Carmeuse is a leading Belgian mining company that produces lime and limestone for a wide range of markets: from the steel industry to construction, water treatment, agrifood, and the chemical industry. The Carmeuse Group chooses to operate close to its customers and has a global presence with production sites in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

Expertise within the Carmeuse Group is highly specialized, which makes knowledge management essential. The importance of flawless, successful digitalization can hardly be overstated. To consolidate their original digital knowledge base, built on SharePoint 2007 and 2013, into SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365), they were looking for a partner to guide them through the process.

Although Carmeuse had worked with a different IT integrator on their previous migration project in 2016, they were inspired by Xylos's enthusiasm and know-how. They saw us in action at the annual Xylos Inspire event. François Collet, IT and SharePoint expert at Carmeuse, identified Xylos as a partner that could offer the quality of advice and communication that he and his colleagues Sandra Flamand (Knowledge Management Business Partner) and Diana Chira (SharePoint Admin) were looking for on this business-critical project.

The SharePoint Online migration project was carried out based on a clear delivery plan and an agile approach. Across a total of 18 sprints, Carmeuse and Xylos were able to carry out the migration smoothly and migrate the remaining components.

Sandra Flamand was very pleased with the experience: “What worked well for us was that Xylos and Carmeuse always spoke the same language. It was an organic collaboration. And whenever there were technical obstacles, Xylos came up with a modernized solution. As a result, the project never got stuck and we were able to stay on schedule.”

François Collet agrees: “The people at Xylos weren't just competent, they also showed a fantastic attitude. They never said something wasn't possible.”

One aspect that Carmeuse found especially valuable was the use of Azure DevOps to fully support the agile approach. Xylos's setup of the tool proved powerful and efficient: perfect for Sandra and her team to report to their management and help them understand the status of the project.

“We were able to visualize the project in a clear matrix. For example, to immediately give our management clarity about any delays. But also: why something was postponed, what the consequence was, and what needed to be done to fix it. Tom, Xylos's Project Management Lead, communicated the approach excellently to our management. He kept everyone on the same page.”

Carmeuse's goals were twofold: technical and business-related. On the one hand, they wanted to keep guaranteeing a high level of data security. From a business perspective, they wanted to encourage a knowledge-sharing mindset within the organization and boost efficiency.

Previously, users always had to use a VPN to access their digital work environment, and workers mostly had access through shared accounts. That's no longer the case with SharePoint Online and the introduction of a Microsoft F1 license. Thanks to two-factor authentication and personal accounts, everyone now has access to the digital workplace in a secure and flexible way.

Shortly after the migration, François and Sandra noticed that the number of edited documents on SharePoint was three times higher than the number of edited documents on OneDrive. “This shows that we're steadily moving toward our goal,” says Sandra.

François and Sandra see real engagement with Carmeuse's digital workplace: “Employees at sites outside Western Europe are now proactively asking to set up workflows and sites on SharePoint. That's a very good sign. It's remarkable, because when we were still working with on-premises versions of SharePoint, we tried to explain to people what was possible, but it barely seemed to land. Now people are experiencing the possibilities firsthand, and we get requests on a daily basis.” Sandra adds: “This is also exactly the next step in our collaboration with Xylos. We're confident they'll keep supporting us in delivering value for our business.”

Xylos is looking forward to rolling out new SharePoint Online features. The Carmeuse Group has several digital user personas. Our experts will therefore also work together with various departments around the world to understand their needs and challenges. Something that Lynn Franceus, Project Manager at Xylos, doesn't take lightly:

“During this successful as-is migration, we got to know how Carmeuse operates. We're looking forward to diving even deeper into everyone's daily reality — from management and employees who use SharePoint Online to collaborate and manage projects, to operational staff who play an essential role in feeding and interpreting information. We want to enable them to create even better reports with Microsoft 365 tools. We shouldn't overlook external staff either, such as geologists and engineers. It was a fascinating and instructive experience for all our consultants.”

At Carmeuse, there's no doubt that Xylos is worthy of their trust. Sandra Flamand and François Collet sum up Xylos's unique traits in three words: customer service, expertise, and fun.

“The common thread throughout the whole project was that the Xylos experts exceeded our expectations. On top of that, it never felt like we came from two separate companies. Quite the opposite: we experienced the collaboration as one team. We had a lot of fun and laughed plenty. That also helped us succeed.”