| Multi-disciplinary consulting firm | |
| Business | The Firm provides consultancy services for urban development, tourism, environment, housing and municipal infrastructure projects in the Developing World and Eastern Europe. Consultants include architects, planners, engineers and economists providing solutions to problems caused by major population growth, urban expansion and tourism. Existing computer systems included a 24 user network. |
| Size | 35 staff, 3 sites (London, Birmingham and Hong Kong) |
| Functions | Finance and accounting, office productivity including e-mail, project management, CAD, knowledge databases. |
| Project | Review and improve all aspects of the Firms IT systems. |
| Issues | Evolving systems
- The existing systems had
evolved on an ad-hoc basis without any reference to a
clear and coherent plan.
Purchasing standardisation - No hardware or software standards existed for hardware and software purchases hence a wide range of hardware and application software had been acquired which did not allow for seamless integration. Under-utilised facilities - Management perceived that the current IT systems were not being used to their full potential. Restricted data sharing - There was an urgent requirement to share information between users and offices however because different hardware and software were being used a barrier to efficient and productive working existed. Infrastructure standardisation - Management needed assistance to determine the most appropriate computer systems infrastructure capable of supporting the existing and future business operations. Integration and communication - Management wished to integrate all aspects of the operations including communication between offices. |
| Outcome | A thorough review and audit was undertaken involving interviews with a cross section of partners, managers and staff. The resulting review included a 30 step action plan for improvement |
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