Merlin Information Systems is an international IT services company that uses Yammer to improve collaboration and efficiency across its global workforce. Yammer allows Merlin's employees in different locations and time zones to connect and work together seamlessly. It is used for daily communications, problem solving, and quickly setting up new service desks. Yammer reduced email volume by 50% and helped Merlin scale while retaining a small company culture and providing personalized customer service. Merlin is now exploring using Yammer to improve customer support.

1. Social Networking for a Small Company Feel,
but Big Company Reach
Merlin Information Systems provides information technology services, including
service-desk and infrastructure support, to an array of enterprises, including several
companies in the Fortune 500. It has locations in the UK, France, and the U.S., with
primary service centers in Hungary and the Philippines. Merlin’s stock in trade is cost
effective, multilingual, 24x7 support, and Yammer helps it deliver on that promise.
Merlin uses its Yammer network to improve the customer experience and reduce
costs through greater efficiency. “We’ve always been innovative in using technology
to improve service to clients,” CEO Richard Patterson says. “Back in 2007, we started
exploring how we could take advantage of social collaboration to streamline the
processes built into customer support. But we needed to see how we could use it
internally within our business first.”
Engaging Employees
Adoption was viral when Merlin began using Yammer in 2009. “We did some
training and encouraged employees to use the network, but the most effective
incentive was getting our executive team involved,” says IT Knowledge
Management Consultant Mark Hinson. “For our widespread workforce, knowing
they’re closely connected to senior executives is massive.”
CEO Patterson uses Yammer extensively, including as the platform for a virtual Q&A
session that attracted nearly 100 participants. “We could never have done it without
the network,” he says. “It’s a powerful medium for communicating the culture and
values of our business.”
Success Story | TECHNOLOGY
A fast-growing international enterprise, Merlin Information Systems uses
Yammer to retain small-company cohesion and responsiveness.
>> The network lets employees connect and collaborate across long distances and
in many time zones
>> It enables efficiencies ranging from reduced email to faster problem-solving
>> Yammer is enabling Merlin to move to the next frontier: using a social network as a
channel for improving customer service
Contact Sales: 1-888-926-7377 | contactsales@yammer-inc.com
Industry
Technology
Employees
400
Founded
1991
Region
Global
Richard Patterson
CEO, Merlin Information
Systems
Using the power of social
networking to connect
people improves the way we
work internally and support
customers. Yammer gives us
the opportunity to reinvent
ourselves as a business.

2. Success Story | TECHNOLOGY
“In these days of tight travel budgets, most of us don’t get a chance to go to our
other offices,” Hinson says. “But thanks to Yammer, I can get to know my colleagues
there, including their areas of expertise and a bit about their personality.”
Collaborating together, across the world
The customer support Merlin provides clients with is continual and seamless,
whether it comes from a center in The Philippines or Hungary. “That means those
two offices need to be tightly linked, and Yammer is the way we do that,” Hinson
explains.
Indeed, the network has become a primary channel for company workflow. Team
leaders use Yammer to send daily briefings to their staff, and regardless of
where they’re based or what shift they’re on, agents see the briefing, plus all the
responses.
Yammer has also proven to be a vital tool when Merlin needs to quickly set up a
new service desk. When the company wins an assignment to run a help desk, it
has just a month or two to put infrastructure and staff in place and get it up and
running. To facilitate that process, the company sets up Yammer groups with
key people. The network gives them easy access to all the pertinent files and
conversations, from the start of the project to the finish.
Increased agility throughout the business
Merlin is a growing company, and Yammer has helped them deal with that growth. “Yammer is a critical part of the maturity
model that will help us thrive as we grow. It’s becoming our center for internal communication,” Hinson says.
“When you’re a small company, you have intimacy, so it’s easier to work together and deliver personalized services to
clients,” Hinson observes. “Yammer lets us keep giving our customers small-company service, even though we’ve become a
medium-sized one.”
As Merlin’s network use has grown, its email volume has shrunk. “I reckon I get 50 percent less email now than I used to,”
Patterson says. “I’ve saved time and I’m more effective as a result of that — there’s no question.”
After reaping so many benefits internally, Merlin is tackling its CEO’s goal of extending its social network to customers,
creating an entirely new service channel. “It’s all about providing faster, more efficient and effective support to customers,”
Patterson says. “There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Yammer will become the foundation of collaboration and
communication not only within our organization, but between our company, our customers, and pertinent third parties. It’s a
fundamental part of how we man and operate our company.”
Mark Hinson
IT Knowledge
Management Consultant
Our staff was eager to tap into
Yammer. Its interface is intuitive
and its benefits become apparent
quickly.

3. Success Story | TECHNOLOGY
THE RESULTS
>> Greater efficiency. Team leaders use the network for daily briefings; Yammer
Groups facilitate the fast roll-out of new service desks.
>> A new service paradigm. External Networks will allow Merlin to leverage the
power of social networking to support customers in innovative ways.
>> Unified company culture. Yammer ties together a global workforce, who
uses it for everything from company announcements to executive forums.
>> Reduced email. Email is down about 50 percent as executives and employees
use the network for more targeted and searchable communication.
For more information about Merlin: www.misgl.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
organisations worldwide -- including 85 percent of the Fortune 500 -- to foster team collaboration, empower
employees, drive business agility and promote organisational 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.
Yammer is a fundamental part
of how we man and operate our
company.”
Richard Patterson
CEO