Navantia’s Digital Transformation: How Microsoft 365 Copilot Revolutionizes Public Sector Work

Navantia, Spain's strategic shipbuilding giant, has embarked on a groundbreaking transformation journey to modernize its workplace with the nationwide implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot, supported by Capgemini and Microsoft. Not only is this a landmark project in terms of scale, with Navantia now recognized as the public sector company with the highest Copilot AI usage in the country, it also sets a template for how the broader public and private sectors can leverage artificial intelligence to revolutionize everyday work patterns, foster collaboration, and drive operational efficiency.

The Genesis of Change: Emerging Needs in Modern Industry​

Navantia's mandate is no less than vital: designing, building, and maintaining cutting-edge naval vessels, advancing defense initiatives, and pioneering in renewable energies. Such a diverse portfolio amplifies the operational complexity and increases the premium on agile collaboration and rapid decision-making. The digital transformation imperative was clear. Traditional modes of working within large, often siloed, public sector organizations led to slow processes, administrative burden, and fragmented information flows. Navantia sought not only to harness state-of-the-art generative AI but also to cultivate a bold, innovative culture that would fundamentally change the way its people work.

Partnering for Success: The Collaborative Implementation Framework​

Recognizing the magnitude of the challenge, Navantia formed a close partnership with experts from Capgemini and Microsoft to orchestrate a comprehensive adoption program for Microsoft 365 Copilot. This project prioritized not just technological deployment but also cultural and process change, underpinned by robust methodologies in training, user engagement, and program management.
The complete framework rested on four pillars:

• Dynamization and Communication: Early and sustained engagement was critical. Capgemini and Microsoft, alongside Navantia’s own digital champions, set up an active “Copilot community”—a knowledge-sharing hub where users could access resources, dialogue with peers, and raise questions in real-time. This central forum demystified generative AI and built enthusiasm across user groups.
• Tailored Training and Upskilling: More than forty targeted sessions—organized in three waves—were rolled out, each customized for distinct user profiles, from senior managers to operational staff and AI champions. The “Coffees with Copilot” initiative exemplified hands-on, application-focused learning, encouraging adoption by demonstrating real-world, high-impact use cases.
• Monitoring and Measurement: Navantia instituted a robust measurement plan anchored on four levers: usage, productivity, satisfaction, and quality. Tools such as periodic surveys, usage dashboards, and real-world productivity comparisons enabled leaders to track progress, surface friction points early, and iterate on the implementation based on genuine user feedback.
• Extensibility and Integration: Recognizing that organizational value increases when AI connects seamlessly to core systems, Navantia invested in custom extensions—most notably integrations with SAP and SharePoint—to maximize automation, sync processes, and ensure company data sources were easily accessible via Copilot.

Driving Adoption: Results That Speak Volumes​

The impact of the project has been both rapid and measurable. Out of more than 1,500 allocated Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, a remarkable 91.7% were activated, underscoring not just widespread adoption but also a cultural shift toward embracing generative AI in daily work. According to internal measurements and surveys:

• Employees have reported average time savings of 30 minutes per day—a significant efficiency gain at scale, redirecting focus from repetitive admin tasks to more value-added activities.
• The initiative received an average satisfaction rating of 8.3 out of 10, signaling strong user approval across the company.
• Integration with key systems such as SAP and SharePoint cut down manual processes, enhanced digital connectivity, and elevated data-driven decision-making.

If these numbers hold up under external scrutiny, they represent a substantial return on investment for a large-scale public sector technology deployment, particularly in an industry historically cautious about rapid change. Recent coverage and case studies by both Capgemini and Microsoft reinforce the credibility of these figures, but independent corroboration is recommended for those seeking to benchmark their own transformation initiatives.

The Role of Champions and Community​

Success stories in digital transformation often pivot on more than just software deployment—they depend on people. Navantia’s strategy was to nurture an internal cadre of “champions.” These were tech-savvy, influential employees from various departments trained not just in Copilot’s features but also in change leadership. Their responsibilities included onboarding novices, gathering real-world feedback, and surfacing front-line use cases ripe for automation.
These champions created feedback loops that allowed project leads to rapidly iterate training materials, optimize Copilot’s configuration for Navantia’s workflows, and address hesitancy or misunderstandings as they arose. Such a model has since become recognized as a best practice for driving engagement and sustainable adoption in large, complex organizations.

Inside the Toolbox: How Copilot Is Changing Work at Navantia​

Microsoft 365 Copilot promises to supercharge the Microsoft productivity suite—including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams—with generative AI. For Navantia, this has not just been hype: employees now routinely use Copilot’s natural language prompts to automate document generation, summarize lengthy discussions or reports, extract insight from complex spreadsheets, and even prepare presentations at a fraction of the traditional time.
Most transformative, perhaps, has been Copilot’s ability to break down silos. By integrating with systems like SAP, Copilot can pull real-time information about vessel outfitting, maintenance schedules, and supplier data directly into familiar Microsoft interfaces. Procurement officers, for example, can use Copilot to instantly generate purchase order summaries, while engineers may synthesize maintenance histories without toggling between multiple legacy systems.

