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Cortal Consors Implements Europe-Wide Intranet Using Software by CONET
CoCoNet is the name of Cortal Consor’s new information network. It was implemented earlier this year by Hennef based CONET AG using their award winning you@web software. Currently more than 1200 employees in Germany and France access the system to gain the needed information provided by the group of companies. There are also plans to expand the intranet to cover the group’s offices in Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
“After the merger of Consors and Cortal in May 2002 we had to face the problem how to provide our European employees with all needed data, using only one system,” Peter Schmidt, Manager IT Messaging/Intranet at Cortal Consors, explains. Up to then Consors had relied upon a Notes database solution for providing information while Cortal utilized a static intranet. “While looking for a new solution it was very important for us to preserve existing systems while at the same time allowing a fast implementation of the new solution, keeping the costs and needed amount of training as low as possible. After checking the market intensively, we decided to use the you@web product line because it fit all those requirements perfectly.”
The you@web product line is based on the Lotus Domino products by IBM. Because Consors already used those products – Cortal Consors is one of the companies that have already migrated to Domino R6 – the implementation was very easy. Also the time needed for training the employees, especially developers and administrators, was accordingly very short. Because you@web products use a web based interface, it is no problem to integrate all needed employees into the editorial process, even if they do not have direct Notes access. Being able to use a browser is enough to participate fully in the process.
As a first step in the implementation process, all information stored in the existing intranets was transferred into the new one to allow the employees to continue their daily business cleanly. For creating intranet pages, the you@web Content Manager 6.3b does not require any programming knowledge, e.g. in HTML or JavaScript, since it is wholly Domino based. Another benefit is the clearly structured navigation that simplifies the search for the needed information; depending on the setup and individual search queries, the you@web Knowledge Director extracts data from different source databases, categorizes and sorts the information, and presents it clearly structured on the screen.
Cortal Consors S.A., a BNP Paribas company, is the leading online broking and financial services provider for private investors. Cortal Consors offers a wide variety of services and investment offers for their 1.1 million customers. The company follows a strategy of varied sales channels, offering their services via Internet, telecommunications, and also in direct personal meetings with experienced investment consultants.
CONET AG has been developing and implementing IT solutions since 1987 and is a member of Germany’s leading IT business association BITKOM. The range of services includes consulting, software development, and information and communications technology. Currently more than 230 employees working in customers' projects are based at the company’s headquarters in Hennef and the branch offices in Augsburg and Berlin. The established clientele includes several public bodies like federal ministries and governmental agencies as well as many market-leading private enterprises such as Bayer, Henkel, and Deutsche Bahn (German Railway). CONET’s you@web software line for an easy creation and maintenance of intra-, extra- and Internet sites as well as portal solutions has been repeatedly presented with international awards and is currently in use with leading global enterprises such as E-Plus, Henkel, and Bayer as well as several public bodies like the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces). CONET owns a subsidiary company in Neubrandenburg (CONET InfoSys GmbH). In the business year 2002/2003 (April through March), CONET achieved a turnover of 30.3 million Euros, three percent more than in the previous year. 17.02.2004, Wolfgang Heer
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