By Emeka Aginam

Africa’s first continental pro cycling team and the first African team ever to qualify for the Tour de France in 2015, Team MTN-Qhubeka, has got boost with Microsoft’s cloud software, Office 365 to gain connectivity to the world.

The team of 23 riders and 35 ground staff is now able to manage logistics more effectively, allowing for greater time and cost efficiency and keeping the team connected across the world.

Team MTN-Qhubeka

Team MTN-Qhubeka has two teams racing across the world simultaneously, meaning the scheduling of the riders, staff, vehicles and hotels needs careful co-ordination.

However, the riders are spread across Eritrea, Rwanda, Algeria, South Africa, the US, Australia, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and the UK.

The African pro cycling team realised at the end of 2013 that it needed a solution to help manage its global calendaring, scheduling, communication and online collaboration.

According to Douglas Ryder, the team principal, “Microsoft offered us the best logistical solution to connect our team. The full Office 365 E1 plan provides Exchange for email, calendaring and contacts; SharePoint for document repository; and Skype for voice and video conferencing. This means everyone has the right information at their fingertips, wherever they are, no matter what device they’re using.”

According to Ryder, “Our goal is to have the right riders and staff at the right races with the right equipment on time and in the best shape possible to give maximum return to our partners. Thanks to the single, integrated platform that Office 365 provides, we are well on our way to moving forward and achieving this.”

Before switching to Office 365, Team MTN-Qhubeka made use of a variety of software, but moving everything to the Microsoft cloud has given them one central place with up-to-date, integrated information.

According to Ryder, “Now everything is managed centrally and we also implemented a Cycling Administration System developed on the Microsoft Platform, so we don’t have to worry about missing an important update because we have a central repository updated in one place.” , adding that, “We have also cut our communication costs, not to mention our stress levels, meaning we can focus on race preparation and analysis as we work towards being the best – and still have time for our friends and family, in person and over Skype, now that we spend so much less time on admin.”

For Marc Israel, Office Division Group Lead for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa & Indian Ocean Islands is excited that Team MTN-Qhubeka is making use of Office 365. “Our aim with Office 365 is to improve productivity, communication and collaboration so that users can focus on their core business, or in this case, cycling skills. It’s great to see how by smoothing out their logistical issues, Team MTN-Qhubeka is better connected wherever they are, and able to take the world of cycling by storm.”

Microsoft Office 365 has given the members of Team MTN-Qhubeka the tools they needs to be more professional both on and off their bikes.