Enabling Records and document management for the North West Office of the Premier
Business Challenge
How do you enable senior managers in different buildings to share documents and submit reports without relying solely on e-mail? And how can these managers, plus employees in other offices, access general information in an easy and seamless manner? These were the key questions that Ubbo Kraak, Director: Information Management, in the Office of the Premier, North West, was looking to answer.
“Generally speaking, the problem lay in a lack of access to reliable information like documents, statistics, maps,” he explains. “Collaboration was a key issue, and we needed to create a document standard when reporting."
Solution
An initial solution came in the form of a shared document folder on a networked PC. This was upgraded to a set of structured folders resident in the background of the e-mail. However, this led to a reliance on other technology, and failures and inaccessibility were the order of the day. The team then implemented Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2001, later upgrading to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2003, all the while maintaining stringent security settings.
“At this point the Enterprise Document Management System (EDMS) was the core business of the system,” says Kraak, “and very little attention was given to the availability of other resources using a single application. We then identified nVisionIT as the Microsoft resource of choice, to help us move the project forward.”
Using the project overview and plan and taking the existing infrastructure into consideration, nVisionIT recommended the deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Business Benefits
Implementing SharePoint Server 2007 was a smooth and seamless process. The team customised it in-house in the Office of the Premier – a process that has been declared very effective.
“The features required of their document management system have been fully realised,” says Kubheka. “This includes records management capability for signed documents, granular security, an easily customisable interface to enhance user experience and an improved user interface to improve user acceptance.”
Most importantly, the solution did not result in any business interruption, despite the fact that approximately 16 000 existing documents were copied. “The project was completed within two weeks,” says Kubheka.
“The only drawback experienced so far is the user acceptance in terms of technology training. Users are habitual and still save their documents to their personal hard drives,” adds Kraak. “This is not due to the application or content, but rather a lack of training.”
The purpose of creating a single portal for access to information and resources is seen as key to the smooth operation of the North West Province. This portal incorporates both the Internet and an intranet.
“The initial need to create an online document management system as the core of the application has changed dramatically, and the EDMS concept has now been put into the background of a much larger system,” says Kraak. “This larger system was conceived as a single-sign-on and authorised access for employees, and serves as the backbone for sourcing information for the newly developed information portal.
“This now includes dedicated and targeted Issue/Task registers, calendars, an intranet for the Office of the Premier, and most importantly, a single gateway to access departmental resources like statistics, financial reports, and programmes of action, which are constantly needed.”