Microsoft Office SystemCustomer Solution Case Study

Social Protection Staff Save Money with Communication and Collaboration Solution

OverviewCountry or Region: IrelandIndustry: Government

Customer ProfileThe Department of Social Protection (DSP) provides a range of services, including income support and employment to citizens in Ireland.

Business SituationThe department needed to modernise the communication and collaboration technology supporting its 5,000 personnel.

SolutionDSP unified its communications and created a portal with Microsoft software and HP hardware.

Benefits Employees increase productivity DSP significantly reduces costs Customers gain better standard of

service Personnel receive greater support DSP successfully delivers complex

project Firm plans future deployments

“Staff are more productive because they have the solutions to find the communication medium that works best for them.”

Niall Harrington, Team Lead for Workplace Services and Service Channels, Department of Social Protection (DSP)

The Department of Social Protection (DSP) is responsible for income support and employment services in Ireland. With more than 5,000 employees working closely with colleagues and the public, DSP needs an effective unified communications and collaboration infrastructure. The company embarked on a two-year office systems modernisation project, taking advantage of its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement to implement new software cost effectively. Partnering with Microsoft and HP, DSP built unified communications and portal infrastructures based on Microsoft software and a platform of HP servers and storage. DSP has saved thousands of euros by using a corporate portal to house and manage more than 500,000 documents, and give its staff email, instant messaging, and video conferencing facilities to boost productivity. DSP now has a more supportive and collaborative atmosphere, helping improve customer services.

SituationThe Department of Social Protection (DSP) is one of the largest government departments in Ireland. Its remit is broad, including the administration of a wide range of social insurance and assistance schemes—such as pensions, benefits, allowances, and grants—and the provision of employment and other services. At the heart of DSP are its 5,000-plus employees, spread across 210 offices, whose work is helping the department deliver its objectives and promote the active participation of all citizens in Ireland.

Department employees need to work closely with ministers, government agencies, colleagues, and members of the public to provide services. Consequently, information management is business critical and effective communication and collaboration tools are essential. In 2006, DSP undertook a project to develop and implement an information management vision and strategy. This included looking at communication, collaboration, and content management. As part of the project, it reviewed its existing infrastructure to ensure it met current business needs. But instead of simply reviewing email, the department took a broader approach and looked at communication and collaboration on many different levels. It investigated the need for video conferencing to reduce travel costs, the development of an intranet-based portal for broad collaboration, and the creation of a corporate information repository.

Need for Better Communications SolutionsNiall Harrington, Team Lead for Workplace Services and Service Channels at the

Department of Social Protection, says: “We needed to modernise the whole infrastructure—we had only recently removed our last green-screen terminals and we lacked a native SMTP server. Personnel didn’t have basic email functionality, so it was difficult to access attachments, share calendars, and send meeting requests.” Harrington also wanted to build on the success of a previous instant messaging (IM) trial by rolling out a department-wide solution as well as looking at new technologies, including presence, which could help employees check the availability of colleagues for faster communications. Harrington and his team were particularly keen on video conferencing to save time and resources. He says: “It is government policy to use video conferencing because of its cost and productivity benefits. We wanted to avoid the need for people to travel more than 100 kilometres in some instances for a meeting that may only last an hour or two.”

Drive for Easier CollaborationAlongside Harrington’s team, DSP had another team working on developing a corporate portal and information repository. Helen McDonald, Manager for Document, Records and Information Management (DRIM) at the Department of Social Protection, says: “The department had 3 million paper claim files, amounting to approximately 90 million pages of paper, 11 terabytes of storage, and 7 million digital documents.” Many of these documents were difficult to access because they were stored in various locations and in different media.

Employees spent large amounts of time manually finding information and

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“It is government policy to use video conferencing because of its cost and productivity benefits. We wanted to avoid the need for people to travel more than 100 kilometres in some instances for a meeting that may only last an hour or two.”

