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Title
ECE Group rolls out Microsoft 365 Copilot, with 70 percent of pilot users wanting to keep their licence
…st in, say, learning and focus periods, quality control, or customer relations. As a result, 70 percent of our pilot users are keen to hang on to their Copilot license.” Hendrik Hofmann, Team Leader IT Digital Workplace, ECE Group The challenge: Ma…
Description
German real estate and shopping centre operator ECE Group rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot after manual information searches and data compilation slowed daily work. It went from budget approval to first pilot training in three months, using Copilot for meeting minutes, customer presentation ideas and press release drafts. The Microsoft customer story reports that around 70 percent of pilot participants want to continue using it.
…solution supports repetitive tasks and ensures greater efficiency in processes. Around 70 percent of participants in the pilot phase want to continue using Microsoft 365 Copilot. The reasons for this success: a holistic and innovative approach to introducing…
…Together, we were able to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot at an impressive pace. We went from budget approval to the first training sessions for pilot users in just three months,” Mandelbaum says. “Now we can get on with working with Copilot and reap the ben…
…is already implementing its first use cases: in the area of center management, Copilot is transcribing what is said in meetings and compiling the minutes, generating ideas for customer presentations, and helping draft press releases. “According to internal surveys, these are the most common use cases at ECE, wit…
Company
ECE Group
…s becoming an AI leader within the real estate industry.” Discover more details CUSTOMER ECE Group PRODUCTS Microsoft 365 Copilot SERVICES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATION SIZE 10,000+ employees COUNTRY/REGION Germany…
Country
Germany
…Microsoft 365 Copilot SERVICES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATION SIZE 10,000+ employees COUNTRY/REGION Germany BUSINESS NEED Artificial Intelligence INDUSTRY Retailers Share the story Explor…
Industry
Real Estate
…e details Explore related stories Contact Sales Contact Sales Executive summary The ECE Group offers asset and investment management, project development, and other real estate services internationally. However, manual processes involved in searching for information and compiling d…
Problem
ECE's work involved manual processes for searching information and compiling data: making data-based decisions meant manually sourcing, collating and recalculating data from various sources such as Excel spreadsheets, and customer service teams composed individual responses to customer inquiries in multiple languages and manually compiled and distributed meeting minutes. Its ECEpedia knowledge platform was expensive and time-consuming to maintain without making information easier to find and use.
…ing centers and must be able to maintain an overview of its KPIs at all times. “In the past, making data-based decisions meant manually sourcing, collating, and recalculating data from various sources, such as an array of Excel spreadsheets,” says Hendrik Hofmann, Team Leader IT Digital Workplace at ECE. “That was time-…
…yees’ valuable capacity.” It was the same story over in customer service, where the teams would compose individual responses to customer inquiries in multiple languages and manually compile and distribute minutes of meetings. “Then, in 2024, we launched ECEpedia to pool the company’s collective knowledge…
…ates all internal knowledge databases.” It became clear early on, however, that the continuous documentation and maintenance for ECEpedia was also expensive and time-consuming, while not really making it easier to find and use the information stored there. The sheer range of activities and languages in play at this international famil…
Solution
ECE rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot, starting with a pilot in which ECE employees themselves decided who should take part, to cover a cross-section of activities, roles and cultures. Its compliance department was involved from day one and drew up a company-wide data protection agreement on the responsible use of AI. In center management, Copilot transcribes meetings and compiles the minutes, generates ideas for customer presentations and helps draft press releases, and it organizes company knowledge, provides it when prompted and can summarize it in any language.
…ollout began with a pilot phase, albeit in a way that was anything but typical: ECE employees themselves were tasked with deciding who should take part in the pilot. “With this approach, we aimed to get the best possible cross-section of our com…
…ell as entire city districts. To ensure that operations run smoothly worldwide, the company takes a targeted approach to how it manages its properties. Detailed rental con…
…department was involved in the rollout process from day one. At the same time, this department drew up a company-wide data protection agreement on the responsible use of AI. “Together, we were able to roll out Microsoft 365 Copilot at an impressive pace…
…makes it easier for ECE employees to access documentation of company knowledge. The tool organizes the information, quickly provides it when prompted, and can even summarize it in any language desired. Training sessions are held regularly around the globe, both to support employee…
Business value
Around 70 percent of participants in the pilot phase want to continue using Microsoft 365 Copilot, and according to internal surveys 70 percent of pilot participants use it to create first drafts of meeting minutes, customer presentation ideas and press releases. ECE's IT team leader says it frees up time for learning and focus periods, quality control or customer relations.
…es. “According to internal surveys, these are the most common use cases at ECE, with 70 percent of our pilot participants reporting that they use Copilot for precisely these tasks to create first drafts that they can then develop. This eliminates the mental block that can happen when staring at a blank page,”…
…t 365 Copilot, our colleagues can complete their tasks with greater efficiency. This frees up time that they can invest in, say, learning and focus periods, quality control, or customer relations. As a result, 70 percent of our pilot users are keen to hang on to their Copilot…
AI capabilities
Generative AI
…, both to support employees as they continue on their generative AI journey and to gather a steady stream of feedback to inform further development. ECE has even established its own Copilot community, in which colleagues can ad…
…sessions are held regularly around the globe, both to support employees as they continue on their generative AI journey and to gather a steady stream of feedback to inform further development. ECE ha…
Technology
Microsoft 365 Copilot
…s becoming an AI leader within the real estate industry.” Discover more details CUSTOMER ECE Group PRODUCTS Microsoft 365 Copilot SERVICES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATION SIZE 10,000+ employees COUNTRY/REGION Germany…
Implementation approach
ECE received the green light in November 2024 and went from budget approval to the first training sessions for pilot users in just three months, with the pilot designed to cover all activities, roles and cultures. Next steps include Copilot Studio and Copilot agents.
…by Hofmann and Mandelbaum immediately recognized the solution’s potential and, in November 2024, they got the green light to roll it out. ECE’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Otto, also saw the value Copilot would…
…,” Hofmann says. ECE has already mapped out the next steps of its Copilot plan: in the future, Copilot Studio and Copilot agents will help employees work more productively and creatively. “At the end of the day, we’re not a digital company; we’re a real estate and se…
Onboarding approach
Training sessions are held regularly around the globe to support employees and gather feedback to inform further development, and ECE has established its own Copilot community in which colleagues can advise and learn from each other.
…y provides it when prompted, and can even summarize it in any language desired. Training sessions are held regularly around the globe, both to support employees as they continue on their generative AI journey and to gather a steady stream of feedback to inform further development. ECE has even established its own Copilot community, in which colleagues can adv…
…ourney and to gather a steady stream of feedback to inform further development. ECE has even established its own Copilot community, in which colleagues can advise and learn from each other. “We’re taking a holistic approach to rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot. That’s…
Headline outcome
…solution supports repetitive tasks and ensures greater efficiency in processes. Around 70 percent of participants in the pilot phase want to continue using Microsoft 365 Copilot. The reasons for this success: a holistic and innovative approach to introducing…
Use case type
Conversational assistant
…g for information and compiling data created challenges in the day-to-day work. Thanks to Microsoft 365 Copilot, employees can now quickly and easily search the entire company's knowledge base. At the same time, the solution supports repetitive tasks and…