Benchmarking the Benefits: User Productivity and Organizational Outcomes​

The claim of an average 30 minutes saved per day per user is both impressive and deserving of scrutiny. Time-motion studies, such as those conducted during Navantia’s pilot, compared similar sets of tasks with and without Copilot assistance, finding measurable reductions in time spent compiling information, composing emails or meeting notes, and searching data repositories. Industry observers and early adopters of Microsoft 365 Copilot have cited similar outcomes, although the actual time saved may vary significantly based on job role, familiarity with the tool, and existing digital maturity.
While the initial focus was on administrative and knowledge workers, Navantia reportedly plans to expand the rollout to production and field teams, potentially magnifying the productivity benefits as more business functions come online. Capgemini’s public case study highlights this as an ongoing process and stresses the importance of data governance, security, and compliance considerations when extending AI across operational boundaries.

High Satisfaction—But Not Without Risks​

An average satisfaction rating of 8.3 out of 10 suggests that change management and training investments paid off, though even the most successful digital transformations surface points of resistance and challenge. Initial skepticism from end-users—especially those with limited AI exposure—was mitigated via active champion support, incremental training modules, and clear showcases of business value.
That said, industry experts flag several persistent risks:

• Over-reliance on AI Suggestions: There is a danger that users may begin to trust generated content too readily, without applying critical review. Navantia’s leaders recognized this, emphasizing a “human-in-the-loop” approach to maintain oversight and quality in sensitive communications or decision-making flows.
• Security and Compliance: With Copilot’s broad access to company data and communications, there is always an elevated risk of data leaks or misuse if controls are not strictly enforced. Navantia’s integration reportedly abides by rigorous data governance protocols, but as the solution scales, periodic audits and ongoing training become essential.
• Change Fatigue: Even expertly managed rollouts can lead to burnout, particularly if users feel mandated to use new tools on top of existing systems. Navantia’s staged adoption, including the creation of user communities and staggered training sessions, helped pace change and smooth the transition.

Integrating Beyond Microsoft 365: SAP, SharePoint, and the Future​

A distinctive aspect of Navantia’s approach was its emphasis on extensibility. Rather than treat Copilot as an isolated AI assistant, Navantia invested in integrations with enterprise systems such as SAP and SharePoint. This allowed for holistic workflow enhancements:

• SAP Integration: Copilot now helps automate data retrieval, reporting, and basic analytics from SAP—Navantia’s backbone for enterprise resource planning. This means less time copying, pasting, or reconciling data between applications.
• SharePoint Connectivity: Information scattered across SharePoint repositories can now be accessed, synthesized, and acted on via Copilot’s natural language interface, making knowledge management more accessible to every team member.
• Continuous Improvement: Feedback from champions and end-users is now feeding back into ongoing cycles of integration, with the stated goal of extending Copilot to even more business-critical tools and workflows.

Industry Implications: Lessons for the Broader Public Sector and Beyond​

Navantia’s journey offers a template—both technological and organizational—for others contemplating enterprise-wide AI adoption:

• Structured Accompaniment Is Essential: Simply deploying AI isn’t enough. Success comes from combining robust methodologies in training, engagement, monitoring, and customization.
• Champion-Driven Models Accelerate Change: Internal influencers boost confidence, surface early wins, and ensure engagement remains high.
• Measure What Matters: Real-time dashboards, user surveys, and task-based performance metrics allow organizations to prove value and fine-tune their approach.
• Integrate or Stagnate: The greatest value from AI emerges not in isolation, but when it is embedded deeply into the systems that underpin everyday business workflows.

Critical Perspective: Opportunities and Cautionary Notes​

While Navantia’s early results are undeniably impressive, several caveats and future challenges warrant attention:

• Scalability: The pilot’s results are strong, but as Copilot is rolled out to more units and potentially even more complex operations, ongoing support and governance will be critical.
• Data Integrity: AI’s usefulness is only as good as the data it can access. Ensuring high-quality, well-structured data inputs—especially when drawing from legacy sources—remains a perennial challenge.
• Regulatory Pressure: Particularly for entities involved in defense and critical infrastructure, compliance with national and international regulations around data privacy and AI ethics is non-negotiable. Navantia has taken early steps but will need to continually monitor the evolving legal landscape.

Moreover, as new generative AI models evolve, so will the strategies for integrating these tools responsibly and maximizing their benefits. Navantia’s approach of pairing technology with “structured accompaniment” could become the gold standard for future initiatives.

Looking Ahead: Copilot as a Foundation for Ongoing Innovation​

Navantia’s transformation demonstrates how generative AI, when paired with clear vision, collaborative partnerships, and rigorous change management, can drive outsized value even within large, complex, and risk-averse organizations. The project sets multiple benchmarks: exceptionally high license activation and satisfaction rates, meaningful time savings, and a clear model for community-driven digital change.
If the lessons from Navantia’s deployment are heeded, the implications for the wider public sector—and indeed any organization embarking on an AI-powered future—are substantial. Success depends not just on technology but on the human systems that support it: robust methodologies, engaged communities, constant measurement, and the humility to iterate as challenges arise.
As Navantia continues to refine its digital environment and explore further integration opportunities, its experience will serve as both a guide and a caution for peers. For organizations seeking to modernize, the Navantia example makes one thing clear: with intentional design, generative AI can be more than a buzzword—it can be a catalyst for genuine, enduring change.

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Source: Capgemini Navantia enhances efficiency and collaboration with Microsoft 365 Copilot