NEC Corporation

The NEC Group’s wanted to consider specific use cases for Microsoft 365 Copilot for internal and group company operations, introduce them into NEC Group business, and share them with their clients to contribute to improving their operation efficiency. However, Microsoft 365 Copilot usage did not progress sufficiently, and there was an urgent need to promote usage in order to consider use cases. Also, when considering usage promotion activities, usage conditions such as which user groups were regularly using Copilot and which were not were unclear, making it difficult to draft effective measures.
In addition, due to increasing numbers of inquiries related to how to use the tool, creating content and a community to enable users to take the initiative and use it was essential.

In the course of developing Microsoft 365 Copilot use cases, log data and survey results were used to determine user attributes, determining the heavy users in each work area. In addition, consultants with understanding of generative AI carried out user interviews, extracting specific usage methods with high effectiveness. Through these efforts, a collection of use cases tailored to each work area was created, including usage situations, prompts (text instructions given to Microsoft 365 Copilot), and expected time savings which can be achieved.
Also, content was created based on user behavior models as a mechanism for community development. As a result, the burden on the Copilot Promotion Executive Office was reduced, and the promotion and establishment of Microsoft 365 Copilot usage across a wide range of work areas were achieved.
In addition, actions based on user attributes were also considered. Specifically, information was shared through user-oriented study sessions and internal newsletters, with the goal of spreading knowledge which can contribute to improved working efficiency.

Presenting the specific cases and results for usage in various operations such as information processing services, intellectual property work, and call center management operations as a use case collection contributed to employees’ effective usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot, maximizing the results of introducing the tool.

Also, the content developed based on behavior models contributed to both understanding and promotion related to all processes from the introduction of the tool to actual work operation utilization. Sharing a start guide and proactively spreading specific prompts which contribute to work efficiency and use cases based on actual operations lowered psychological barriers to using the tool, linking to usage promotion.

Since the usage conditions of the tool’s users were unclear, ABeam Consulting implemented analysis of user attributes, formulating a clear path for usage promotion through drafting measures and conducting effectiveness verification. In addition, the newsletter issued which identified functions with high usage effectiveness and their effects contributed to improved understanding of functions and the cultivation of usage opportunities.

Through these initiatives, active user rates reached the goal numbers. Specifically among the 12 companies with 10 or more license holders, 11 reached the regular user ^*1 ratio goal and 9 of these also reached the goal ratio for heavy users.^*2 Also, the number of visitors to the Microsoft 365 Copilot user website reached 60x the numbers seen prior to the project.

*1 Regular user: Users who use Copilot at least once a week
*2 Heavy user: Users who use Copilot at least three days per week, which each of these days including at least three instances of usage

Thanks to the analysis data-based steady support provided for all aspects from drafting measures to implementation and evaluation of effectiveness, activities were able to proceed with a consistent foundation. Within this, the promotion of creating content based on behavior models precisely uncovered the missing data on current status, enabling rapid development of measures for improvement from the users’ perspective. As a result, the project was able to create use cases, increase active rates, and cultivate an AI culture throughout the Group as a whole.

NEC Corporation
Corporate IT Strategy Department, Digital ID and Working Style DX Control Department
Kazuhiro Oguchi
Ryou Satou
Noa Mizoguchi