The National Productivity Institute (NPI) has moved to boost its own productivity with the installation of Ixchange`s NetChauffeur at its Pretoria head office. There it will give more than 80 staff access to e-mail and Internet browsing. The NPI`s next step is to install NetChauffeur Lite at the Cape Town and Durban offices, connecting around 100 people in total in a virtual wide-area network.
"Productivity is measured as the ratio between outputs and inputs. If you can increase your outputs without increasing your inputs to the same extent, you win in the productivity formula," says Monica Sprong, NPI manager: corporate services. "NetChauffeur fits that definition."
The NPI is held in high esteem by similar bodies in other countries, being regarded as one of the best productivity institutes in the world and a benchmark for others. "We create awareness of the needs for and benefits of productivity, but with a social conscience, so both the employed and unemployed win in the long term," says Sprong.
The NPI is intensely engaged in research and the application of that research, for private and public service organisations in South Africa. It also has an extensive international network, reaching most of the African countries and as far afield as Canada, the US, Europe, Scandinavia and the Far East.
"Sharing information and research with our customers and contacts has represented enormous logistical problems," says Sprong, "not least because of the time differences. Having seamless Internet connectivity has resolved this."
NetChauffeur was installed on the NPI`s Novell NetWare network by Ixchange business partner Network Alliance. It also allows field consultants to dial in to the network using a tollfree number to access their e-mail and other system resources.
Before NetChauffeur, the NPI accessed the Internet and e-mail through three dedicated PCs in the organisation`s library.
Other benefits the NPI has enjoyed, says Sprong, are the ability for all staff in the NPI to browse for their own research - "a big boost for access to the productivity global village"; an immediate improvement in service to clients; and the ability to fax through e-mail.
"Most importantly," says Sprong, "NetChauffeur has allowed us to have all these benefits without worrying about IT at all. I`ve outsourced all my connectivity to Ixchange, and I can get on with my core business." More than 150 other companies have chosen NetChauffeur for similar reasons, says Ixchange Internet Business director Stephen Buchalter. "We expect the NPI to find many new ways of leveraging their business through their improved connectivity."
Share
Editorial contacts