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halcrow / collaborate.ms

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Halcrow selected BC for their enterprise collaboration solution in 2002, having taken the decision to purchase collaboration technology in 2000. The Halcrow IT infrastructure is standardised on the Microsoft platform and a number of solutions were initially considered, including both BC and a competing solution from Microsoft.

Following a period of detailed evaluation and extensive trials, Doug Bevan, Halcrow's Technical Director for Work Systems & CAD, decided that BC most closely met their requirement for a complete solution which could be up and running without the need for extensive customisation.

Commenting on the final decision, Doug Bevan said:

“We have invested a great deal of time in finding the right solution. Business Collaborator offers us all the functionality we need immediately with the option of tailoring the software at a future date to create a Halcrow corporate ethos for external users. In addition, we were impressed with the level of support available, including comprehensive training programmes, technical advice and customisation. ”

In May 2002 Halcrow recommended to their client, the Highways Agency, that their implementation, Collaborate.ms, could be used to facilitate a tender process on-line. As a result, the £75 million PFI, A249 Stockbury (M2) to Sheerness DBFO project became the Highways Agency's first e-tendering project. Conservative estimates at the time showed that the decision to use it saved the Agency in excess of £250,000, just in document production and distribution costs.

In their 2003 annual report, Halcrow state that Collaborate.ms availability and deployment have generated considerable fees and is increasingly being used as a selling point for project bids as it offers reduced project risk, improved efficiency and significant savings.

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