Powder Mountain, the USA’s largest multi-season ski resort by acreage known for its history, authentic character and focus on sustainability, sought to enhance its internal communication and operational efficiency. The resort’s new owner, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, decided to move the entire organization from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace to achieve a more seamless and collaborative environment.
To facilitate a seamless transition and enhance their Google Workspace setup, Powder Mountain teamed up with Upcurve Cloud, who enlisted CloudM for their migration and data management solutions.
Seamless data migration with instant results
The migration to Google Workspace was crucial for Powder Mountain to enable better collaboration across departments and improve communication among employees, whether they were on the mountain, in the office, or working remotely. Upcurve Cloud facilitated the migration, leveraging CloudM’s migration technology to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to Powder Mountain’s daily operations.
Zeb Burdick, Systems Administrator at Powder Mountain, noted, “Everything was super seamless. There really wasn’t much of a hiccup at all in the transition. It almost caught us off guard at how easy it suddenly was to access everything and collaborate.”
Leveraging Google Workspace for better communication
The adoption of Google Workspace tools like Spaces significantly improved communication, particularly for time-sensitive updates and safety alerts, which are critical in Powder Mountain’s dynamic environment.
As Rob Phillips, Director, IT Operations at Powder Mountain, explained, “Having been a Microsoft user for a long time, it was nice to jump into the new platform and see all the enterprise grade features that really help our team communicate throughout the day.”
Implementing CloudM Automate and Email Signatures to enhance onboarding and offboarding
Powder Mountain also utilized CloudM’s Automate and Email Signatures to streamline employee lifecycle processes and maintain brand consistency.
Simplifying workflows with CloudM Automate
With up to 800 seasonal staff every year, automated onboarding and offboarding have enormous time-saving potential. While still in the early stages of full implementation, CloudM Automate has demonstrated its potential to simplify offboarding workflows. The ability to quickly delegate access and manage out-of-office settings has saved the IT team valuable time and improved the experience for both departing employees and their colleagues.
Just a click away: Saving time and keeping business data save
As Zeb Burdick reiterates, “So far it has been a great experience for everybody. The delegation of items like emails, calendars and out of offices, it’s definitely something the entire IT department has embraced. The interface is super clean and easy to use to make any changes we may need. Everything is right at our fingertips.”
Being able to quickly remove access to key documents and systems has proven especially valuable, as Zeb Burdick explains, “When somebody is being offboarded, there’s a big urgency to cut down their access. Having CloudM just one click away rather than waiting a few days has been super helpful.”
Freeing up IT admin time and improving new starter experience with CloudM Email Signatures
Having used a tool to manage all email signatures in their previous Microsoft environment, Powder Mountain chose CloudM’s Email Signatures module to help them do the same in their new Google home. Implemented right after the transition, the tool has enabled them to maintain a consistent and professional brand identity across their sub brands. It has also simplified the management of email signatures, ensuring that they are accurate and up-to-date, improving employee experience and saving the IT team from having to make changes themselves or instructing other team members to do so.
A game changer for the IT team
Zeb Burdick said, “In the past we’ve had people alter their signatures so that titles weren’t correct or the layout was off. Implementing CloudM has been such a game changer. It’s super easy to manage the email signatures as part of the onboarding process. It saves time for the new team members, too. It definitely frees up a lot of time and removes the potential for errors.”
This sentiment is echoed by Rob Phillips, “It was definitely nice to see that my email signature was already there when I joined the company and that there wasn’t any kind of administrative setup. The ability to have little things like this already set up for you means there is one less thing to worry about while you’re focussed on getting started in your new role.”
A strong partnership for continued success
The collaboration between Powder Mountain, Upcurve Cloud, and CloudM has been instrumental in driving Powder Mountain’s digital transformation. Upcurve Cloud’s expertise in guiding the migration and providing ongoing support, combined with CloudM’s powerful migration and automation tools, has empowered Powder Mountain to embrace Google Workspace and optimize its operations.
“It was a great experience,” said Zeb Burdick, “To this day the whole company talks about how seamless it all was.”
As Powder Mountain continues to grow and innovate, the strong foundation laid by Google Workspace, CloudM, and Upcurve Cloud will undoubtedly play a key role in their future success.
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