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Global Aluminum Leader Adopts Exchange Online over Other Messaging Solutions

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Today we learn from Novelis on why Microsoft was the best decision for their business in their move to cloud computing!

“By choosing Microsoft Online Services, we got the proven technology in Exchange Online, and we enhanced our collaboration capabilities with Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting.”

--Pietro Quadrelli, Manager of Global Messaging and Collaboration, Novelis

Novelis
Novelis produces flat-rolled aluminum sheet and foil for the beverage, automotive, transportation, consumer electronics, packaging, and construction industries, serving major customers across the globe. A world leader in aluminum recycling, Novelis recycles 40 billion used beverage cans every year. With more than 11,000 employees and operations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, the company generated U.S.$8.7 billion in revenue during its 2010 fiscal year.

IT Challenges
To help maintain its industry leadership, Novelis wanted to increase collaboration and communication among its widely distributed workforce, which was using an email and messaging solution provided by an outside hosting service to connect with each other and with customers. Computer users and administrators at Novelis were finding it difficult to make its email environment interoperate efficiently with the rest of the company’s IT infrastructure, which sometimes blocked easy collaboration. “Our employees had to constantly switch between user interfaces, and we wanted to provide them with a more seamless way to work with the tools they need the most,” says Pietro Quadrelli, Manager of Global Messaging and Collaboration at Novelis.

IT Solution & Benefits
Novelis did not want to spend money on new infrastructure. Instead, the company wanted to manage its email environment by using cloud technology. The company evaluated several on-premises, hosted, and leading cloud-based messaging solutions and decided to manage its email environment by using Exchange Online because Business Productivity Online Standard Suite combines an enterprise-level messaging environment with a complete set of collaboration services. In 2010—working with the Migration SWAT Team at Bennett Adelson, a member of the Microsoft Partner Network—Novelis adopted Exchange Online to manage email for all 8,000 computer users in the organization. About 2,600 Novelis employees also use Microsoft Office Communications Online for instant messaging and Microsoft Office Live Meeting for web conferencing, other components in the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite.

“By choosing Microsoft Online Services, we got the proven technology in Exchange Online, and we enhanced our collaboration capabilities with Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting,” says Quadrelli.

At the same time, the company deployed Microsoft Office Professional 2007 throughout the organization. Quadrelli says that another factor in choosing Microsoft Online Services was its seamless interoperability with Office Professional 2007. “We were changing our email interface and introducing new tools,” he says. “I think that if we had chosen a different technology, the transformation would have been more difficult.”

Novelis pays for the services it uses on a month-to-month basis, and the company is spending far less than it did for its previous technology. Because Exchange Online operates seamlessly with the company’s other productivity solutions, Novelis has reduced the burden on IT staff. Sanjeev Goel, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Novelis, estimates that the company has reduced the cost of its messaging environment by 25 percent.

By using Microsoft Online Services, Novelis employees can now collaborate more effectively, and the company can increase efficiencies, reduce operational costs, and ultimately enhance sales and revenue. “We have not only reduced costs. We have optimized the way we are working across all businesses,” says Legrand. “By reducing our footprint and enhancing collaboration, we’ve built a foundation for future growth.”

Read the full case study.

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