Challenge:
Our client, a leading bank in Luxembourg, faced several challenges in its M365 transformation journey. Despite initiating their transformation in 2019 with the broad use of Teams, the bank encountered limitations in fully rolling out the suite. Their key issues included mainly the coexistence of multiple document storage solutions with no clear guidelines, two mailboxes (Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook), limited use of SharePoint Online, pending migration of documents from file servers to M365 and the absence of an appropriate governance. These challenges drastically impacted collaboration, document management, and overall operational efficiency.
Additionally, risks linked to using a cloud solution were identified. Such as concerns about data sovereignty, compliance with regulations (i.e. GDPR), and potential exposure to foreign law enforcement and intelligence activities. These risks needed to be carefully assessed, mitigated and managed to ensure both the security and privacy of sensitive data.
Solution:
The client was expecting quick results to move forward and continue using the M365 suite with a robust foundation. PwC Luxembourg proposed a workshop-based approach to address these challenges and support the bank in defining and designing its way forward regarding M365.
- Phase 1 - Review of the current situation:
- Conducting workshops with key stakeholders to understand the current state and identify main issues and gaps across five dimensions: Business, Regulatory, Technology, Cybersecurity, and Risk;
- Definition of M365 way forward scenarios;
- Phase 2 - Way forward and recommendations: An immersion session allowed the bank to decide on the M365 adoption strategy. A high-level roadmap and specific recommendations for implementation on each dimension based on the results of the previous phase were delivered
The selected scenario leverages the M365 hosted in the cloud in Europe, with highly confidential documents stored on a dedicated secured on-premises SharePoint instance. This setup ensures a secured and unified collaboration and communication experience while meeting GDPR requirements and mitigating foreign law enforcement and intelligence risks.
Benefits:
The main benefit for the bank was for the management and Board of Directors to reach a common understanding and a shared vision of M365 in the technical landscape, setting the basis for the implementation of the full suite.
Implementing M365 will, at the end, allow to reach to following outputs:
- Enhanced user experience;
- Improved business value;
- Regulatory compliance;
- Risk mitigation;
- Become a future-proofing bank.
