Infosol Configurations, Computer Configurations Holdings` (CCH) Saudi Arabian operation, has successfully managed the implementation of a 3700-user wide area network for Digital Corporation`s client, the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco. The project, which involved linking desktops at 12 sites throughout the kingdom with Microsoft Exchange, was one of the most ambitious of its kind, and the first implementation of the latest release of Microsoft Exchange, Version 5.5. Aramco now runs a Microsoft network linking all users at refineries and extraction plants throughout Saudi Arabia, as well as to its head office in Dhahran. The system links more than 3700 PC`s and Macintosh machines, and in addition to Microsoft applications, also runs a Lotus environment. Louis Yssel, managing director of Outsourcing Configurations, also a company within CCH, said that his staff were called in to manage the project, due to a shortage of that skill in Saudi Arabia, and also because of the sensitive nature of the project. "There were many factors which had to be considered when implementing the solution, considering the number of players involved," said Yssel. "In this type of environment it is important for a project manager to possess not only the technical knowledge and management ability, but also to be sensitive to the needs of the client, the uncertainty felt by the users, as well as the challenges facing the suppliers." According to Yssel, the project was a success because clear definitions of responsibility were established at the start, and open lines of communication were set up. Nico Meintjes, who directed the project, said that the immediate problem was the lack of communication between users and the implementers of the project. "We created greater cohesion between users and technical staff, which immediately accelerated the process because requirements were identified." Yssel says that the ubiquitous barriers which exist between business and technology are even greater in Saudi Arabia where project management, the traditional link between business and technologists, is in short supply. "In Saudi IT professionals are intensely focused on technical skills, and not always equipped to deal with the human factor in projects. This is because most IT professionals are contractors who are employed for their particular skills set only.
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