Sika Group is a multinational construction and speciality chemicals company headquartered in Switzerland, but with over 30,000 employees spread across 100 companies. With Microsoft 365 being adopted as the company's core productivity platform for employees, Microsoft's GPT-4 powered Copilot for Microsoft 365 presents the possibility to enhance worker productivity across the organisation, however, understanding where best to deploy Copilot for Microsoft 365 within Sika Group, and understanding the implications from a cultural and risk management perspective, are currently unknown.

Using the Design Thinking Methodology, the study consisted of a review of academic literature on AI's impact on productivity within organisations, cultural considerations and risk management in AI implementations, and Copilot for Microsoft 365 as a product. By supplementing this with interviews with current Copilot users, real world insights into the tool could be gained. Finally, by pairing this research and insights with Sika Group use cases, an assessment of the product could be performed in the context of global organisations and Sika Group specifically.

The results of the research identified seven core capabilities within Copilot for Microsoft 365, which had the potential to boost employee efficiency, particularly in the areas of document generation, team collaboration, and knowledge discovery. Significant risks associated with privacy and information security were raised, along with technical prerequisites associated with compliance and system integration. Risks and challenges associated with implementation would require a mixture of organisational and technical controls, with key recommendations including a strategic approach to AI deployment within the organisation, with a focus on fostering a pro-AI culture among employees and proactive risk management at a high-level. The implementation of several technical prerequisites would be required before launching a closely monitored and well supported pilot program within one geographical area to validate benefits. Subject to validation, a phased rollout should be performed within the piloted geographical area, alongside subsequent pilot programs in culturally dissimilar geographical areas.