The challenge

Phil Barker, American Golf’s Head of IT, had just three people to look after over 900 staff spread throughout Europe – one of them was fully employed in keeping the email exchange server up and running.

Staff were struggling to work together and communicate easily using IT systems that weren’t connected and Phil also wanted to cut the high licensing costs for software. He needed a fresh and more cost-effective solution to keep communication running smoothly.

The solution

Already familiar with Microsoft Office, it was immediately apparent to Phil that Office 365 from O2 Business would be the perfect choice for his team. Combining productivity apps like Word, Excel and PowerPoint with Outlook email not only improves collaboration between employees, it has also helped Phil save significantly on costs. And now that they’re using Skype for Business, all staff across Europe can work together and communicate face to face.

In fact, with so many other different and valuable business services available with Office 365 – such as OneDrive, a secure and reliable cloud storage space – American Golf is now perfectly placed for even greater success.

And thanks to the careful management of O2 Business Professional Services, the switchover was seamless from start to finish, taking just under four weeks for the entire staff to migrate successfully.

The benefits

• O2 Business Professional Services made the migration to Office 365 smooth and painless through careful planning and implementation
• With O2 Business managing email as well as their mobile network, one of Phil’s team has been freed to do other tasks besides looking after the exchange server
• Sharing files, accessing orders and supplier documents via email is no longer a problem
• Being able to work on multiple devices has greatly improved teamwork and communication
• Office 365 allows employees to edit and feedback on work online, in real-time, making the company more efficient and keeping staff up to date
• Now Phil only has to budget for one platform, keeping costs down and paperwork to a minimum