Home

See Ross Dawson's
Trends in the
Living Networks
blog

Back to
publications
page

Intranets and groupware are perhaps the two hottest buzzwords in information technology. Many companies are finding that they are able to cost-justify implementing the technology with even basic applications such as putting the internal telephone directory online. Where the real promise of these systems lies, however, is in helping to make the knowledge and intellectual capital held in companies more productive, and thus gaining sustainable competitive advantage in an era in which knowledge is the primary source of corporate wealth.

Intranets are internal corporate versions of the internet, which allow staff to use Web browsers to surf through the information available within the company, and to post their own Web pages, while maintaining security of the systems and confidential information. Research firm Gartner Group reports that while just 8.5% of Australian organisations currently have mature implementations of intranets, almost 80% plan to have at least a pilot intranet by next year.

Groupware - sometimes referred to as collaborative software - is used to facilitate teams sharing information and working together on projects, whether they are in the same room or scattered around the globe. Lotus Notes/Domino is by far the most commonly used client/server groupware, boasting 12.5 million users according to market research firm IDC, however other products such as Microsoft Exchange and the recently released Netscape Communicator are eagerly diving into a market which is forecast to continue growing at 50-70% annually.

The initial justification of implementing intranets is usually in applications like internal publishing. In large corporations the annual cost of printing and distributing internal telephone directories, announcements, policy manuals and other documents can easily exceed $1 million, making it fairly easy to cost-justify implementing electronic systems to disseminate corporate information.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth, an Australian law firm with over 900 staff located in the major capital cities, began implementing Lotus Notes in 1994, initially largely for e-mail and internal communication, however over the last 18 months the software's power has been leveraged with workflow, information management and intranet style applications.

"The increasing need to find information effectively and efficiently and client demands are driving the groupware concept," notes Lionel Bird, Information Systems Manager at Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Bird points to the example of the temporary workgroups that are established to work on specific legal cases, harnessing the expertise of individuals that may be located in several different cities. "The information necessary for the project can be set up very quickly to facilitate discussion on the project, and if appropriate, dismantled afterwards," says Bird.

The project database may also be shared with the client as a way of adding further value. Lotus Domino can be used to publish existing files on the Internet, allowing clients to access the information easily while still maintaining security.

"The business benefit is definitely recognised at the highest level," reports Bird of Corr's groupware initiatives. "We have demonstrated the return on investment."

Geoffrey Moss, executive manager of business technology - institutional banking at Commonwealth Bank of Australia says they have developed hundreds of Lotus Notes applications, and points to their client management workbench as a key example of how groupware technology is yielding measurable business results.

The client management workbench allows the institutional banking division to view all aspects of its relationships with its clients. At any time relationship managers, risk managers and financial market salespeople can get an up-to-date view of all relevant data.

"We believe we have a 100% annual return on our investment in the client management workbench," affirms Moss. He says CBA has identified enough additional revenue directly attributable to the implementation of this application alone to justify the cost of the infrastructure.

Moss attributes much of the increased revenue to improved speed and co-ordination, noting that if key executives on an investment banking transaction are in different states, the system will allow a far faster turnaround on the deal. "There are hundreds of documents in complex deals," Moss adds. "The better the execution of a deal, the better chance we have of getting the next one."

"Big 6" accounting firm Ernst & Young is recognised one of the leaders in leveraging its base of knowledge to add value to its clients. "We don't invest in technology for technology's sake," says John Nixon, corporate development partner at Ernst & Young. "We invest in technology because it's the road to sharing knowledge."

Ernst & Young has been building applications under Lotus Notes for around three years, and claims to have embraced Notes as part of its culture. The long-term strategy is to build Notes into an intranet environment, making sure applications can be used in either environment with minimal effort.

The firm has built and maintains a global database of knowledge on over 70 key industries and areas of expertise, covering work it has done for clients worldwide, proposals it has presented, the steps performed in doing the work - including the mistakes made - and full resumes of all its practitioners. This enables project teams to rework rather than duplicate what has been done for other clients around the world, and draw on firmwide experience and knowledge.

Two of the key aspects of Ernst & Young's business is that their executives are often working out of the office at client sites, and the fact that their operations are global in scope. In order to give its practitioners access to key information both in and out of the office, 60% of Ernst & Young's PC fleet are laptops. Large chunks of the firm's global knowledge base are regularly downloaded onto the PCs for executives to take with them to clients, with dial-in access to any other information which is required.

"The reason people come to a global firm like Ernst & Young is to access global resources - our clients expect us to be able to reflect global knowledge," notes Greg Reid, National Director - Knowledge Management at Ernst & Young. This is enabled by wide area networks and using the World Wide Web to access knowledge held in the offices of the accounting firm around the world.

Home

About Us

Global Schedule

Speaking

Clients

Books

Publications

Ross Dawson

Contact Us