Perceptive Online provides vital infrastructure for mobile working
To get ahead in business in this web-reliant world, you need to grasp the latest technology. With 450 clients across the NHS and independent healthcare sector, and working internationally, CHKS sought help from Perceptive Online to ensure their intranet was up to speed and to develop their mobile working software.
Philip James, European Development Director for CHKS, was looking for a solution when he came across Perceptive Online, "Our in-house servers are Linux-based. We tried a Linux-based "Exchange Server" look-alike, but it was unreliable."
The main problems they were encountering were the upload speed of the office ADSL line, the limitation of collaboration features, and the inability to check emails while abroad.
A number of company acquisitions had compounded their intranet problem, as they tried to integrate these new systems into their own.
“Perceptive Online offered a solution to our problems. Firstly they enabled us to link all our offices with one system, so, as we continue to expand, it is easy to add new users,” explains Phil.
Perceptive Online also helped by providing Microsoft Hosted Exchange. This addressed a lot of their past problems and enabled mobile working, which is important to the business as the majority of staff are home-based across the UK and much of their work requires international travel.
SharePoint is a relatively new service taken up by CHKS. It provides a platform for collaboration without the need for sophisticated, bespoke development and addresses some of the limitations in Microsoft Outlook. "It is user-friendly and easily accessible." Explains Phil, "the easy interface has allowed us to develop small applications that are used by employees working from home."
Working with NHS acute trusts, PCTs and the independent healthcare sector, CHKS has a portfolio of information and accreditation products and services which healthcare organisations use to drive quality improvement and efficiency.
"It is vital that staff can access their e-mails when out of the office to ensure that continuous client and staff contact is maintained," commented Phil, "using Perceptive Online has allowed us to do this very effectively."
August 2007