Challenge

Like many New Zealand not-for-profit and charitable organisations, Space NZ Trust is comprised of a small team with a tight budget. These constraints proved difficult in early 2014, when Space NZ’s IT infrastructure became a burden for the organisation. With staff working in individual machines, collaboration was limited to email; this lead to poor version control as documents were changed and saved locally before being emailed again, impeding collaboration. While there was a single computer designated as a ‘master backup’ location, it was a difficult task for the staff to regularly backup their work.

Recognising the need for change, the organisation began to look for a solution that the whole organisation was comfortable using, which proved easier said than done. However, Microsoft and TechSoup New Zealand’s Connecting Communities events showcasing demonstrations of Office 365 and SharePoint presented a possible solution.

Solution

To determine if Office 365 was right for them, Space NZ Trust purchased an Office 365 Readiness Assessment from TechSoup New Zealand in 2014. Facilitated by TechSoup New Zealand’s partner, Infoxchange, the Office 365 Readiness Assessment provides a tailored report on technical prerequisites for migration and key value-adds, information on how to migrate and costings around moving to Office 365 which includes establishing SharePoint and configuring devices.

“The Readiness Assessment gave us a better idea of whether our equipment was up to spec and informed our budget. What did we need to do as an organisation if this was the direction we wanted to go in? It became a key process - in itself, the Readiness Assessment was in plain speak; it was really easy to share and for people to understand and gave really clear guidelines,” says Ms Jones.

Aided by Infoxchange, Space NZ Trust had an easy time with the email migration. This was followed by a move to OneDrive for Business for their storage needs and SharePoint for document control.

“We were quite lucky actually, we were in a good position to be able to move so it didn’t involve a lot but it definitely would have informed our planning if we need to do more or upgrade machines.”

Benefits

By migrating to Office 365, Space NZ Trust has created a more collaborative and efficient work environment and improved accessibility for remote board members and staff.

Effective Collaboration

Starting with OneDrive for Business, Space NZ Trust familiarised their staff with cloud storage, giving them a space outside of their desktop to save their work. This was later followed by a SharePoint implementation, enabling staff to work directly on master documents while communicating and noting changes in real-time no matter how remote their location.

“SharePoint was a lot bigger for us because it required the whole team coming together to discuss the framework and not just our documents. It seemed quite challenging at the time but it was really good as it refocussed us as a team and we were able to consider aspects like a space for our board, our partners and what that needed to look like so that our SharePoint site really looked and felt how we needed it too.”

Remote access capabilities

OneDrive for Business and SharePoint aren’t the only applications that have benefitted Space NZ Trust’s geographically remote members. Skype for Business has provided a platform for instant communication between staff members.

As Ms Jones states “[we] have a section of our team that was working quite remotely. That was really helpful, knowing when they were online and being able to contact them when it was relevant instead of sending them an email and having to wait.”

What's next?

According to Ms Jones “the next step for us is to have everyone feeling very comfortable with their use of OneDrive and SharePoint, as well as some of the more social functions to keep up to date with each other.”

With OneDrive, SharePoint and Skype for Business, Space NZ Trust is well-equipped to  provide comprehensive post-natal support across New Zealand.

About Space NZ Trust

Space NZ Trust is a Wellington-based organisation that works with organisations all over New Zealand to deliver post-natal support to new parents. In collaboration with their partners, Space NZ Trust is able to provide group-based parenting support and early childhood education  for new parents and their babies.

Find out more about Space NZ Trust »