Niall Harrington, Team Lead for Workplace Services and Service Channels,

Department of Social Protection

duplicating documents. Furthermore, whenever a programme or project was put on hold and then restarted, staff found it time consuming to locate the most up-to-date information because paper files were often distributed across multiple offices and electronic information was held in personal accounts. McDonald says: “Our other concerns included protecting the corporate memory. When employees left DSP, having information stored in a secure portal made it easier for us to access the content on which they worked. We also believed the portal could help develop a more collaborative atmosphere.” On a technical level, the fundamental requirement for both teams was to build on the Microsoft .NET development platform that DSP had been using to replace its home-grown applications. McDonald says: “Our goal was to limit customisation work and develop using familiar software and programming languages.” The teams also wanted IT support to assist them through the deployment process, starting with designing the environment. “Creating an infrastructure is an iterative process and finding the right partners makes all the difference,” says Harrington.

SolutionDSP immediately turned to Microsoft. The advantages were clear since it already had a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, which meant it could roll out new software solutions fast. By choosing Microsoft, DSP also guaranteed a high level of support throughout the project and during the subsequent end-user adoption phase.

The department issued an e-tender for an IT partner to lead the assessment, design, and implementation stages of the infrastructure work. At this point, HP Technical Services was ideally placed because HP technology supported the department’s IT platform and the services team knew the infrastructure well. Harrington says: “HP really understood our business requirements, plus it had the experience we were looking for in migrating large-scale environments to Microsoft.”The HP services team conducted a series of scoping workshops to plan the migration to:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, and Microsoft Office Live Meeting for unified communications, including email, IM, presence, video conferencing, and enterprise voice

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for collaboration through the portal

With the scoping workshops completed, DSP, HP, and Microsoft collaborated on the design of the hardware platform and Microsoft conducted a risk assessment of the proposed unified communications and collaboration environment. Harrington says: “Microsoft did a tremendous job supporting DSP and HP. It was particularly good to see the seamless collaboration between Microsoft and HP.”

The platforms for unifying communications and delivering the portal consisted of HP ProLiant server blades, running the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, located in an HP BladeSystem enclosure. HP storage area network (SAN) technology

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“Microsoft did a tremendous job supporting DSP and HP. It was particularly good to see the seamless collaboration between Microsoft and HP.”

Niall Harrington, Team Lead for Workplace Services and Service Channels,

Department of Social Protection

protected the data and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 was installed to help manage the infrastructure.

Unified CommunicationsDeployment was divided into two work streams, with the rollout of Exchange Server 2007, Office Communications Server 2007 R2, and Office Live Meeting being first. Work was complicated because DSP needed to migrate around 30 million documents to the new email environment. It also had to coordinate the installation of high-speed links between its primary and secondary datacentres and deploy a Citrix-based geographic cluster to provide load-balancing and failover services. Willie Whelan, Lead Infrastructure Engineer at Department of Social Protection, says: “HP and Microsoft carried out the migration and added a lot of value with their experience. In particular, Microsoft gave great support to make sure our geo-cluster’s heartbeat adapter was correctly configured.”

With work on the email environment finished, DSP implemented Office Communications Server. This was a less complicated procedure because DSP already had a voice over IP (VoIP)-enabled system based on public branch exchange (PBX). Whelan says: “Deploying software powered by VoIP went pretty smoothly. The deployment process was well documented by Microsoft and easy to follow.” As work went ahead, DSP also distributed a range of devices for IP-based telephony. These included Polycom CX7000 IP-phones for desktops, Polycom CX3000 IP phones for conference calls, Polycom CX500 devices for videoconferencing, and Plantronics headsets.

Portal DevelopmentIn parallel, a separate tendering process took place to procure consultancy services to assist with the design, development, and implementation of the corporate portal and information repository. HP was engaged as the solution provider for this project. The corporate portal—called SOLAS—would provide staff with a single point of access to information, systems, and tools required to complete their work. It would give staff a flexible and robust platform for information gathering and collaboration, which greatly enhances staff productivity and ultimately the department’s customer service. In addition to being one of its core information and communications tools, SOLAS would also help business areas develop and implement automated solutions for many time-consuming manual processes. In addition, the ability to gather, store and collaborate on electronic information through SOLAS would provide the department with a platform for enhanced business intelligence and reporting capabilities.

