Labatt's Paul Montag answers questions on their goals to improve internal communications via a new and improved intranet. Insights into how SharePoint was employed to meet these goals.

1. Case Study
Labatt Brewing Company
How imason Helped Labatt Build a World-Class Intranet with
SharePoint
PREPARED BY IMASON INC.
MARCH 2010
imason Case Study Labatt Brewing Company 1

2. How imason Helped Labatt Build a
World-Class Intranet with SharePoint
How do you ensure your people get the information they need when they need it? For Labatt, the
solution was simple: partner with imason and leverage the power of the SharePoint platform to
build a world-class intranet portal. We caught up with Paul Montag, (BI Business Relationship
Manager) at Labatt to find out more.
Keystone: This project created an intranet portal that would be the envy of any business.
What were your initial key drivers and goals?
PM: The need to improve communication within the organization came through loud and clear in
our annual employee engagement survey, and that was the primary factor in our plan to create a
new intranet site. We wanted a more modern, stable platform for the portal and we also needed
to simplify and consolidate our existing environment in both official languages.
Keystone: What made you select imason as a partner?
PM: They had in-depth knowledge of SharePoint, which we had selected as the technology
framework. They also had the strongest response to the RFP when it came to skills and
capabilities. Basically, imason gave us the complete picture, including some of the design elements
that we were looking for, under one project management team. We weren’t looking to hire a lot
of developers—we wanted a complete project management package from a single source. They
also had knowledge of our legacy system, which was very important in terms of timelines.
Keystone: What kind of strategic input did imason provide on the direction and scope of the
project?
PM: One of their biggest strategic contributions was recommending that we merge our two
intranet sites, essentially a news centre and a resource centre. We went in thinking that we would
have two separate entities, but they had the foresight to push us to merge them and it was
absolutely the right call.
Keystone: Any successful enterprise intranet is really an extension of your brand. How did
imason help you achieve that?
PM: They certainly helped us a great deal with the graphics and layout, and they did a great job
pulling together and managing our creative team to design something that everyone was happy
with. And in building the site, they made it really easy for us to change the imagery. For example,
in the spring we had a Bud Light launch, and we wanted to turn the site green for a week and put
Bud Light imagery around the site to emphasize to employees how important this launch was.
imason was able to turn this around very quickly, and they were able to do that, in part by the
way they built the site in the first place.
imason Case Study Labatt Brewing Company 2

3. Keystone: In projects like these, hitches and changes often arise that can derail you. How
quickly was the imason team able to react to unforeseen challenges?
PM: They were extremely professional about it and always reacted quickly and fairly. With a
very limited timeline and a set budget, the amount of change could have become a problem on
this project. But they were always accommodating and responsive—they didn’t complain when we
had a misunderstanding about how things should be—they would correct it and we would have a
discussion about it. We didn’t get bogged down in debates about whether or not this “part of the
original agreement”. They were committed to making sure that we got the site we wanted.
Keystone: How responsive have they been with issues that you
have experienced since the launch? Talk To
PM: The site is very, very stable. It doesn’t go down, it’s easy to use, For questions regarding this
it runs well, so we’ve had almost no issues. So, right after go-live case study, or to find out how
there were some initial issues. We put together a plan and imason imason can help you solve your
addressed the issues immediately. business problems, talk to:
Keystone: What kind of feedback are you getting on this project? Jeff Dunmall
Co-founder and Co-CEO
PM: Going into this project, employees wanted search results to be
jeff.dunmall@imason.com
like Google. Since the new system was implemented, I have not had
416.848.1313
one complaint—search results are so much better, and that’s because
of the reorganization of the content and the new SharePoint product. www.imason.com
So the results have been fantastic!
imason Case Study Labatt Brewing Company 3