Microsoft maintains a global network of over 400,000 selected partners who offer their customers digital transformation solutions based on Microsoft 365 cloud services. Each year, Microsoft selects a partner in various categories who has “delivered unparalleled value and helped organizations grow, lead, and manage their businesses in new ways.” Epic Fusion entered the “Modern Workplace for Frontline Workers” category—and won the “Microsoft Partner of the Year Award”!
“The team at Epic Fusion AG,” said Luca Petraccaro of Microsoft Switzerland, “demonstrates exceptional expertise and in-depth knowledge, coupled with a strong commitment to innovation. Many Swiss customers value their solutions and their first-class, customer-centric approach, and we at Microsoft look forward to deepening our collaboration with Epic Fusion.” What else can we say but: Wow, we’re honored!
The project we submitted centered on a contract for BAND. BAND is a diverse company active in sectors such as industry, services, and commerce. For more than 75 years, BAND has been committed to integrating people with disabilities into the workforce. BAND is organized as a private-sector company and employs around 800 people at various locations. By 2023, however, the steadily growing BAND had fallen behind in digital transformation. Internal communication still relied on email and paper printouts, data protection policies were outdated, and organizational challenges arose during the pandemic. For example, a lack of digital collaboration tools made it difficult to conduct training and integration programs, and employees at remote locations felt “left behind.”
To make training and onboarding activities run more smoothly again and strengthen internal cohesion, we first created a work environment based on zero-trust principles using Windows 11, Intune, and Cloud Security. Building on this foundation, we then introduced Viva Connections—specifically for frontline workers. We then implemented, in close collaboration with an interdisciplinary group of BAND experts, a Microsoft 365-based modern work environment that takes into account the very broad spectrum of tasks and needs of BAND’s various employees.
The result: On the one hand, various communication, organizational, and work processes that previously took hours can now be completed in minutes or even seconds. Second, a new spirit of enthusiasm for digitalization has taken hold at BAND: In a pilot project with fifty Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, a working group is currently evaluating how AI support can be used to streamline administrative case management and optimize the design of training modules.
Looking back on the project, which was completed in just twelve months, BAND CEO Christoph Matter told us: “You were the perfect partner for us. We were impressed by your structured approach, but it was more than just expertise. The decisive factor for us was that you made supporting our employees through this project your top priority.”
What does “digital first” mean? In our opinion, nothing at all—at least not when it stands alone. We created Epic Fusion based on the conviction that digitalization only delivers real added value when it doesn’t overshadow people—in other words, when the principle is: “Digital first, humans not second.” We’ve built our business and consulting model around this human-centered approach. We don’t want to simply implement technology packages for our clients; rather, we want to guide them and their employees through an efficient transformation process—always following the Epic Fusion journey “Get ready! Transform! Unleash!”—toward their Modern Workplaces. Workplaces where they not only work more productively but also feel more comfortable and can thrive. Our goal: top-notch modern work.
Against this backdrop, being named “Microsoft 2024 Partner of the Year” in the “Modern Workplace for Frontline Workers” category is more than just a “certificate of competence” for us. It is the realization that a partner as large and innovative as Microsoft not only recognizes our technological expertise but also shares and values our philosophy. So when Microsoft looks forward to deepening its collaboration with us, we can only say: The pleasure is all ours!
Looking to the future, however, we also view this award as a commitment. We must—and want to—be able to offer every client award-worthy solutions at all times. This, in turn, requires that we not simply rest on our philosophy and skills, but constantly question and further develop them. But more on that another time. For now, we’d like to extend a heartfelt, Oscar-worthy thank you to everyone who made this possible: Thank you to Microsoft, thank you to our employees, thank you to BAND, and thank you to all our other clients—you’re the best!
Epic Fusion with BAND
With around 800 employees at various locations, the privately run organization BAND is one of the largest providers of integration services in the canton of Bern. For over 75 years, BAND has been committed to sustainably integrating people with health impairments into the workforce. To meet its own standards in terms of efficiency, work culture, and resource conservation, the organization decided to completely overhaul its digital work environment and adapt its work organization accordingly.