New Intranet offers business management

Barry Hatfield, InTrack product manager at Tiscali, says the tool centralises functionality for internal processes such as procurement, CRM and business continuity, while being accessible from a corporate LAN, as well as from any Internet connection via a laptop or PDA. "Integration with Microsoft Exchange allows for collaboration through discussion and calendar features."

Hatfield says that risk management is a crucial consideration for many organisations. A solution that gets down to the business of tracking and managing workflow can reduce risk on many levels. A centralised data store will, for example, ensure that correct financial information is available to all authorised users. An automated procurement process will also prevent unauthorised spending.

The ability to re-allocate workload for absent staff members effectively manages customer expectation, reducing the risk of upsetting business continuity and customer relationships. Components such as contact management will also guarantee regular communication with clients while task management can monitor delegated tasks for follow-up or feedback to clients.

"Productivity is also addressed through functionality such as minutes management, project management and contact management, features that ensure improved operational effectiveness and customer service."

Business processes are automatically monitored, and steps can be taken to manage bottlenecks and improve response times. "InTrack will ensure that all staff are using the correct processes, with a full audit trail of all users' actions to reduce inappropriate behaviour and make staff accountable for their actions," Hatfield says.

Protekon, a multi-disciplinary engineering company, has opted for InTrack to service its Intranet requirement as an extension of services already received from Tiscali. Tom Cole, manager: ICT at Protekon, says "InTrack is well suited to the organisation which has recently undergone restructuring. Protekon has moved away from its silo'd, geographically-based structure to being a disciplinary-based organisation. InTrack will assist us in keeping collaboration and inter-activity between our 412 knowledge workers," he says.

InTrack is available from Tiscali on a rental basis. According to Hatfield, "A hosted solution such as this ensures scalability and regular off-site backups, eliminating costs associated with hardware and additional IT resources. Migration of data onto the new system is also easily achieved."