Streamlined communications from Ricoh

Australian investment company Wingate continued to expand their business, with this came the opportunity to improve their office productivity and streamline communication within the company.

The challenge

As Wingate expanded its operations reliance on information technology grew. Increasing numbers of processes were digitised and communications with clients and investors were conducted electronically.

Over time Wingate’s service providers were not delivering the right level of support and coverage for the business.

“Our initial reaction was to take control of our technology systems back in-house,” says Wingate IT Director Dan Lodder, “However, a lack on internal IT skills and resources led to us realising this was not a long-term solution.”

The company was keen to move to cloud-based resources to reduce the need to invest in on-premise hardware. They wanted to improve the level of services provided to staff whilst keeping costs and complexity down.

The two areas identified for change were:

• Migrating staff from an on-premise productivity suit to an Azure cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 platform.
• Improve collaboration between staff and clients by utilising the existing investment of their Unified Communication software solution (Skype for Business) and bring this into the meeting space.

Step in Ricoh

Wingate already had an existing relationship with Ricoh who had been providing print services to the company for many years, familiar with the high level of customer service.

“We were confident that Ricoh had the technical skills and experience to undertake the migration without causing any disruption to our day-to-day functioning.” says Lodder. “Work began in August 2017 and was completed on time and on budget by January 2018.”

The files stored on Wingate’s on-premise servers were migrated to the Azure cloud and 85 Office365 seats configured for staff in the company’s Melbourne and Sydney offices. Once the file migration was complete, Ricoh turned their attention to improving Wingate’s internal communications.

“The Ricoh team demonstrated their Smart Meetings and Workspaces portfolio and we could quickly see the value it would add to our operations,” says Lodder. “We have now deployed the Ricoh Interactive Collaboration Hub solution.”This includes a Ricoh 80+ inch interactive whiteboard, Logitech Rally camera and microphone system, Barco Clickshare for wireless presentation and Quicklaunch software for simple and intuitive interface in our Melbourne boardroom.

Benefits of a unified business

With both phases of the digital transformation project now complete, Wingate is enjoying significant business benefits.

The Azure-based Office365 platform means that staff can now easily and securely access files and email from any location and the IT team no longer has to manage on-premise services and associated infrastructure.

“Rather than the peaks and troughs of investing large amounts and then spending nothing for 18 months we now have a steady per-user charge.” Says Lodder

The firms new Ricoh Interactive Collaboration Hub Solution have radically changed the way meetings are conducted. Wingate have improved user adoption of their UC platform Skype for Business in meeting spaces, staff in Melbourne can meet with colleagues in Sydney over Skype – reducing the need for interstate travel.

Lodder says the Ricoh Interactive Whiteboards, combined with Skype for Business, allow participants to join meetings remotely when required, further improving flexibility and productivity. “It has changed for the better the way in which we operate as a company.”

Bright future ahead

Wingate continues to work with Ricoh, they are now looking to deploy a meeting room management system to assist in relation to availability, booking, utilisation and management.

“Ricoh continues to add significant value to the company, and they have a good solution to almost any problem I throw at them,” Lodder says. “They have become a trusted partner that I know I can rely on now and in the future.”

This case study has been shared from Integrate 2019 exhibitor, Ricoh. To see the latest products including their Interactive White Boards, visit them at Stand M5. Talk to the Ricoh team first-hand and discover future-proof solutions for your company – register for free to attend Integrate.