebSocket that updates a value in a map on the client. So, for example, in many simple WebSocket scenarios, this message is a notification such as, "You have mail."

Fluid is about managing state, not transmitting messages. While last-write-wins data structures are included in Fluid, some data structures require more complex state management. Strings and sequences are not last-write-wins.

How would a last-write-wins algorithm handle two users processing a string at the same time?

Initial state: "Hello world"

Alice adds "!" to the end

Bob adds "?" at the end

There might be some strange behavior that results in "Hello world?" or "Hello world!".

Fluid orders Bob's change and Alice's change through the Fluid service. The merge tree data structure then has a reproducible merge algorithm for applying these ordered changes. Ultimately, the string would be "Hello world?!".

Although simple examples are easy to implement, especially last-write wins, more complex examples are challenging. OT (Operational Transformation) & CRDTs (conflict-free replicated data type) are two existing ways to handle state replication. Much of the initial value proposition of Fluid is to manage complex state for developers.

DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPES TOGETHER WITH MICROSOFT

On September 8, 2020, almost a year later, Microsoft released an initial open source version of the Fluid Framework. See the release here.

But what many didn't know at the time: that this was just the beginning. The real work was going on behind the scenes. Microsoft had continued to work on the issue of integrating the Fluid Framework directly into Microsoft 365 as a service.

As developers and operators of CoffeeNet 365 (a cloud service for Microsoft 365), we know how much effort is required to run such services.

For this reason, we decided to take the path together with Microsoft at an early stage and to build our apps on the Fluid Framework, which uses Microsoft's backend service directly as a service in M365. 

Working closely with Microsoft, we developed the first apps and prototypes in a private preview program. And today, in May 2021, we finally get to write about it.

THE FLUID FRAMEWORK WILL SUSTAINABLY CHANGE WORK AS WE KNOW IT TODAY

It has been hard for us to hold back our enthusiasm the whole time, because the Fluid Framework will change work as we know it today. We at MondayCoffee have been involved from the beginning and have shown once again that we not only have a very good intuition for forward-looking technologies, but that we can offer a huge added value to our customers through our close cooperation with Microsoft and many of their developers from Redmond.

“Working closely with Microsoft and many of their developers from Redmond, we are able to offer our customers a huge added value. ”

MondayCoffee Meeting App mit Collaborative-Real-Time Meeting Minutes

On the day Microsoft announces the next stage for the Fluid Framework, we have already mastered it and can support our customers with first apps and most importantly already with real experience and best practices.

As a developer and architect of CoffeeNet 365 and as a technology enthusiast in general, I really enjoy building the bridge between MondayCoffee, Microsoft and our customers and being able to work at the forefront of technology. Even if the price is sometimes having to hold back your enthusiasm until the topics are allowed to be made public. That's why I'm even more excited that our app was introduced at Microsoft Build Conference 2021.

You'll be hearing a lot more from us on this topic in the future. Unfortunately, we can't reveal everything now either. But you can stay curious. We at MondayCoffee are already taking the next step and the one after with Microsoft for our customers.

FEINTOOL: An essential step towards the digital workplace

Feintool is an internationally operating technology and market leader in the technologies of fineblanking, forming and e-sheet stamping for processing steel sheets. These technologies are characterized by cost-effectiveness, quality and productivity. Founded in 1959, the company has around 2700 employees in Europe, the USA, China and Japan.

Starting point

The Feintool Group wanted to renew its intranet platform with the help of Microsoft tools. Collaboration was only possible to a limited extent in the historically grown system landscape. Collaboration across the group was to be standardized, simplified and made more transparent - on any device, anywhere and at any time.

Approach

With the implementation of the collaboration platform CoffeeNet 365, the use of Microsoft 365 technologies was simplified and the right mix was found for the Feintool Group - based on everyday use cases.

Results

On the new platform, Feintool employees can now communicate via the start page, find important information on the intranet on a daily basis and find out group-wide news. At the same time, users can collaborate easily and efficiently on projects or topics across departments with the enterprise solution.

Download Case Study

FEINTOOL: Case Study Download

Do not let the push for digitization fizzle out

With the Corona crisis, the digitalization of the world of work is experiencing a boost. Many employees had to use different tools in a very short time to ensure continued communication and collaboration within the company. Microsoft Teams, for example, registered 2.7 billion meeting minutes in one day. 

But what happens when we return to the office? How do we make sure that we use this digitization push to fully digitize the way we work? 

3 THINGS YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO: 

Look at it from a broader perspective 

During this crisis, Microsoft Teams is for many what WhatsApp is for us in our private life. A tool that allows me to communicate directly with many participants via chat, call or video and to hold online meetings. But a digital way of working goes beyond communication. Topics such as structured digital document storage, uniform cross-departmental collaboration or a sustainable exchange of knowledge are just as much a part of it. Our recommendation: open the perspective, deepen the understanding of the different digital work scenarios in order to establish a structured, digital way of working.  

Automate the usage of tools in a controlled way 

Microsoft offers a variety of tools to work more productively. Everyone knows Microsoft Teams by now and this momentum should also be used to get one step closer to the digital workplace. However, before employees set out on their own to navigate through the jungle of different Microsoft technologies, we recommend that you take this into your own hands for the entire organization and understand where which technologies should be used in a controlled manner, based on concrete digital work scenarios and use cases. We have solved this with our Modern-Workplace-Solution in such a way that, depending on the defined work scenario or use case, the Microsoft technologies are automatically configured in the background and the employee does not have to worry about the choice of technologies, but can concentrate on his tasks. 

Accompany employees and teams 

During the crisis, many employees were and are forced to quickly familiarize themselves with digital tools. Some have certainly recognized the advantages of a digital way of working and are motivated to move on towards the digital workplace. They need to be accompanied on this path - especially those who still have trouble getting rid of old habits. We recommend that companies seek the exchange with employees, collect their feedback on their current experiences in the digital home office and use the momentum to establish a digital way of working together with them.   

We have been helping companies for some time now to establish a digital way of working in their organization - with our Modern Workplace Solution for Microsoft 365.  

If you are interested in an exchange of experiences, we would be pleased to hear from you.  

Get in touch

Get in touch