Asian Paints uses social software to share knowledge and expertise
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IBM Systems and Technology Manufacturing
Case Study
Asian Paints uses social
software to share
knowledge and expertise
IBM Connections helps tap collective intelligence to
meet challenges and improve decisions
Asian Paints Ltd. is one of the largest paint companies in India and the
Overview 10th-largest decorative paint company in the world. Founded in 1942 and
headquartered in Mumbai, the company has offices in more than a dozen
The need
countries servicing consumers all around the world. Besides Asian Paints,
An internal study diagnosed a need to the group operates subsidiaries Berger International Limited, Apco
improve collaboration at an organizational
level. This required a platform to share Coatings, SCIB Paints and Taubmans.
information, find expertise and spread
knowledge.
Silos prevent knowledge sharing
The solution Asian Paints aims to become one of the top five decorative paint compa-
The company deployed IBM Connections nies. Achieving such growth means optimizing business processes by
social software, integrated with taking advantage of the collective knowledge, talent and experience of
IBM Lotus Notes® and IBM Sametime® its employees. This requires effective collaboration and communication,
software, to 3,800 employees in India.
difficult for a company whose operations and staff are dispersed around
The benefit the world in numerous time zones and diverse cultures. In India alone,
Access to expertise and information Asian Paints has more than 100 offices and more than 700 salespeople
sharing enabled freer, better collabora- and managers. The sales process involves working with a network of
tion; increased productivity; improved
dealers who sell Asian Paints products to end customers.
sales processes; and accelerated
business processes, problem solving
and innovation. In 2010, Asian Paints conducted a diagnostic study that analyzed existing
collaboration and how to improve it. Collaboration occurred regularly,
the study found, mainly over the telephone. But the study noted thatIBM Systems and Technology Manufacturing
Case Study
broader collaboration and sharing of expertise might improve if employ-
A social business... ees were not separated by the boundaries of their departments, job roles
Embraces networks of people to and geography.
create business value and exhibits
three underlying tenets. It is engaged, Sales staff members, for instance, found it difficult to share best practices
transparent and nimble.
and innovative ways of supporting dealers, and they had no way to post
Engaged issues of concern to the entire sales team. What’s more, employees had no
● Improves sales processes and problem place to post their profiles and learn to know others in the company, a
resolution by surfacing expertise and prelude to broader collaboration. Sales staff members expressed a desire
enhancing information sharing among
for an interactive forum where area mangers can address issues raised at
the sales team
the branches, and for better communication between branches and the
Transparent head office. Top managers, including the chief executive officer (CEO),
● Lowered barriers dividing the sought an interactive way to reach employees beyond email and static
company’s diverse, geographically web postings.
dispersed workforce by enabling
freer interactive communications
“The general feeling was that people were strictly bound to their roles
Nimble and their departments,” says Deepak Bhosale, Chief Manager - IT (Social
● Accelerated business processes Collaboration and Customer Facing Applications), Asian Paints. “There
and encouraged innovation through
was little knowledge exchange, and the idea was to build a companywide
increased collaboration and
productivity knowledge base—an organizational memory. The diagnostic study
concluded that for Asian Paints to progress, we needed to have better
Entry point collaboration within the organization.”
● Workforce optimization
IBM Connections software opens the door
To address this challenge, Asian Paints implemented IBM Connections
“The idea is to get as version 3.0 social software, which empowers business users with
Web 2.0 tools for interactive communication and collaboration.
many people as possible The software was rolled out to the 3,800 employees in India with the
connecting and getting assistance of Sogeti, an IBM Premium Business Partner. Deployment
to know each other. Once
the visibility of employees’
capabilities rises, we
begin to know the
experts we can bring
into our projects and
help us solve problems.”
—Deepak Bhosale, Chief Manager -
IT (Social Collaboration and Customer
Facing Applications), Asian Paints Ltd.
2IBM Systems and Technology Manufacturing
Case Study
began in November, 2010, and completed without issue in January,
Solution components 2011, with an upgrade to version 3.01 in July, 2011. The software was
integrated with IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Sametime software for
Software
messaging and unified communications.
