For many years Water NZ was using software called Cloud Drive to manage documents, including access and permissions. Staff would access documents through an online portal. The system was slow and frustrating for the team as it was increasingly onerous and time consuming to retrieve or collaborate on documents.
Water New Zealand (NZ) is a national not-for-profit organisation considered the primary voice for New Zealand’s water sector. The company advocates for sustainable management and promotion of our water environment, acting as the industry body for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.
The company offers independent technical advice and data, workforce training, and knowledge sharing across New Zealand and overseas. Water NZ has approximately 2,300 members and is considered a premier organisation in the country for environmental management professionals.
For many years Water NZ was using software called Cloud Drive to manage documents, including access and permissions. Staff would access documents through an online portal. The system was slow and frustrating for the team as it was increasingly onerous and time consuming to retrieve or collaborate on documents.
Deciding to update to a system better fit for purpose, Water NZ contacted Aiscorp. The Aiscorp team engaged Water NZ in a discussion to identify key issues and requirements, and proposed SharePoint, the Microsoft collaboration and document management system.
Aiscorp set up and implemented the SharePoint system as well as Office 365 over a few weeks, upgrading 2-3 systems each week until the go-live date. The entire process, from planning through to implementation and sign-off, took just over 10 hours.
All workstations were connected to a new SharePoint library that contained all shared data. In addition, each employee was connected to OneDrive for private storage. The team was also given access to Microsoft Teams for enhanced communication.
An Aiscorp Technical Account Engineer migrated data, helped staff to get setup on their devices and ensured everything was running smoothly from the end user’s perspective. The deployment only required a brief outage while the technician signed into each user’s SharePoint to show them where their documents were stored. This ensured Water NZ employees were able to continue working with only a minor interruption, and understood how to use the new system.
Throughout the process, Aiscorp provided ongoing and relevant information to staff regarding changes. Once the implementation was complete, the technician ensured all staff were happy with the new system. The Microsoft tools are simple and intuitive, and as the team were already fluent in using a Cloud-based system, minimal training was required.
The new SharePoint and Office 365 setup provides Water NZ with improved usability, access and permission levels for document management, as well as added functionality through other Microsoft apps such as Teams.
Since moving to SharePoint, Water NZ has access to all information, including projects and documentation, seamlessly and on-demand. Data can be accessed on all devices including mobile, and from any location.
By using the entire Microsoft platform including Outlook, Office, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams, Water NZ is able to advance operations and implement additional processes for greater productivity, collaboration and communication.
Aiscorp gave a designated admin at Water NZ full access rights to ensure the internal team can manage permissions, access, settings and layout, and are fully independent going forward.
Water NZ have realised many tangible benefits from the SharePoint and Office 365 rollout, including:
"The migration to the SharePoint platform was well managed and seamless. [The Aiscorp team] was very knowledgeable and helpful, and were a pleasure to have in the office. The staff have all seen a great improvement in functionality and speed of access, with no noticeable downtime."
- Linda Whatmough, Manager, Corporate Services, Water NZ
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