Our work was mainly divided into 3 stages:

• the first step was the realization of an opportunity study, around 3 major areas: the 10 years vision of the office automation and collaborative business evolution; the impacts in terms of employees’ changes of usages ; losses or expected potential gains in terms of overall productivity for the company. The study, conducted at the same time with other actions concerning the choice of the final solution (between Microsoft, IBM and Google), has led to the final choice of the Google Apps by the group.

• the second step consisted in coordinating on real process a first functional Google Apps driver on 3 months to assess the changes of usages on a smaller sample and evaluate leading actions to a massive deployment. The driver, initially provided for less than 100 persons, has engaged fast several hundred users and has been acclaimed. Many metrics have been developed to measure user’s satisfaction through different fields and the adoption facilities. Results were extremely successful and led to the overall deployment.

• the third step is the final deployment to all employees, which is gradual according to different products, to existing developments and necessary technical or organizational evolutions. Google Docs and Sites are immediately deployed to all employees whereas Google Mail and Calendar requires a more gradual recovery of existing data on previous systems and will be deployed in early 2010 as officially announced by Valeo.

The feedback is extremely rich. The first interesting point is the ease with which users adopt the solution as soon as their profits are presented and demonstrated. Of course, 100% of the needs previously covered by Microsoft Office for example can not be covered by Google Apps (complex Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint Slideshow filled with animations), but it makes you realize very quickly that:

1. users ask for simplicity, an easy production system and the possibility to exchange information with their employees. Once they realized that Google Docs for example offers those two dimensions simultaneously, they are willing to sacrifice some advanced aspects of existing products in order to get new Google solution’s benefits.
2. at least 90% of normal daily usages of an employee are covered by the Google tools. We can even affirm that 100% of the usages of a large majority of users is covered by the Google solution. Only what we might call  “power users” will need in some cases advanced features of Excel or PowerPoint (we consider Word as a part of another category because up to 99% of it is very quickly replaced by the direct online production by using the wiki mode or shared documents ). In this case and for that users we retain the version of MS Office, what drastically reduces the need in licenses (one license Google Apps costs 10 times less).

Contrary to many misconceptions in this field, Google Apps is not only suited to small companies but also to large ones. This real implementation confirms on one hand our own studies (solutions like Google are the future of office automation and collaboration) and on the other hand confirms that Google Apps is perfectly usable for large organizations, on a very large scale to replace Microsoft Office and any other collaborative solutions.

The only initial condition is to determine previously the needed usages transformation by the firm to switch from an old paradigm to a new on , and to implement a policy for adoption and dissemination that enables the softest deployment among employees, while enjoying the features of viral adoption of such a product.

Profits are then to go, not in terms of “better knowledge management ” or “better ability to innovate,” or any other qualitative argument difficult to quantify in the short term, but in terms of individual and collective productivity gains. Because at the end, the challenge of using those new tools is exactly located on the level of the daily work productivity (and this is the creed defended by Kimind since its creation through its consultants expertise).

By simplifying the usage of those tools and by fostering massive and instantaneous collaboration between employees (and beyond that, thanks to the immediate sharing with partners, customers or suppliers), individuals themselves and the group improve the flow of their work process, break down barriers accumulated over the past years and decompartmentalize bottlenecks of saturated mailboxes and overflowing shared file servers.

It is extremely easy thanks to field interviews conducted by Kimind’s consultants, to make protagonists themselves aware of huge time savings they will make in their whole process by excluding informal daily work displayed. Not only time savings but also the ability to perform tasks that were previously impossible because of the lack of true collaborative tools.

It is therefore a real transformation of usages that can be observed, which induces a transformation of the organization, and must therefore be underlined by the top management to be adopted quickly.
Google Apps is currently the only solution to such an approach and such productivity gains on a large scale and for large organizations. No other solution offers a broad functional spectrum, even if often it covers better some subsets.

But a large organization needs a global solution, and Google Apps is today the only operational alternative, what has been demonstrated through this massive deployment and feedback. Other actors like Microsoft and IBM will of course evoluate, but the transformation of their own architecture and attitude is extremely slow throughout the evolution of these solutions, and delays are important.

Google Apps is therefore perfectly suited to the usages of large organizations. The problem is not in that fact, but in the ability of large organizations to evolve and realize that it can and must do  it to reach new levels of productivity previously unsuspected.

Feel free to contact us directly if you hope for similar results, faster the projects are launched, faster the results are out.

Kimind delivered at the end of summer the first version of a Web 2.0 site on behalf of one of our customers which specializes in car parts equipment. A project we have supported from requirements definition to delivery passing by its executions.

The context

The technical documentation center wanted to launch a platform enabling them to provide their customers with the documentation associated with their products, that is so far stored in inaccessible places, not really available and in different formats: text documents, presentations, videos … Moreover, their partners needed to easily add content themselves, and that customers can efficiently navigate in it. It should also facilitate interactions (comments, rating system …) to eventually create a community around the catalog and make it a reference, without falling into the complexities of many online catalogs.

Obviously we had to share the draft central contribution of Web 2.0 to this project: social networking, user-generated-content, assessment by users.

The first version should be ready for a trade show scheduled less than 8 weeks later…

The first major phase of the project was to define the project in itself and to choose the best solution to achieve:

We first had to identify needs and to establish general functional specifications.

From an original vague idea, requiring a collaborative and participatory vision of the problem, a Kimind’s consultant conducted a brainstorming session to clarify the project, generate ideas by the participants, define the participatory dimension and define all needs associated. He then formalized it and he generated in few days functional general specifications that gave the outline of the project with its Web 2.0 their dimension.