● IBM Connections
IBM Business Partner IBM Connections software supplied the collaboration and social network-
● Sogeti
ing features that Asian Paints was missing. Searchable online communities
of interest, meeting places, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and file
sharing make information easier to access and share. Searchable profiles
connect employees with experts across the organization, as do blogs,
wikis, self-service forums and searchable histories of problems solved.
Collaboration and messaging tools link on-premises and remote employ-
ees in real time, raising their productivity in teams and as individuals.
New features in IBM Connections V3.01 software include Ideation
Blogs for sharing and rating new ideas and Media Gallery for storing
and sharing media files.
Key to a successful implementation was giving employees reasons to start
using the IBM Connections software—helping them discover, as Bhosale
says, “What’s in this for me?” The company promoted the capabilities
internally and also devised activities to help employees find the value of
social collaboration on their own.
The CEO started a blog and employees enthusiastically responded,
causing many to explore other software features. Communities of interest
related to work sprang up. To jump-start collaboration, one-click widgets
use social analytics to pinpoint people with common interests and needed
3IBM Systems and Technology Manufacturing
Case Study
expertise. A profiles contest encouraged staff members to fill out their
profiles, with prizes awarded for the best ones. A widget collects birthdays
from the profiles as another means to encourage employee interaction.
“The idea is to get as many people as possible to start connecting and
getting to know each other,” says Bhosale. “Once the visibility of employ-
ees’ capabilities rises, we begin to know the experts, the people we can
bring into our projects and help us solve problems. Increasing the visibil-
ity of knowledge and expertise across the organization will improve our
processes and help us achieve our business goals.” Visibility is enhanced
by the integration of IBM Connections and Lotus Notes software with
the Sametime application and its presence awareness feature. This makes
it easy for staff to see the current availability of another person online and
link quickly to the person’s profile when communicating.
Early statistics revealed broad usage of IBM Connections software, sug-
gesting employees are deriving considerable business value from social
networking. Some 3,800 employees spread across 17 locations have
access to the application. After only six months, 3,500 users were
accessing 744 wikis, 167 communities and 176 active discussion forums.
Some 1,624 team members were collaborating on 55 distinct projects.
Sharing expertise and improving processes
Business value is visible across the organization. IBM Connections soft-
ware is heavily used in the sales department, which finds it an excellent
tool for solving challenges by sharing innovations, expertise and best
practices. Sales goals, contest results and the latest sales figures are posted
4IBM Systems and Technology Manufacturing
Case Study
and discussed. In a virtual open house, sales staff members post problems
and see them quickly addressed by the collective wisdom. Area managers
blog about innovative ways to help dealers sell more, and interest is high.
“Recently an area manager blogged about a meeting he conducted to
explain ROI to the dealers,” says Bhosale. “Within an hour the blog had
close to 200 hits, with many managers saying they would like to conduct
such a meeting for their dealers.”
IBM Connections software became a focal point for the annual sales
conference, for the first time making the event transparent to the whole
company. Sales data was posted, speeches listed and blogs written, giving
all employees the opportunity to learn and interact. “The entire organiza-
tion participated,” Bhosale says, “which increased knowledge and team
spirit across the company.”
The IT department took to IBM Connections software right away,
conducting its annual planning exercise online and using the activities
and to-do list features to accelerate the process. Human resources (HR),
too, benefits from the collaborative platform’s speed and agility. When
HR wanted to revise its personal and sick leave policies, it posted a draft
policy using the IBM Connections application. Soon communities formed
across the company to address the policy. This led to 35 suggestions,
30 of which were adopted in the new policy. The entire process took just
10 days. “Before IBM Connections, creating a new leave policy would
have taken a lot more time and involved much costly travel and many
meetings,” says Bhosale. “Employees being able to participate in
communities and share feedback greatly accelerated the process.”
5For more information
To learn more about IBM Connections, contact your IBM sales
representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit:
ibm.com/software/lotus/products/connections
For more information Sogeti, please go to www.sogeti.com
To learn more about Asian Paints, please visit: www.asianpaints.com
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012
IBM Corporation
Software Group
Route 100
Somers, NY 10589
Produced in the United States of America
April 2012
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Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A
current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark
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