duane morris - intranet implementation

Modernizing the Intranet Experience: How Duane Morris Transformed Collaboration with Synergy

As a leading full-service law firm, Duane Morris LLP is dedicated to providing innovative and comprehensive legal solutions, empowering clients to navigate complex challenges and achieve their goals with confidence and integrity.

OVERVIEW:

Duane Morris was looking to migrate away from their legacy Intranet platform, which was over ten years old at the time the project started. Their team was looking for an Intranet solution that was both compatible with the Microsoft 365 technology that they had begun to adopt and wide-reaching enough to encompass the large number of active sites and pages across their organization. They required a sophisticated digital solution that could streamline communication while fostering a cohesive yet adaptable community.

With the goal of modernization in mind, Duane Morris came to Synergy to explore their need for a new Intranet.

Goals / Challenges:

Duane Morris needed to replace an outdated intranet with a more flexible, user-friendly platform. Key goals included reducing manual migration efforts, empowering departments to manage their own content, and improving overall usability and engagement.

Key priorities:

• Manual migration from a legacy system

• Respect for departmental autonomy

• Broader content ownership across teams

• Better navigation and information structure

• Increased employee engagement

• Shared responsibility for content upkeep

Solution/Approach:

To modernize their intranet, Duane Morris implemented Powell 365, a platform recommended by SYNERGY following an in-depth discovery process. Powell allowed the firm to create a centralized hub for resources and initiatives, while integrating smoothly with their existing Microsoft 365 tools. Despite the need for manual content migration, the platform’s intuitive design made adoption easy across departments and roles.

Highlights of the solution:

• Centralized firm-wide resources and internal initiatives

• Manually migrated content from the legacy platform

• Seamless integration with Microsoft 365 in a user-friendly way

• Powell 365 selected as the best-fit solution after extensive evaluation

“SharePoint is our entry point into the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.”

— Ernie Coats, Manager of Software Development & Analytics, Duane Morris

The Results:

Duane Morris sought to modernize their outdated intranet and explore SharePoint Online as part of their adoption of Microsoft 365 technologies. With over 1,000 active sites and pages, they required an efficient, user-friendly platform for staff to access and share information. Synergy recommended Powell for its ability to simplify the user experience while integrating with SharePoint and Microsoft features.

Synergy's design team developed an organized information architecture and templates, enabling a smooth transition for Duane Morris. Their successful adoption of Powell and SharePoint Online paved the way for a full embrace of Microsoft 365, supported by ongoing collaboration with Synergy and Powell Software

Improvements made:

• All employees are now utilizing the intranet portal

• Increase to IT knowledge base and training repository from 1-2 

• On average, 260+ monthly visits

• Onboarding and training for new employees has become a more streamlined, effective process

Duane Morris intranet designed by SYNERGY

INDUSTRY	GEOGRAPHY	CONSULTING	software
Law/Legal Consulting	USA	Implementation Services Custom Intranet Development	SharePoint Microsoft 365

Ready to Reimagine Your Intranet?

At Synergy, we help forward-thinking firms modernize their digital workplaces using Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Powell 365. Whether you're working with outdated tools or just need a more intuitive experience, we’ll help you build the foundation for smarter collaboration.

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