The NDR is located in Hamburg on two main offices. In the state capitals of Hanover, Kiel and Schwerin as well as in Hamburg there are additional offices and stations for radio and television, which mainly design regional programs for the respective state. In addition, the NDR maintains regional studios and correspondent offices in several cities in its broadcasting area. In addition, the NDR operates the ARD studios abroad in London, Stockholm, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and New Delhi.
The NDR offers a broad program of information, education, advice and entertainment. The NDR produces alone or in cooperation with other broadcasters numerous well-known television and radio programs. The NDR currently employs a total of approximately 3,500 permanent and 1,100 freelancers.
The Task
As a key component of the digitization strategy and in the age of messaging, NDR was looking for a new communication tool that speeds up, simplifies and protects employees’ information exchange.
The NDR primarily used email as an internal communication medium. Due to the mass of e-mails and the delayed response, the e-mail is a very inefficient medium for internal communication. Especially the employees in the editorial departments and productions needed a communication tool that enables a very fast exchange of information and timely feedback.
Especially with ongoing group discussions on topics, projects, news and research, as they are commonplace at NDR, the email makes structured information exchanges and efficient communication difficult. Employees required a communication tool that simplifies team communication and enables topic-specific information sharing.
The editors, news correspondents and employees in productions are on the road regularly and work primarily with mobile devices. They need to be able to quickly communicate with colleagues in locations, studios and offices that usually work on the PC. For this purpose, a modern communication tool was needed, which connects employees regardless of their whereabouts and the device in use at any time.
Many employees are accustomed to using private messengers like WhatsApp and appreciate the benefits of fast and informal messaging. The NDR therefore was looking for a kind of “secure WhatsApp for enterprises“.
For the NDR as a leading public organization, strong German data protection, high security standards and company-wide compliance are fundamental requirements. Here also a professional infrastructure and a secure hosting play a very important role. In addition, a communication solution must be able to be administered easily and centrally, and should be able to be rolled out quickly and be deployed safely on mobile devices.
The Solution
The NDR has opted for Teamwire’s messenger for enterprises. Teamwire offers a professional and secure messenger with a user experience similar to WhatsApp.
Employees can communicate in real time in 1: 1 and group chats as well as team channels. Text messages and digital content such as photos, videos, location information, web links with previews, voice messages, files and documents can be sent.
For all messages, employees receive read receipts even in group chats. Employees can use the Teamwire app on smartphones, tablets and the PC, with the devices constantly synchronizing themselves to the latest communication status.
As a German provider, Teamwire guarantees the highest German data protection and offers comprehensive security and compliance policies. In addition, Teamwire is strongly encrypted.
With Teamwire, all employees can easily be managed centrally via an administrator portal. Teamwire integrates with existing employee directories and the Mobile Device Management solution of Airwatch.
The Teamwire messenger is managed by EBF GmbH for NDR and operated as a “private cloud” in a high-security data center.
The Customer Benefit
The NDR can communicate internally with the messenger in real time, relieve the e-mail and significantly improve the information exchange of the employees in the editorial departments and productions.
Teamwire’s group chats and channels on different topics, projects and news serve as virtual meeting rooms that enable faster communication, always keep track of all important things and speed up decision making.
Through the chat functions, there is a much more direct way of dialogue than before with the email. Sharing digital content such as photos and videos with Teamwire also improves communication, especially when it comes to editorial topics, news and productions.
With the availability of Teamwire on all devices, employees can easily communicate with each other and discuss topics directly, regardless of where they are. The messenger connects employees on the go with colleagues at the various locations and thus also improves the ongoing coordination. Overall, Teamwire helps the NDR to increase employee and team productivity.
Teamwire’s privacy features and security policies ensure comprehensive data protection for the NDR. The data on the mobile devices is also very well secured. Strong encryption allows the NDR to communicate confidentially without the risk of third parties seeing this information.
The operation of the Teamwire solution by EBF in a secure, German data center as a “private cloud” ensures a highly available service, for which the NDR does not need any human resources.
The intuitive administrator portal and the integration into employee directories also minimize and simplify administration work. Teamwire’s support for Airwatch’s Mobile Device Management solution further reduces administration efforts and enables automated rollouts.
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