• Enables video conferencing on the fly from any device with Google Meet

• Streamlines collaboration with simplified file-sharing on Drive

• Reduces annual IT expenditure with Google Workspace cloud-based architecture

With over 70 years of experience of storing and transmitting natural gas, Teréga is one of France’s largest energy infrastructure companies, with over 5,000 kilometers of pipelines and around a quarter of the country’s gas storage capacity. When Daniel Widera, Head of Information Systems and Digital at Teréga, first joined the company in November 2016, Teréga was using a traditional on-premises email and productivity platform. While there was already a plan to move to a cloud-based solution, it had been over a year in preparation and would still limit users to specific devices and operating systems. Daniel wanted to deliver a truly cloud-based solution and deliver it fast. To do that, he turned to Google Workspace.

“We wanted to go to any device, anytime, anywhere, more securely, and the only solution that provided this off the shelf was the Google solution,” says Daniel.

With 580 employees spread around its various storage sites and delivery points, Teréga relies on efficient coordination and communication to maintain the highest standards in a heavily regulated industry. Its existing on-premises productivity platform meant that workers had limited communication when they were away from the office. In addition, working on shared materials was not easy or intuitive. “Documents were sent by email, so nobody knew which one was the relevant one,” says Daniel. “People found workarounds like getting someone to re-consolidate spreadsheets from all the previous versions. It was painful, but it was normal.”

Beginning in December 2016, Teréga teamed up with cloud specialists Cirruseo to migrate the company’s workforce to Google Workspace. While Cirruseo provided valuable advice on the technical side of the migration, it was in the training and change management that it really helped a multi-site company like Teréga, says Daniel: “We worked closely with Cirruseo to provide a combination of live and broadcast training to our workers in real time or to download and watch at their own convenience.”

After four months, Teréga and Cirruseo were ready to roll out Google Workspace to its 580 workers, plus another 600 or so external users who would need to interact with the company’s system. Gmail and Calendar replaced the existing email and scheduling software. Google Meet allowed workers to video conference with ease, wherever they were, from any device. “One of our issues is geographical coverage,” says Daniel. “Being able to video conference on the fly is a major change for us.”

Meanwhile, Drive, provided Teréga with a file-sharing solution that did away with the problem of multiple versions lost in long email chains. In addition, Forms proved its worth during the rapid migration process, helping to make sure nobody was left behind and all points of view were heard.

“It’s important to have good feedback loops and Forms was a revolution for us,” says Daniel. “Everybody who needs to can push a question out to get data quickly and easily.”