At the start of the engagement, the portal team supported an awareness programme to increase support from business leaders across the organisation and highlight the software’s functionality.

With support from HP, DSP then began integrating existing line-of-business solutions with Office SharePoint Server 2007, aiming to make the portal a one-stop shop for the most important applications. In some instances, new line-of-business solutions were created specifically for the portal. These included applications for:

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“HP and Microsoft carried out the migration and added a lot of value with their experience. In particular, Microsoft provided great support to make sure our geo-cluster’s heartbeat adapter was correctly configured.”

Willie Whelan, Lead Infrastructure Engineer, Department of Social

Protection

Customer comments and complaints Conference room booking Reporting departmental committees Project tracking and reporting Providing responses to members’

questions in the Irish parliament Business planning and risk management

Apart from integrating line-of-business software, the department also converted existing intranet websites for key teams such as human resources (HR) into Office SharePoint Server websites. McDonald says: “All the preparation we did before we began development work really paid off. We asked stakeholders to think carefully about what they wanted to transfer to the portal and explained what was and wasn’t possible. It simplified the development process significantly.”

To help adoption and promote cultural change within the department, DSP launched a training programme with support from Microsoft and HP. Its internal team of training providers received guidance from Microsoft and HP on the best way to incorporate the new communication and collaboration technology into the daily working lives of staff. McDonald says: “We initially focused on the quick wins, showing employees how they could benefit from the technology immediately.” With Office Communications Server, personnel adopted IM and presence, and began using them straightaway for brief, real-time text-based conversations, and to check colleague availability before making calls. DSP then began to federate IM with partners such as Microsoft and HP, so employees can IM contacts outside of the corporate network.

Video conferencing adoption rocketed after bad weather struck Ireland. Harrington says: “We had a lot of snow and people were unable to travel. At this point, everyone began to see the value of unified communications technology because scheduled meetings could still go ahead through the new communications solutions.” Although Exchange Server is still being rolled out, personnel with access to the messaging environment are making full use of shared calendaring and the ability to send out meeting requests from Microsoft Office Outlook. “Everyone says it makes their lives easier,” says Harrington.

All employees at DSP use the portal and regularly connect to the available sites, which include 90 divisional sites, 259 team sites, and 3,950 My Sites. The portal—which contains about 200 gigabytes of data—holds around 440,000 documents, and provides access to 13 applications.Personnel frequently collaborate on documents through the portal’s document management and workflow, and work closely together thanks to integration of SOLAS with Microsoft Office Outlook and presence. They also share their views on the portal’s discussion boards. McDonald says: “In the future, we plan to integrate our external website, which is based on Office SharePoint Server 2007, with the intranet and an extranet.”

BenefitsDSP has successfully modernised its messaging infrastructure and created a unified communications environment that is helping to reduce operational costs. For example, employees are more productive thanks to the portal, saving the department thousands of euros by using its document

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management solutions to capture information. Personnel also now travel less because they can use video and web conferencing facilities for meetings—saving more time and money. Overall, the technology is helping employees deliver a better level of service to members of the public, while encouraging a more supportive working environment with the development of social networks.

Greater Productivity Saves Resources Through the SOLAS portal, DSP employees have significantly increased their productivity. They use the document management features in Office SharePoint Server 2007 to track files so projects can be restarted quickly without losing time. In addition, the technology helps personnel capture and store data for department-related programmes more cost effectively.

For example, personnel involved in a health-screening activity used a one-page form on the HR team site of SOLAS to capture health data. Around 1,500 employees completed the form—a much higher figure than previous programmes—and HR workers were able to process the data more efficiently. McDonald says: “Our health-screening exercise shows personnel working more effectively using the collaboration environment from Microsoft and HP. We needed less resourcing—saving DSP thousands of euros in support costs."

Among its other successes, the DRIM team has created a reports library on the portal for the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). Officers store reports of ongoing cases on their own team site and update the documents after a decision has been

reached. They no longer have to produce separate reports at the beginning and end of each case. McDonald says: “The SWAO team site has significantly reduced administration—lowering costs.”

