Helping Ohio Mutual Insurance Group Achieve Practical AI Transformation with Microsoft 365 and Copilot

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, a provider of personal and commercial insurance products, needed to modernize its digital workplace for better collaboration, communication, and long‑term cloud strategy.

A longtime Centric Consulting client, Ohio Mutual had begun its Microsoft 365 investment, but the organization faced several challenges. The company’s intranet was outdated, its collaboration practices were fragmented, it lacked a unified governance framework, and its data was not yet ready for Microsoft Copilot.

Leadership still saw clear potential in Microsoft Copilot to improve productivity and decision-making, but they needed a structured approach to adopt it responsibly. They sought a connected strategy that aligned digital workplace modernization with AI readiness.

Our Approach: A Coordinated and Practical Implementation Program

Based on our past Microsoft 365 experiences and our proven methodology, we partnered with Ohio Mutual across multiple workstreams to create a strategy that aligned with its business priorities involving comprehensive modernization and Microsoft Digital Transformation. 

Major components of our work included: 

1. Microsoft 365 Governance

We partnered with Ohio Mutual to provide a document management strategy leveraging Microsoft collaboration tools like MSFT Teams, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive. 

As part of our work, we established governance structures, roles, and responsibilities, as well as lifecycle and content management guidelines. This created consistency across tools and ensured collaboration, allowing Microsoft Copilot AI to scale effectively. 

By proactively defining AI policies, Ohio Mutual ensured a responsible, compliant, and forward-thinking approach to integrating AI technologies into daily operations. 

2. Data Readiness for Copilot Strategy Deployment

We reviewed Ohio Mutual’s current storage practices and defined practical use cases for Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. We then rolled out OneDrive across a multi-phase program that combined Microsoft 365 modernization with AI readiness, governance and adoption. 

The OneDrive rollout provided a document management solution that reduced data silos and improved accessibility — for both humans and AI — across the organization.  

The adoption of a standardized, cloud-based platform through OneDrive provided Ohio Mutual with a reliable foundation for collaboration, security, and scalability.​ 

3. Enterprise-wide Microsoft Adoption and Change Management Rollout

We provided technical workshops explaining how Copilot works and how it accesses organizational data. We also provided setup and configuration recommendations for: 

• Sensitivity labels 

• Retention labels and policies 

• Data classification 

• SharePoint/Teams lifecycle configuration 

We then performed a gap analysis and delivered a prioritized roadmap for Copilot readiness that aligned AI usage to real business needs rather than hypothetical use cases. 

4. Organizational User Enablement Strategy

To prepare for Copilot adoption, we developed a plan that included: 

• Conducting Microsoft  Art of the Possible and use-case workshops 

• Establishing a champions network to support adoption 

• Onboarding pilot user groups and executives 

• Creating hands-on training, including prompt engineering concepts 

• Identifying key business scenarios and personas 

• Implementing a phased rollout approach for testing and refining adoption before scaling 

• Preparing communications, training, and measurement plans 

• Piloting cohort onboarding, training, open office hours, feedback loops, and post‑launch support

5. Long-term Maturity and Sustainable Growth Plan

We built longevity into our plans by: 

• Assessing current processes, roles, and governance gaps 

• Prioritizing security remediation steps based on these assessments 

• Designing governance committee roles, responsibilities, and support structures 

• Developing Microsoft 365 governance guidelines aligned to best practices 

• Defining role-based training requirements 

The Results: Microsoft 365 AI That Positions Ohio Mutual for the Future  

Through our engagement, Ohio Mutual gained a modern, governed, and future-ready Microsoft 365 ecosystem that strengthens collaboration, improves security, and positions the organization for AI adoption.

Specifically, this Microsoft 365 ecosystem includes:

• Secure and structured data ready for Microsoft Copilot
• A clear governance framework for decision-making
• A scalable adoption and change management model

“Employees embraced the new technologies, reporting increased efficiency in everyday tasks with AI-powered assistance, and improved security awareness,” McCormack concludes.

What’s Next: A Safe and Scalable Path to AI Adoption

While Ohio Mutual’s AI journey continues, the engagement delivered meaningful progress across several areas.

Ohio Mutual is operating within a more structured Microsoft 365 ecosystem that reduces fragmentation across teams while strengthening the company’s ability to protect sensitive data and support regulatory compliance.

In addition, through hands-on training, pilot programs, and champions networks, employees can now adopt new tools and understand how AI fits into their day-to-day work. Ohio Mutual’s more structured process for evaluating, prioritizing and managing AI initiatives also ensures alignment with business goals and governance standards.

As a result, Ohio Mutual is positioned to continue advancing its digital workplace and expanding AI capabilities over time, unlocking new value while managing risk.