IT remedy for admin malady at DENOSA

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, said to be the largest nursing union in the country, has recently had a comprehensive IT infrastructure designed and installed by Pretoria-based IT specialist company, Business Connection. Implemented in order to facilitate further growth in membership and enable efficient reporting and communication between its 9 provincial branches and the Pretoria head-office, the new IT system has taken DENOSA from a paper based organisation to a `new age` union that is able to provide fast and effective service and support to its members.

In stark contrast to the previous status quo, each member of DENOSA`s staff now has a PC with e-mail functionality. And, for the first time since its inception, the organisation is able to hold its own in a world-class arena. DENOSA is affiliated to the ICN (International Council of Nurses) in Switzerland and PSI (Public Service International) in France and other organisations within SADEC and the rest of Africa. With significantly improved communication tools, DENOSA can now become more active and influential in both local and international nursing hierarchy and activities.

At commencement of the project, DENOSA had approximately 90 000 members - 70% of which were fully paid up. However, since the IT project was commissioned in November 2000, this member base has grown to 101 000. DENOSA`s vision for the IT infrastructure was not just to facilitate efficient growth. The new system was motivated in order to provide meaningful and up-to-date information to the leadership, management and members alike; to simplify and enhance communication between the head office and the 9 provincial offices, and to make reporting faster, easier and more accurate.

According to Mr Velile Mqhum, Finance and Administration Manager for DENOSA, prior to the installation of the new system, information was often late or difficult to collate. "The whole reporting and financial management process was laborious and time consuming, requiring many man-hours to sift through all the paperwork to produce a consolidated report. Now, with our new system we have realised measurable business benefits. We will fulfil our vision of becoming a world class nursing organisation - representing our members interests locally and internationally with pride," says Mqhum.

The comprehensive enterprise architecture provided by Business Connection included the installation and configuration of a Windows 2000 Active Directory (migrating DENOSA from an AS 400 legacy system), a Microsoft Exchange installation, providing Internet access and the installation of Norton Anti-virus. The use of the Internet is significant for DENOSA as stations at the various hospitals around the country now allow members access to up-to-date information and records. News is also posted on the Internet, negating the need for costly monthly newsletters. "This has provided DENOSA members with the best facilities and fast access to membership benefits," adds Thapelo Mokoma, Business Connection`s project manager for the DENOSA contract.

The project has been such a success that DENOSA is looking at rolling out the system to all provincial offices and it is expected that by the end of the first quarter of 2001, head office will be `fully conversant` with all the provincial offices. "In addition to system design and hardware and software supply, training has been a critical aspect to the success of this project," explains Mokoma. "Many of DENOSA`s employees were not completely PC and e-mail literate, and in a desktop and server based environment this is critical. Training of staff has been undertaken to ensure optimum effectiveness of the system," continues Mokoma.