Lower Costs Due to Reduced Business TravelWith video conferencing, DSP has been able to cut travel costs and personnel have become more productive. Harrington says: “Previously, personnel could spend a significant part of their working weeks travelling between meetings, but now they can arrange video conferencing sessions, allowing them to remain in their offices and get on with their work.”

It is also easier to set up meetings at short notice. With shared calendars, presence, IM, and email, it is simpler for organisers to check schedules or briefly chat with someone to confirm dates and meeting availability with participants. Harrington says: “Staff are more productive because they have the solutions to find the communication medium that works best for them. Federating our IM environment with even more partners will give employees additional flexibility.”

Greater Customer Service with Increased EfficiencyCustomers gain a better level of service from DSP because personnel are more productive and effective using email. Before using the Microsoft Exchange Server environment, staff couldn't receive email attachments, but with Exchange Server, personnel can open and review documents easily. Whelan says: “Members of the public communicate with the department more

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“Our health-screening exercise shows personnel working more effectively using the collaboration environment from Microsoft and HP. We needed less resourcing—saving DSP thousands of euros in support costs.”

Helen McDonald, Manager for Document, Records and Information Management, Department of Social

Protection

“We had a lot of snow and people were unable to travel. At this point, everyone really began to see the value of unified communications technology because scheduled meetings could still go ahead through the new communications solutions.”

Niall Harrington, Team Lead for Workplace Services and Service Channels,

DSP

effectively, increasing their sense of customer service.”

The level of service has also improved due to better collaboration between employees. They use IM and presence functionality in Office Communications Server to coordinate their activities, and access the SOLAS portal for better document workflow. And, with desktop sharing, personnel collaborate easily on tasks, giving colleagues control of documents on their desktops. “The more effectively we collaborate with our Microsoft solutions, the better our customer service delivery becomes,” says Harrington.

Social Networks Enhance Supportive AtmospherePersonnel are using the portal to build social networking connections and generate a greater sense of community across DSP. This has built a vibrant team spirit among staff—and encouraged even better communication and collaboration on tasks and projects. The portal’s employee discussion board has been one of the most active parts of SOLAS, with more than 250 separate threads and 1,200 contributions recorded.

McDonald says: “Overall, the portal is encouraging better communications and networking and helping to develop a stronger sense of community. The feedback from staff has been positive. The discussion boards have been a big win for us. Employees share experiences and talk through work-related issues to find solutions to everyday challenges. We have a dedicated social site—which is also very popular—and a site in the Irish language.”

Great Collaboration Ensures Project SuccessThis has been one of the most significant IT projects at DSP for many years, but thanks to the collaboration between Microsoft and HP—and the commitment of DSP personnel—the deployment of unified communications and the portal environment was successful. “Microsoft and HP clearly work well together. Their teams are highly skilled in solutions for both organisations,” says Harrington. “Communication is crucial on a project of this scale and Microsoft and HP did everything possible to coordinate their activities. It was important to our success.”

Continued Development Promises Further GainsDSP intends to build on the success of this project and make further use of its Microsoft Enterprise Agreement to upgrade the unified communications and portal infrastructures with the latest Microsoft solutions. It is currently rolling out Windows 7 across desktops, and plans to deploy Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Microsoft Lync 2010 towards the end of 2011, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 in 2012.

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Harrington says: “There is a real momentum behind the development of our communication and collaboration environments. The benefits of our existing investments are tangible. We’re now looking to build on this success with the latest Microsoft technologies.”

Microsoft Office SystemThe Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to: www.microsoft.com/office

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For More InformationFor further information about Microsoft products and services, please visit www.microsoft.com/uk or call 0870 60 10 100*

For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom, contact: 0870 50 30 400*

*Lines are open 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday. Please note numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges, please contact your telecommunications provider.

For more information about HP products and services, call or visit the website at: www.hp.com

For more information about Department of Social Protection products and services, call or visit the website at: www.welfare.ie

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published August 2011

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft Exchange Server 2007− Microsoft System Center

Configuration Manager 2007− Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft Office− Microsoft Office Communications

Server 2007 R2− Microsoft Office Live Meeting− Microsoft Office SharePoint Server

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