We could then choose the best solution for the project in terms of cost, time and sustainability.

Following this, Kimind quickly moved on Practice (technical recommendation): choice of a collaborative CMS and/or a programming language, advised infrastructure… all this being based on defined needs carried out. Our thorough knowledge of collaborative tools, through our everyday experience (for our customers but also internally), gives us fortunately a complete picture of opportunities, beyond the single dimension of technology.

Because of the short delay, it became necessary to start with a CMS that have a similar architecture to the expected results, and on which it was possible to graft complex modules. We naturally led to XWiki, a second powerful wiki generation, customizable and suitable for specific developments. In addition, XWiki is a French and open-source product!

In a forthcoming note, we will explain how we have successfully completed this project with short delays and very competitive costs…

Stay tuned!

The following : here

• A new fundraising of 4.7 M€
• A strategic alliance with Dassault Systemes, which now distributes BlueKiwi

Financial consolidation + global trade axis, these are two great steps over BlueKiwi to become a global player software. Is BlueKiwi going to be one of the few exceptions in the french high tech area to succeed starting from France? We hope so, and they provide the means:

• their investor are strongly supporting them
• BlueKiwi’s team is composed of smart people
• two new offices will be opened in September in Boston and San Francisco, mandatory steps to be taken seriously by US businesses and realize the next fund raisings.
• product is improving rapidly
• SaaS solution is online for some months and is affordable
• maturity of the market is growing rapidly despite (through?) crisis
• they have strong customer references
• competition exists, but is not as advanced

All qualities that make BlueKiwi can really become a worldwide leader in this market if the adoption by clients is at the rendez-vous.

So good luck again

We already mentioned it indirectly in December with our post dedicated to “Can large accounts adopt Google Apps?“, because Kimind has accompanied Valeo in this process since October 2007, both on the strategic aspects and on the implementation of internal pilots and support to the process and usage transformation practices for the true deployment.

It is a world first for Google, since it is the first time a group of this size adopt the full range of services provided by the Google Apps collaborative suite, in both messaging and collaborative dimensions. It is important also to note that Google Apps will gradually replace both the Microsoft Office suite and the collaborative Lotus Notes/Domino platform within Valeo. TechCrunch noticed it this morning with its “Google Cloud: 1 – MS Office: 0” post

Hereunder is the official press release of Valeo (read full press release in their website) :

“Valeo today announced that the Group’s 30,000 Internet-connected employees now have access to a new communication and collaborative working platform based on Google Apps Premier Edition and supported by Capgemini.

The progressive roll-out of the new system is giving employees access to a suite of online products which will increase administrative efficiency and improve collaboration between the 193 Valeo entities in 27 countries.

“We were searching for an innovative way to reduce significantly our office infrastructure costs while simultaneously improving user collaboration and productivity,” said André Gold, Valeo’s Technical Senior Vice-President. “Our pilot projects demonstrate that this target is achievable.”

Valeo is deploying Google Apps, supported by Google’s partner Capgemini, in a phased approach throughout 2009. As a first step, users are being given access to Google sites, on-line documents, video management and instant messaging, including voice and video chat, in order to improve teamwork. The new system will then offer applications to further enhance the company’s efficiency, such as an Enterprise directory and workflow tools to automate administrative processes. In the final stage, users will benefit from Google mail, calendar, search and
on-line translation solutions to reinforce personal efficiency. They will be able to access the applications from a desktop, laptop or other mobile device.

“The cost savings and innovation made possible by cloud computing help businesses better respond to a global and mobile workforce – especially in today’s difficult economic environment,” said Dave Girouard, President, Google Enterprise. “We’re thrilled Valeo has selected Google.

Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks. Valeo ranks among the world’s top automotive suppliers. The Group has 122 plants, 61 R&D centers, 10 distribution platforms and employs around 49,000 people in 27 countries worldwide.”

(read full press release in their website & related Google’s blog post)

If you are interested to know more about such projects, don’t hesitate to contact us.

This is really a first level of access that were lacking from BlueKiwi (and other competitors), and this is very good for the democratization of the Enterprise 2.0. Don’t hesitate to make a try to Bluekiwi, they have one of the richest and more powerful solution for social media within the corporation, and we wish them the best success.

It is in this contexte of financial crisis that Kimind decided to offer free (*) by mid february 2009 1 day of free consulting  to any CIO or CEO/COO of large account that request it. In order to present, analyze and evaluate what could be an Enterprise 2.0 strategy applied to their business, its potential benefits, changes and support they need to operate within the organization.

This initial step can only take place with the top management, as well as the adoption is done then in an organic way, management must be aware of the challenges and are the motor of the major changes.

Building on its long experience in the field, a senior consultant will lead the day in collaboration with the CIO or CEO/COO, and will share its know-how and feedback to make a first diagnosis from company business examples and concrete ideas.

If your goal is to reach a better performance of your organization, contact us as soon as possible to plan the day.

(*) Excluding travel and accommodation outside Paris (France) area. Remote sessions can also be organized.

New version of XWiki is very impressive indeed. XWiki moved increasingly in the best worldwide position in the enterprise wiki market, while preserving its open source dimension. The roadmap presented is also very motivating, the direction taken by XWiki is certainly good, because it is outside the framework of pure traditional wiki rather reserved to collaborative writing, to actually go to the real area of collaborative working environments with a new social dimension arriving at high speed.