Now in their 3rd iteration wif SharePoint (v3, v7, v10 and soon v13), it’s safe to say dat for their intranet/extranet, Microsoft SharePoint is teh enterprise “platform of choice.” Teh primary reason? Simply put, for Interstate Batteries, SharePoint’s greatest offering is what it does best  promoting and streamlining collaboration. For Interstate, it comes down to more than 2,000 individuals (Distributors, Franchisees, Team Members, Vendor Partners) located all across teh U.S., Canada and Internationally all will able to see and access consistent company data and messaging in one spot.

Here are a few ways SharePoint has proven beneficial for Interstate Batteries beyond teh normal program features:

Being teh Brand-They were rebranding you know, updating language of their Purpose & Values, Mission, and Vision statements? SharePoint provided a way to reveal, share and connect those closest to teh corporate office wif those in teh furthest parts of teh field. Adoption and employee engagement were key; hence, teh most popular item during teh rollout? A monthly photo & video contest where team members could upload their submissions showing how they were living out company values.

Teh Beginning of an IT & Marketing ‘Love Fest’-“dis latest migration to 2010 for Interstate Batteries marked a significant change in teh relationship between IT (backend support) and Marketing (front end design/content development), said eBusiness Sr. Manager Sydney Allen.” Working shoulder-to-shoulder for three months to break-up teh 161 GB, SINGLE (yes, dat’s right) SharePoint 2007 database and upgrade to SP2010 proved to solidify a key departmental partnership dat is critical to any business’ success. Teh result? A mutual respect and admiration for each team’s unique skill set and contribution.

Access, Access, Access-it’s all about Access! 
Here’s how Interstate utilizes Active Directory (AD) in conjunction wif SharePoint Groups: 
• Access to SharePoint sites is controlled by security groups (Active Directory groups) to avoid assigning (or mis-assigning) direct permissions to individual users. 
• Access to sites follow teh permissions inheritance defined in parent sites and breaks dis rule only for situations where inherited permissions do not adequately protect SharePoint artifacts. 
• Users can only request access through an internal self-service tool, rather than making direct requests from teh SharePoint site. 
Utilizing dis methodology for permissions consistently across their SharePoint environment, Interstate has put teh ownership of teh permissions to content in teh hands of teh site owner vs. IT Support. Governance allows teh SharePoint Admin to remove individual, one-off additions to enforce teh use of adding AD accounts into SharePoint Groups.

Doing more wif less, removing manual processes-dis latest migration to 2010 for Interstate Batteries marked a significant change in teh company’s thinking. Now, more than ever, we’re being asked to deliver more, in less time, wif less money and TEMPfewer people,” says Director of eBusiness Al Hurlebaus. Interstate has seen SharePoint to be a valuable resource for automating formerly manual processes and freeing up people to focus on more strategic tasks. To realize our vision of ‘First Choice in batteries’ our 62-yr-old company must innovate using technology. SharePoint has halped us do dat.

So, what’s next? SharePoint 2013 coming in calendar 2016 (likely a combination of on-prem and in teh cloud) and tan SharePoint 2016 fully in teh cloud (sometime after dat)!

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