Red Bull GmbH is a globally recognized brand, renowned for its iconic energy drink and a dynamic presence in sports and entertainment. With over 18,000 employees worldwide, Red Bull’s corporate intranet plays a critical role in facilitating communication, optimizing processes, and supporting daily operations across its international offices.
The company’s commitment to innovation meant they were looking for a solution that could ensure their intranet was as powerful as their brand presence. Their research led them to choose Ichicraft Boards as a potential answer.
Red Bull's challenges and needs
During their migration from a custom-built intranet to SharePoint Online, Red Bull encountered several key challenges:
- The lack of personalization for the SharePoint Online intranet landing page threatened to reduce user engagement and satisfaction.
- The organization’s catalog of over 670 apps needed a centralized hub to ensure users could efficiently access essential tools and resources.
Red Bull certainly didn’t want its new intranet solution to offer less functionality than their previous custom-developed intranet.
The solution: Ichicraft Boards
With a wealth of expertise in Microsoft 365 platform solutions, especially in enhancing collaboration and productivity with SharePoint and Teams extensions, Ichicraft was the perfect fit for Red Bull.
Ichicraft Boards provided the level of customization and centralization that this dynamic company required. The flagship product, Ichicraft Boards, can be easily configured to create personal digital workspaces that optimize workflows and provide easy access to essential resources.
“Ichicraft Boards provided the functionality we required to maintain a high level of user experience and engagement while leveraging the advantages of a standardized platform.”
— Corporate Intranet at Red Bull
Implementing Ichicraft Boards
To ensure a smooth transition, Red Bull implemented Ichicraft Boards in parallel with their existing intranet. The company allowed users to migrate their landing pages simply with a single button press in SharePoint Online. The rollout was completed in the following phases:
Within just 14 days of the global rollout, the legacy intranet was retired, emphasizing the smooth and efficient transition.
How is the platform used?
To meet their organizational needs, Red Bull utilized the full customization capabilities of Ichicraft Boards, including:
- The App Launcher widget: employees were given access to over 670 external apps through a personalized, user-friendly, and searchable interface, simplifying their daily workflows.
- Branding features: the intranet’s appearance was adapted to align with Red Bull’s branding and visual identity.
- Custom widgets: Time Booking, Vacation & Travel Bookings, and Lunch Bookings widgets allow employees to perform essential tasks directly from their landing page.
- Personalized news: News Widgets deliver global and local updates, ensuring that all employees are kept informed.
- Shared boards: customized landing pages based on regions and departments were introduced. This ensured employees in each country had the right tools configured by their local managers.
“Using Ichicraft’s shared boards functionality, we installed a central Reporting Board that shows details of our SharePoint analytics data for all editors. This decentralized management approach has made our intranet much more convenient to manage while significantly reducing communication overhead.”
— Corporate Intranet at Red Bull
What difference has Ichicraft Boards made?
Since implementing Ichicraft Boards, Red Bull has experienced several key benefits:
- Eliminated custom development costs: using built-in widgets and customization options.
- Intuitive app access with the App Launcher widget: employees can now access over 670 external apps.
- Improved decentralized management: enabling country managers to configure intranet landing pages specific to their regions.
- Integration with Microsoft 365: Ichicraft Boards integrates smoothly with SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive, allowing employees to access key Microsoft 365 tools directly from their personalized workspace.
- Security and compliance: the platform is aligned with leading security standards, including ISO 27001 certification, ensuring that all data interactions are secure and compliant.
- Shared boards for specialised purposes: for example, a central Reporting Board shows details of their SharePoint analytics data to all editors. Another shared board is configured to hold all applications, widgets, and files relevant from an HR perspective, providing employees access to all necessary materials and tools.
- Overwhelmingly positive feedback: internal teams, particularly community managers, have been exceedingly positive about the boards due to the flexibility and control offered by the solution.
Feedback on implementing Ichicraft Boards
Red Bull’s experience with the Ichicraft team has been exemplary:
“Our experience working with the Ichicraft team during the implementation and beyond has been exceptional. They have proven to be very professional, trustworthy, and reliable. The team has demonstrated a very short reaction time for bug fixing and new feature requests, and they are always open to ideas. We have built a very good relationship with them, resulting in a very successful partnership.”
— Corporate Intranet at Red Bull
Conclusion
Red Bull’s implementation of Ichicraft Boards has set a new standard for global intranet functionality. By adopting a solution that integrates well with Microsoft 365, adheres to ISO 27001 security standards, and minimizes administrative overhead, Red Bull has transformed its digital workplace. The smooth deployment, low-maintenance structure, and flexible customization have enabled teams to work more efficiently and engage more effectively with their intranet.
Red Bull’s success story highlights how Ichicraft Boards can deliver a powerful yet user-friendly solution that enhances global collaboration and productivity.
“There is no easier way to provide a fully customizable intranet start page. Ichicraft Boards is easy to use, easy to administrate, and includes everything you need to launch a successful and visually appealing intranet.”
— Corporate Intranet at Red Bull
Red Bull highly recommends Ichicraft Boards to other companies seeking a customizable, user-friendly intranet solution.
Expert Consultancy by Rapid Circle
This successful implementation was made possible through the expertise of our trusted partner, Rapid Circle. Their consultancy services ensured a smooth and effective deployment of Ichicraft Boards, aligning perfectly with Red Bull’s unique intranet needs. Rapid Circle’s in-depth knowledge of SharePoint and commitment to excellence played a crucial role in bringing this transformation to life.
