Servier: Breaking through silos with a unified communication platform
Servier is an independent international pharmaceutical company, governed by the Foundation Servier with headquarters in Suresnes, France. With a solid international presence in 150 countries and revenue of €4.6 billion in 2019, Servier employs 22,500 people worldwide. Fully independent, the Group invests an average of 25% of its revenues (excluding general activity) each year in Research and Development and uses all its profits for the benefit of its development.
Siloed Ecosystem
In the early 2010s, corporate communications was increasingly challenged by the rise of social networks and new modes of collaboration. Servier then embarked on its first internal communication strategy shift, with a large-scale corporate intranet and social network project. In 2014, the company introduced two new platforms. These two platforms laid the foundation of Servier’s internal communication.
However, after a few years, the company began to experience some difficulties like:
- Problems maintaining a SharePoint intranet
- Confusion between the tools
- Cannibalization of both platforms
- Acquisition of Jive by Aurea in 2017
In 2019, Servier decided to upgrade its two platforms, going from :
- a siloed Ecosystem in 2014 (Left)
- to a unified platform with LumApps (Right)
LumApps, the Jive alternative, fully integrated with Microsoft 365
It was at the same time that LumApps established a strong partnership with Microsoft. LumApps, now integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite, brought added value. LumApps’ expertise in Jive migrations and full Microsoft 365 integration made it a natural choice for Servier’s new project.
Key Success Factors
A unified communication platform fully integrated with Microsoft 365
With LumApps, Servier was able to offer a new platform to its 22,500 employees, providing a simplified user experience. WIP’S and WIP’S IN have merged and now form a single digital workplace.
Supporting the adoption of Microsoft 365 in times of crisis
During the COVID-19 health crisis, remote working became the norm for many companies. At the beginning of the lockdown, very few Servier employees were able to connect remotely and WIP’S became the only tool accessible online for a few days, making it the company’s unique communication channel.
To cope with this situation, the IT department accelerated the deployment of M365. Within two weeks, all employees were equipped with a new Microsoft license. The integration of M365 with LumApps made WIP’S an excellent vehicle for the adoption of Microsoft tools. This led the communication team and the IT department to work hand in hand and build a strong partnership.
Application Launcher
Located directly in the top bar and also on the home page, M365 tools are easily accessible to employees. The freedom to customize the application launcher makes it possible to display only certain tools and to manage their adoption.
Conference Center
Servier provides access to all its conferences on a dedicated page of the intranet. Forming a real conference center, this page manages both live sessions, with Microsoft Stream, and recorded replays.
Teams & Communities
The integration of Microsoft tools in LumApps enabled Servier to add Teams chat within its communities. Currently, team members mainly use it to alert and notify users of new posts that should not be missed, or as a support tool to answer questions from the community and to guide them to the right resources.