Airtricity saves energy with content management

Far better information sharing and re-use, increased productivity and reduced costs are being reported by wind farms builder Airtricity from its Open Text electronic content management system. “It’s the efficiencies that come from storing and managing unstructured data electronically,” says Dermot Moore, project delivery manager at Airtricity. And it’s also leading to improved collaboration, with documentation already being managed automatically within the organisation and expected to roll out across its supply chain. “Information is often contained in multiple documents from different sources,” explains Moore. “With LiveLink, it’s now easy to find, and that means there are also considerable admin savings – and we can re-use the [intellectual] capital from project to project. “We’re using it for all types of content, Word, Excel, whatever: contracts, maps, design documents, project data, correspondence, emails, relevant news items and web articles. Before this, we managed with shared folders on a sever, but that meat there was no version control, no security and it wasn’t a collaborative environment. “Now all data relating to all documents for a project is in a single location, with folder structures and a search engine. So users can view and edit information all under check in and check out procedure into the repository.” He concedes that most of the business benefits could be described as ‘soft’, but says: “We’re a growing organisation, so we implemented the system before we experienced the costs and pains of not doing so.” Currently, the company is rolling out Livelink on its projects side, with controlled document migration. “First users went live in May, and it’s being used for all aspects of electronic content management on a SQL database,” says Moore. Next it will be used across the entire business, covering also its finance and green electricity supply management services. A detailed requirements gathering exercise has been completed as well as training in Livelink’s core functionality for Airtricity’s staff at its Dublin, Omagh, Belfast, London and Glasgow offices. “We see Livelink as an essential component in delivering our IT Strategy.”