1. Boosting Collaboration with Enterprise
Social Networking
Zühlke Group is a growing independent service provider for software and product
engineering, management consulting, and start-up financing. In short, it helps
companies transform good ideas into market success.
As Zühlke Group has expanded across Europe, it now has eight offices in four
countries. That growth has brought business challenges, particularly when it comes
to knowledge management and uniting a geographically dispersed workforce. “As our
company has grown, we needed a communication platform to facilitate collaboration
and ensure effective participation across the entire enterprise,” explains Wolfgang
Emmerich, CEO and Chairman of Zuhlke Engineering Ltd.
Chief Knowledge Officer Jörg Dirbach recognized the need for a knowledge
management tool that would enable staff to mine expertise and experience, wherever
it resided. The traditional model, in which project teams loaded reports and other
data onto various server locations, made it difficult for people outside those teams to
find and build on vital information. “We needed something more transparent which
provided a directory of projects and experts that would be easily accessible and
searchable across all locations,” Dirbach says.
A Social Intranet for Deep Collaboration
Yammer was fully introduced into Zühlke Group after the management team
noticed large numbers of staff had voluntarily adopted the free version of the social
network. Once the company moved to the premium version to better manage and
leverage Yammer’s capabilities, the network was enthusiastically embraced across
the organization.
Success Story | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Yammer has brought the power of social networking to Zühlke Group,
which uses the network to enhance its workforce’s collaborative culture.
Benefits include:
>> Improved Communication
>> Knowledge Exchange
>> File Sharing
Contact Sales: 1-888-926-7377 | contactsales@yammer-inc.com
Jörg Dirbach
Chief Knowledge Officer
Zühlke Group
Yammer has become such
an integral part of our
infrastructure, we can’t live
without it.”
Industry
Professional Services
Employees
550
Founded
1968
Region
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
and the United Kingdom

2. “What we liked about Yammer when we first tried it is that it lets people do the
same things they do when they’re collaborating in person,” Emmerich says. “They
exchange ideas, analyze data together, and make announcements about project
milestones.”
Yammer also fits the bill when it comes to knowledge management. “With Yammer,
we are constantly sharing ideas and learning new things,” Dirbach says. “Best of all,
we can easily locate the information and the expertise we need to get work done.”
That accessibility extends to workers who tap into the network from mobile
devices, like software engineer Vassilis Rizopoulos. “I’m often on the road and
working remotely, and for me, Yammer is an essential tool for keeping in contact
with the company,” he says. “It allows me and other remote workers to continue to
participate in discussions and exchange ideas. We don’t feel isolated anymore.”
Wherever they’re operating from, staff with similar interests use Yammer Groups
to identify one another and delve deeper into topics, such as making the most of
JavaScript. “Those synergies go a long way in helping us to achieve our goals,”
Rizopoulos says.
Enriched Communication
Another major benefit is enabling senior management to better know and understand employees. For instance, Zuhlke
Engineering CEO and Chairman Emmerich often responds to discussions that staff have about decisions made at the
board level. “Executives and staff alike can use the network to see what’s on the minds of people in other departments
and locations,” he says. “Communication flows both ways, and we all feel closer as a result.”
The company’s engineers built on Yammer’s open API to create an innovative search function which integrates seamlessly
with SharePoint, one of the most widely used applications in the company’s portfolio. In the future, Zühlke Group plans
to further build on Yammer’s API to enhance other applications with the benefits of social networking, including enriched
activity streams and various feature alerts.
With all the benefits Zühlke Group is enjoying internally, the company plans to start using Yammer’s External Networks so
it can collaborate with clients on future projects. It’s a logical next step that will help Zühlke streamline operations while
adding considerable value for customers. As Jörg Dirbach sums it up, “Yammer has become such an integral part of our
infrastructure, we can’t afford to live without it.”
Wolfgang Emmerich
CEO and Chairman
Zuhlke Engineering Ltd.
One of the most valuable benefits
is the sense of community the
network offers. Employees can
collaborate and share ideas, no
matter where they are in the world.
Success Story | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

3. THE RESULTS
>> Enhanced communication. Employees connect across teams, departments, and geographic regions — even
when working remotely on mobile devices.
>> Stronger engagement. Better connections means deeper business insight for everyone, from the front-line
sales team to top executives.
>> Efficient workflow. Employees save time by collaborating in public and private Yammer Groups to pool
ideas and resources.
>> Streamlined information sharing. Employees post queries on Yammer and get answers in minutes.
>> Rapid adoption, immediate value. The network grew to 410 members (80% of the employee base) a month
after it was launched.
>> Transformed customer relations. Yammer’s External Networks will allow the company to collaborate with clients,
cementing ties and dramatically improving service.
For more information about Zühlke Group: www.zuhlke.com For more information about Yammer: www.yammer.com
ABOUT YAMMER
Yammer (www.yammer.com) is a best-in-class Enterprise Social Network used by more than 200,000
organizations worldwide -- including 85 percent of the Fortune 500 -- to foster team collaboration, empower
employees, drive business agility and promote organizational connectedness. Yammer’s freemium business
model lets customers see the value of Yammer before upgrading to the premium offering. Founded in 2008,
Yammer is now part of the Microsoft Office Division.
Success Story | PROFESSIONAL SERVICES