Mercantil Andina achieves remote efficiency with Microsoft Teams

Unify communication

Mercantil Andina is one of the leading insurance companies in Argentina with 42 own offices in 14 provinces. In 2020, it required remote work to continue operating, which caused the company to use different communication tools developed by various suppliers. IT faced the challenge of unifying the communication system and providing a solution that allowed employees to work from anywhere. The need to unify criteria led Mercantil Andina to look for a partner like Prisma Technology Solutions to implement Microsoft Teams.

"During 2020, the priority was to cope with the business. When we were able to organize ourselves, we performed an analysis with different vendors and chose Office 365," recalls Fernando Nuñez, Technology Manager of Mercantil Andina, on a project that was just starting. "We needed a Microsoft tools partner and, on the recommendation of other insurers, we partnered with Prisma Technology Solutions. Our experience with them was fantastic from the start."

Rapid deployment

The project was conducted in three months using the FastTrack program that provided migration plans for Microsoft 365 solutions at no additional cost over the term of the subscription. The strategy was to focus on the user through internal validation with Prisma. The resources available on-premises, number of users, and where they had to connect were taken into account depending on the profile and type of license.

"The premise was clear: to do a technology project to reach non-technology users. How? Through Microsoft Teams," says Juan Scafu, Account Executive for Prisma Technology Solutions, recalling the first meeting with the insurance company's IT department.

Entirely remote

Employees were trained remotely via Teams, with approximately 20 training sessions per user group. Community Training, Prisma's portal, enabled access to how-to videos about Microsoft's built-in tools. Employee training self-management led to a very low percentage of help desk calls. On the other hand, using Microsoft Teams led to a 60% reduction in email flow, saving time and costs.

"In addition to chat and video calls, Microsoft Teams enabled us to generate workspaces, integrate all of our tools, reduce the level of mail, work with files simultaneously, and take collaboration to another level," highlights Ariel Iturriaga, Infrastructure Leader.

New work experience

Adoption of Microsoft Teams improved the remote work experience, maximizing productivity, providing security benefits and time optimization. Implementing a single platform reduced application usage costs and collaboration between Mercantil Andina Human Resources and Prisma enabled project success.

"Together with Human Capital, we worked so closely on a project that spanned the entire company. This strengthened the interdepartmental relationship of the company," reflects Ariel Iturriaga, Commercial Infrastructure Leader, and Project Leader from the beginning in collaboration with Prisma.

Towards a more secure user

"What do we do to be more secure?" Scafu asks himself, answering: "Have a more secure user," thereby admitting that Mercantil Andina plans to improve its safety to ensure a more secure work environment for the user. In addition, with the next steps in the roadmap, the option of incorporating Teams-based telephone service is being evaluated.

The success of the Microsoft Teams implementation has encouraged the company to continue its digital transformation journey. Considering that the insurance company's goal is to provide support through knowledge and experience to be closer to its customers and work more efficiently, expanding the use of Microsoft solutions seems to be a good decision.