Mahindra and Mahindra enhances digital access with Microsoft Teams
Case in point: Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M)
At a glance
Automotive, farm equipment, and agribusiness pioneer Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is one of the best recognized brands in the automotive space in India. Driven by innovation, the company is constantly on the lookout for new ways to create a modern workforce. Today, more than 30,000 employees collaborate with coworkers and share enterprise data seamlessly on Teams. The successful changeover to Teams was powered by an expansive change management strategy and has paved the way for seamless collaboration among employees.
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M)
Overview
In 1945, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Limited’s journey commenced in the steel business. Over time, the company expanded into 22 key industries. Today, M&M is a global conglomerate of more than 150 companies and a USD 20.7 billion group with business presence in 100-plus countries. With R&D facilities across 13 countries and 63 manufacturing facilities globally, the group employs more than 250,000 employees. It operates in key industries that form the foundation of every modern economy, including aerospace and defense, aftermarket, agribusiness, automotive, farm equipment, two-wheelers, financial services, hospitality, information technology, partners, and real estate.
The enterprise is spearheading industries and paving new paths, as the world’s largest tractor company by volume, India’s largest electric vehicle maker, and one of the country’s largest utility vehicle manufacturers.
Rising beyond barriers
Across its diverse verticals and geographical spread, M&M is fueled by its ‘Rise’ philosophy. “The Rise credo is about accepting no limits, alternative thinking, and driving positive change—the three pillars,” explains Anand Mahindra, Chairman at Mahindra Group. “Whether in services or in manufacturing, the trick is to stay ahead of the curve. I believe we should not wait to be disrupted—we should become disruptors ourselves,” he adds.
Business challenge
Continued innovation driven by seamless collaboration between stakeholders was, therefore, a business imperative.
For the teams at M&M, email was the primary mode of communication. But a constant influx of emails hampered productivity. Although multiple chat-based platforms were being used across the enterprise, the disparate array of tools made collaboration challenging. Connectivity issues, two-way communication with the leadership team, and employee engagement through social activities were other hurdles that the company faced.
Industry 4.0 solution
“We wanted our people to embrace a simple collaboration tool that could help break down silos between teams and facilitate information exchange on the go. We also wanted to reduce email and induce a shift towards simplicity,” says Bishwanath Ghosh, CIO Enterprise & Corporate Functions at M&M. Well acquainted with the versatility and security of Microsoft Office 365 and Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams was the company’s go-to choice. Under the leadership of Mr. Ghosh, an adoption team was appointed to lead this effort enterprise wide, coined as mBaarish [Pour of Knowledge at M&M].
Business outcomes
Today, Teams is the shared workspace of more than 30,000 employees of M&M. Teams is also used at other entities in Mahindra Group, such as Tech Mahindra and Mahindra Holidays. These are not covered in this case-study.
“On Teams, we can bring everyone together so they can jointly work on projects, share ideas, and interact from anywhere. In a short span, the simplicity and ease of use of Teams have made it our central communication and collaboration platform,” explains Murlidhar Rao, General Manager Datacenter Operations at M&M.
Technology evolution is a natural progression. Going forward, M&M has plans to take advantage of continued digital transformation as a means to empower its employees, propel its business to new heights, and deliver exceptional customer service.
“By focusing on transforming our internal operations through Teams, we have empowered our workforce with everything they need to accomplish their tasks productively and achieve professional growth through an improved work environment. With its rich collaboration experience, Teams has truly transformed the way we work,” concludes Ghosh.
Key benefits
| Area | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Safety & Workforce | Seamless two-way communication: When remote working became the norm due to COVID-19, employees could continue to engage with colleagues and business partners seamlessly. The group chats on Teams greatly eased communication, as it takes just a few clicks to set up a quick huddle or video conferences with the dealer network.In fact, teams have collaborated in 3,50,000 virtual meetings over a span of 40 days. What’s more, the leadership team, including the managing director, has been effectively disseminating corporate communication through 80-plus live events. |
| Safety & Workforce | 360-degree engagement: For the HR teams, the platform has opened up a whole new way of employee engagement. From musical events to Zumba classes, varied activities are helping everyone catch up and keep the fun alive virtually—even after office hours. |
| Visibility & Analytics | Cloud-powered collaboration and enterprise-grade security: The effective compatibility of day-to-day Office 365 tools and shared documents on OneDrive simplifies remote collaboration with assured security. In the strategy team, which deals with business-critical data, the silo approach is maintained. “We create different channels within Teams to keep sensitive information in silos. We also keep uploading documents and work together. This helps in version control because there is no need for a flurry of emails with revised versions of PPTs and anyone can access the latest version from any device,” says Ravindra Dhawan, Head of IT Infrastructure Platform at M&M. |
| Traceability & Compliance | Business continuity: While Teams has been an enabler towards business continuity enterprise wide, in the company’s tractor manufacturing wing, Teams has facilitated meetings with dealers, inspections from auditors, negotiations with suppliers and vendors, and year-end financial roundups by finance teams. Teams is the all-in-one workspace for the entire process. |
| Productivity & Throughput | Knowledge sharing: M&M has appended line-of-business apps to Teams, which makes routine tasks and workflows more efficient and seamless. For instance, it has integrated a learning app with Teams and enabled effective training and knowledge sharing. |