Michael: Hello, Alex. Thank you for taking the time for an interview about your online whiteboard project with Collaboard.
Alexander: My pleasure; I'm happy to discuss it.
Michael: First, could you let us know who regio iT is?
Alexander: Regio iT is a municipal IT service provider in North Rhine-Westphalia. Our headquarters are in Aachen, and we have additional locations in Gütersloh, Siegburg, and Solingen.
Michael: What services do you offer as a municipal IT service provider, and what sets you apart?
Alexander: We are a comprehensive service provider, covering everything imaginable in IT. We primarily work for municipalities and municipal companies, but we occasionally also work for the private sector. Our organization encompasses various business areas, including data centers and infrastructure, (specialized) applications, school IT, SAP solutions, and Smart City. Overall, our approximately 720 motivated employees contribute significantly!
Michael: Interesting, Alex. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Alexander: I work as the CIO and CDO at regio iT and am responsible for our in-house technology and the digital transformation of our company.
Michael: What tools do you use for collaboration at regio iT?
Alexander: For processes, we use tools like SAP and Ivanti, for collaboration, among others, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Jira. We are very structured when introducing new solutions to prevent proliferation and ensure that not every tool from the app stores is used experimentally.
Michael: Why did you decide to introduce an online whiteboard centrally?
Alexander: The main driver was the pandemic, which prompted us to introduce mobile working. During the pandemic, we had various - decentrally introduced - online whiteboard solutions in use, which showed that there was a need. Therefore, we decided on a central solution that everyone should use.
Michael: How did you structure your selection process to find the central whiteboard solution?
Alexander: We initiated a structured selection process, which included a benefit analysis to examine the technical, functional, and security-related requirements. Data protection was a crucial criterion.
Michael: Why did you ultimately choose Collaboard?
Alexander: Collaboard convinced us early on with its usability and data security, especially through hosting in the Open Telekom Cloud in Germany. Ultimately, it scored the most points in our selection process.
Michael: What challenges were there in introducing Collaboard?
Alexander: The challenges were more internal, such as the need to conclude a works agreement and create a data protection concept. However, collaboration with Collaboard and the implementation of single sign-on went smoothly.
Michael: How did your employees receive Collaboard?
Alexander: The introduction was very targeted, based on the needs of specific areas. The onboarding was easy, and thanks to the attractive licensing model, basically every person at regio iT can use Collaboard. However, we distinguish between licensed and free users and guests.
Michael: Were training sessions offered for Collaboard?
Alexander: We did not offer basic training sessions but followed the principle of "Learning by Doing." Collaboard is very accessible and intuitive, so we did not feel it necessary to conduct training sessions. However, we plan to conduct expert training sessions to make certain users even more experienced in using Collaboard. These users can then help colleagues with tips and tricks in using Collaboard as multiplicators.
Michael: What is Collaboard used for in your organization?
Alexander: We use Collaboard for brainstorming, structured workshops, and, for example, in our SAP workshops to visualize processes. It promotes creative work and facilitates the structured capture of information.
Here you can find an example of a kick-off event for process workshops:
