Google Workspace Transformation During Ongoing Operations
Summary
Learn more about how the renowned Swiss media house, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), revolutionized its digital collaboration.
- The Challenge: Modernizing legacy on-premise infrastructure for 800 users without interrupting critical 24/7 news operations.
- The Solution: A phased migration to Google Workspace, managed by Public Cloud Group (PCG), including Google Drive integration and comprehensive change management (Google Guides training, floorwalking).
- Key Results: Improved team collaboration, standardized digital workflows, and immediate access to Generative AI via Google Gemini.
About the Company
The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) is one of the most well-known and renowned Swiss media houses. Since 1780, it has stood for independent quality journalism, profound analysis, and reliable orientation. To uphold this standard in an increasingly digital world, NZZ continuously develops its working methods and technological foundations.
Transformation Without Downtime
Journalism never stops. In an industry where every minute counts, NZZ faced a herculean task: modernizing its digital infrastructure without interrupting the newsroom’s operations for even a single second.
Prior to the project, NZZ used a mix of on-premise infrastructure and cloud data, including its own data center. The goal was to replace these existing structures and create a future-proof, centralized working environment. NZZ aimed to improve cross-team collaboration and align technologically with the standards of Swiss media houses.
A central challenge in this process was to sustainably optimize workflows through the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Google Workspace Migration and Change Management
With the support of the Public Cloud Group (PCG), NZZ migrated its working environment for around 800 users to Google Workspace. This involved migrating data repositories to Google Drive as well as transferring mail, calendars, and contacts.
NZZ relied on a phased approach: First, “First Movers” and a group of “Early Adopters” paved the way before the full transition of all employees was successfully realized in the next step.
To ensure ongoing operations, the go-live also took place in two strategic phases – separating the editorial department from the rest of the company. PCG accompanied the transition on-site with comprehensive change management, which included Google Guides training, admin training, end-user, and VIP training. This was supplemented by floorwalking and a support “corner” where employees could receive direct help at any time.
In addition, the integrated AI functions of Google Gemini were accompanied by deep-dive training sessions from the start, providing the teams with immediate access to generative AI.
Simplified Collaboration & AI Power
The entire migration was successfully completed within a few months.
And the change is tangible: The switch to Google Workspace has significantly improved the way people work together at NZZ. The intuitive usability and the seamless interaction among Google applications have substantially simplified team collaboration.
By directly integrating Gemini into everyday work, employees benefit from intelligent AI capabilities that create more productive workflows. CTO Volker Dietzel rated the project as a full success during the steering meeting and overall Project Lead Dominik Halter also expressed satisfaction.
The successful introduction of Google Workspace and Gemini is considered our new benchmark and reference for future projects in terms of quality, time, and costs.
The high level of commitment, flexibility, and reliability of the PCG team contributed significantly to mastering this complex transformation during ongoing operations so smoothly and successfully.
Collaboration with PCG
PCG acted not only as a technical implementation partner but also safely guided NZZ through the entire migration with structured on-site support.
After the go-live, NZZ was transitioned to PCG’s Managed Cloud Operations (MCO), establishing reliable 24/7 support. In this model, NZZ handles first-level support, while PCG assists with second-level support for Google Workspace.
As a long-term partner, PCG now supports the media house in further process optimization, such as the automation of digital onboarding and offboarding processes.