Digital Collaboration @STIHL: New ways of collaborating with Microsoft Office 365

As part of the group-wide “Digital Collaboration” project, STIHL aims to introduce new collaboration tools, processes and ways of working by 2025. The goal is to further improve collaboration, facilitate cross-functional and global communication, and offer their staff greater flexibility. 

In a first step, Campana & Schott assisted in the evaluation of Microsoft Office 365 in order to provide the management with a decision model. The holistic and detailed assessment, including target vision and potential road map, resulted in a clear “yes” in favor of Microsoft Office 365. The migration to the cloud had not been planned from the outset, it was the result of an in-depth analysis. 

In line with the road map, SharePoint Online and OneDrive were introduced first. This introduction was primarily intended to facilitate the in-house exchange of information and the joint processing of documents. The design and implementation phase started in the summer of 2020, with proof of concept taking place in February 2021. This was seamlessly followed by the pilot phase and the worldwide rollout in July 2021. Around 8,000 employees were initially provided with access to the Microsoft Office 365 applications. These applications will subsequently be available to STIHL employees worldwide at the beginning of 2022. The digital workplace will be gradually expanded by additional apps such as Planner and Teams. 

Campana & Schott advised on the design aspects in terms of architecture and governance as well as the provision of security services and the securing of access. In addition, suitable adoption and change management measures for the group were developed in joint workshops. 

A new group-wide information classification standard was introduced to improve compliance. This will provide the basis for the future implementation of additional functions, e.g., enhanced document encryption or data loss prevention. 

Campana & Schott supported STIHL's IT team in reviewing and evaluating the technical, organizational and functional requirements for using Microsoft Office 365. The governance aspects of the platform in general, but also at the level of specific services such as SharePoint Online, were included in the considerations right from the start, laying the foundation for a smooth operation.