WEX is a leading financial technology service provider across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, travel and healthcare. Grown from a startup into an international simplifier of payments that now serves millions of companies, WEX has a passion for people and technology. To contribute towards their mission of helping clients make smart, data-driven business decisions, WEX chose Google Cloud to help them scale, collaborate, and remain secure. The first jump was to Google Workspace, driving seamless collaboration across the entire company.
A majority of the company was using Microsoft Outlook when WEX decided to partner with Google Cloud Premier Partner, 66degrees. Silos, created through mergers and acquisitions, made it difficult to unify the organization globally and their current platform didn’t provide them interoperability with other systems. Collaboration among the entire workforce has now become one of the greatest benefits of Google Workspace for WEX, regardless of working with newly acquired companies. From a technical perspective, the migration
from Outlook to Google Workspace was seamless, however, in every large project there is usually some aspect that needs a little more attention. In this case, it was WEX’s use of shared mailboxes. Because of their segmentation and need for specific data regions, they needed a partner who could advocate for them within Google and solve for their unique case. The relationship between WEX and 66degrees allowed for customized details, and the teamwork between 66degrees and Google made these special requests possible.
Change is difficult to manage and the moving parts can be daunting. 66degrees’ Change & Adoption Team is experienced in collaborating with clients to simplify the process and create a plan that fits the organization’s voice. The WEX plan included:
This Change Management Plan increased excitement among offices and WEXers were up to speed with Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Chat, Meet, and more. The organization had an over 50% adoption rate in fewer than four months.
66degrees traveled and was graciously received in 11 cities and 5 countries throughout the duration of the project. During those travels, we asked what users were most looking forward to about Google Workspace. One WEXer answered, “That all of WEX will be using one suite of tools and it will be integrated for everyone.”
Prior to WEX going Google, they had invested a significant amount in Cisco’s telepresence solution. With the partnership between Google and Pexip , WEX could benefit from a hybrid environment, encouraging the use of both Hangouts and their existing hardware. Now they’ve purchased more than 100 Meet hardware kits to enhance their solution even more.
The ability to work remotely is something Workspace always provided, but overnight, it became one of the most valuable assets for WEX across the world. Google added functionality to all accounts, giving organizations access to crucial features that may have been overlooked prior to 2020. Here were some of WEX’s favorites:
Live Streaming via Google Meet
Because employees already had knowledge of Google Meet, adding in live stream capabilities within the tool took very little effort and training. WEX’s Tech Talk events hosted through the platform increased from an employee tune-in rate of 200 participants (pre-COVID) to now over 400 regular viewers. Seamless recordings automatically added to Google Drive not only saved time, but almost $3K per meeting, compared to competing streaming services.
Creating Community with Google Sites
An often forgotten part of Google Workspace is the ability to create unique websites. This functionality gave WEX’s many diversity and culture resource groups yet another place to collaborate, share documents, announce meetings and organize each of their communities. Having these dedicated spaces brought people together despite the switch to a fully remote workforce.
Chat Rooms as Company’s Social Tool
Speaking of culture, the larger the organization, the harder it is to keep that culture intact. Being a large enterprise, WEX has tackled that roadblock with the help of Google Chat. The tool alone helps by keeping contact (with less pressure than a video conference), and by creating Rooms, they have found it as an opportunity to allow for moments of recognition with a social media feel for their staff.
As the partnership between WEX and 66degrees continues, Google Cloud provides more opportunities. With over a 50% adoption rate across all Google Workspace applications, and 80% adoption of Gmail, WEX continues to work with 66degrees to leverage more of Google. What’s next on the strategic list? Google Cloud Platform.
Let’s Get You There
With over a decade of premier partner status, 66degrees aligns with Google Cloud to ensure a seamless experience for our clients — from our shared vision to the way we organize our teams.
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