” SharePoint allowed us to streamline and centralize workflows. There is now ONE centralized repository for Radio One’s workflows, so changes made are easily able to be applied globally.”

Dennis Richardson, Director of Business Applications, Radio One

Radio One, a US multi-media company used outdated workflows and manual data entry for its human resources (HR) processes, although they had Lawson HR software in place. DataPoint Solutions helped them migrate to SharePoint 2010 and connect it to the Lawson line-of-business system through Nintex, creating a Business-Critical SharePoint solution. With the automation of the HR processes, one of the HR processes is reduced from days to minutes and is now both traceable and auditable.

Business Needs

Radio One is a multi-media company with 75 radio stations in 15 markets across the United States and a cable station with syndicated shows, called TV One. They also own Magazine One and have Internet presence in New York with half a dozen websites dedicated to urban content (hip hop & gospel).

The human resources (HR) department at Radio One used Lawson, a HR software. They also had SharePoint 2007 in place to support financial and HR business processes across all divisions via more than 250 workflows. However, they realized that these current workflows were outdated and holding them back, as they did not scale well. Furthermore, managing their intricacies during a migration would prove even more difficult, as their business grew. Due to the sheer number of workflows and the fact that there was a lot of custom code designed around them, there where tremendous issues. The workflows either stopped working or did not serve the changing needs of the organization. There was also a lot of manual processing of the information in the financial and HR departments as they were using disparate systems.

Users had to submit forms manually and forward them to someone with access to the Lawson system to get the necessary information processed. This process could take several days to a week to get the work process approved by the different departments.

With the challenges Radio One was experiencing with their old SharePoint 2007 site, such as complex custom code and workflow issues, Radio One did not want to attempt integration into their Lawson system until a SharePoint 2010 migration was complete with all workflows corrected.

Solution

Radio One selected DataPoint Solutions, a Microsoft partner to develop a Business-Critical SharePoint solution by connecting SharePoint to Radio One’s on-premise Lawson line-of-business (LOB) system through Nintex Workflow software. The solution involves InfoPath forms that reference Lawson as the system of record for HR data that automates the completion of various fields. This reduces redundant efforts of updating multiple systems for

Company: Radio OneWebsite: http://www. radio-one.com/Country or Region: United StatesSize: 1200 employeesIndustry: MediaPartner: DataPoint SolutionsPartner Websites: http://www.datapointconsulting.com

Company ProfileRadio One is a multi-media company in the United States with a TV station, radio stations, and websites.

Software and ServicesMicrosoft® SharePoint® 2010Nintex Workflow

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Solution Case Study

Multi-Media Company Streamlines Business-Critical Processes with LOB Connection

SharePoint CustomerSolution Case Study

HR data and helps streamline Radio One’s various processes to include common fields that have been already collected.

After a successful migration to their SharePoint 2010 site and streamlining of their workflows by using Nintex Workflow, the next step was to start the automation process. Radio One decided to start with automating the Human Resources department. Leveraging SharePoint 2010 features, InfoPath, and Nintex Workflow, the Human Resource process reduced from days to minutes with a solution that is now both traceable and auditable. Radio One will be automating many of their other departments in the coming months levering this same type of process.DataPoint Solutions managed to reduce the number of workflows from over 250 to 125, and migrated them to the new SharePoint 2010 solution and Lawson. All the customized code was redesigned, reducing the number of workflows that are tied to specific forms from 250 to 15. The new workflows now trigger a set of business processes depending on what market they go to and there is now one centralized repository for Radio One’s workflows, so any changes made are more easily applied globally moving forward. As a result, support and modifications are now made with ease.

Benefits

With new capabilities and functionality provided by the Business-Critical SharePoint solution, Radio One was able to streamline their business processes, accelerate approval cycles, and automate some of the workflows. The system has allowed the organization to reduce the burden on IT staff, as other employees are also able to access Lawson data through self-service. IT staff can now focus more on other. In summary, the connection of SharePoint to the LOB system provides a positive user experience with reduced amount of data entry, more accurate data results throughout the processes and a faster return on investment (ROI) on Radio One’s systems.

Business-Critical SharePoint (BCSP) is a Microsoft partner program that includes top solution and service providers who

focus on LOB integration with SharePoint.

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Document published 01/14/2014