Business Situation
The implementation of the comprehensive Collaborative Workplace strategy covered different areas. In the first phase, attention was focused on document management. In recent years, the quantity of electronic documents (e.g. email) has continuously increased. This means that, besides paper-based files, many electronic documents also exist, for instance, in file and mail systems. One particular challenge – besides locating and processing documents – is access from other departments and locations.

Solution
Hannover Re’s Collaborative Workplace will enable integrated access to all reinsurance applications, contract-relevant documents and the electronic archive that is vital to the core business of reinsurance.

Experience has shown that most Collaborative Workplace projects fail because solutions are not integrated into the staff’s work sequences. This means that the collaboration strategy fails to be embraced by users. This lack of acceptance, additional training costs and productivity losses are often the result when employees are forced to change their entire way of working due to the introduction of a new tool. It is therefore more time-efficient and cost-effective to utilize employees’ familiarity with existing applications and use existing know-how and skills. In this project, special attention was paid to the integration of Microsoft Office and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server. This combination permits information to be centrally stored, managed and retrieved from familiar Office processes.

• A joint project team consisting of staff from Hannover Re and consultants from Avanade first of all defined the project approach. They focused their attention on a quick-win scenario that would enable them to achieve the greatest benefits with the least effort.
• Hannover Re deliberately chose not to use a general approach (Collaboration Everywhere) but decided to initially concentrate the project on the most important value-adding processes within “underwriting” (contract initiation, negotiation and conclusion) in its largest field of business (P&C).

Results
“Within this concept we have been able to tie opportunities arising from technological advances and the ‘collaborative approach’ of Microsoft’s products with the company’s most important business processes. We have been able to apply them where they deliver the greatest benefits to the company. And we have achieved this by talking and working with Avanade. Three years ago, we came up with a brave vision. And its gradual implementation has been successful – and still is. Our approach was and is: think big, start smart, scale fast!” explained Hartmut Fuchs, Division Manager at Hannover Re.