Consulting Firm Uses Digital Note-Taking Program to Better ...



Overview

Country/Region: India

Industry: Information Technology/Consulting

Customer Profile

Infosys Technologies designs business solutions for corporations to enhance their competitiveness. These solutions are delivered with industry-benchmark Infosys Predictability, leveraging the Global Delivery Model.

Business Situation

One of the company’s consulting groups, the Microsoft Solutions Practice (MSSP), wanted to find a new system that would make it easier for team members to collect, organize, and share information.

Solution

MSSP started using the Microsoft® Office OneNote® 2003 digital note-taking program to easily organize and distribute meeting notes, research, solutions, and client proposals.

Benefits

■ Closes action items on projects almost 7 percent faster

■ Saves time aggregating and searching for information

■ Increases note sharing by 11 percent

■ Enhances productivity, saving U.S.$1,903 per user over three years

| | |“Because information is key to the consulting business, OneNote makes a big difference. We believe OneNote will be a useful tool for executives and consultants to use on their desktops and laptops.”

Parthasarthy M.A., Head Delivery, Microsoft Solutions Practice, Infosys Technologies

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| | | |Infosys Technologies designs business and technology solutions for corporations around the world. One|

| | | |of its key technology divisions, the Microsoft Solutions Practice (MSSP), supports the company’s |

| | | |business units by providing technology solutions to its clients. Accurate and timely information from|

| | | |client interviews, research, and brainstorming sessions is vital to MSSP’s work. To continuously |

| | | |deliver high-quality client solutions quickly, MSSP wanted an innovative way to efficiently manage |

| | | |the vast amount of information collected by its team. In December 2003, MSSP deployed the Microsoft® |

| | | |Office OneNote® 2003 digital note-taking program to collect, organize, and share data. Now Infosys |

| | | |MSSP consultants and technology architects can easily find and use more current, accurate information|

| | | |in their notes and research, which helps them complete client projects and ultimately benefits the |

| | | |Infosys bottom line. |

| | | | |

| | | |[pic] |

| | | | |

Situation

The foundation of every consulting business is intellectual property—an invaluable knowledge base for employees to access and reuse on a regular basis. Infosys Technologies, a global consulting firm, collects an extensive amount of information about customers, technology solutions, and business trends and processes. Based in Bangalore, India, Infosys provides business consulting, systems integration, application development, and product engineering services to clients around the world. Collecting, finding, and sharing accurate information in a timely manner can be challenging to a large consulting company with 24,000 employees at 30 offices in 17 countries.

A technology consulting team at Infosys, the Microsoft Solutions Practice (MSSP), offers support, best practices, recommendations about potential Microsoft® technology solutions, and contract assistance to the firm’s business units that work on billable client projects. MSSP also develops new service offerings and platforms to create new market opportunities for its clients. Clear and timely communication with clients, the business units, and other Infosys MSSP consultants is essential to its success. If information is outdated, the quality of client proposals and solutions decreases.

Until recently, Infosys MSSP consultants and architects wrote notes on paper at team meetings or during client phone calls and then typed the pertinent details in e-mail messages that were circulated to others. If the notes needed to be conserved in a more formal manner, a team member would create a document using Microsoft Word or Excel. This transcription sometimes would be incomplete and usually delayed the sharing of information with other team members.

Like most technology consultants, the MSSP team members stored project notes in multiple places. They kept client requests, ideas, and research in paper notebooks, on their individual hard drives, or in e-mail boxes. As a result, many found it challenging to access and share their notes and other information, such as team feedback on potential solutions, client proposals, research about new service platforms, and analysis.

Team members also found it time consuming to search through and access the large amount of research that was collected regularly. They saved URLs of Web sites containing important project research about new service offerings and potential solutions in a Favorites folder in Microsoft Internet Explorer. “As months went by, it was hard to keep track of the Web source that the information came from,” says Ravi Kant, Technical Architect, Microsoft Solutions Practice, Infosys Technologies.

Parthasarthy M.A. (Partha), Head Delivery of MSSP, wanted to find a new method to keep MSSP’s innovative ideas and research in one place. Ideally, consultants and architects would be able to easily gather, organize, find, and share information about technology solutions and then create formal reports or proposals that could be reused for future client projects. Partha also wanted to have the flexibility to both assign individual tasks and track group-level interactions.

Ultimately, he looked for a solution that would help to provide high-quality work to clients quickly, resulting in streamlined offerings and increased business. “We wanted to set up a central repository for notes, research, procedures, proposals, and other information, so we could readily reuse data and improve communication within MSSP, across business units, and with our clients,” Partha says.

Solution

In January 2004, the Microsoft Solutions Practice team at Infosys Technologies started using the new digital note-taking program, Microsoft Office OneNote® 2003, on a mix of desktops and laptop computers. MSSP set up shared OneNote 2003 files on a secure, single server, so information about clients, projects, and technology solutions could be stored and easily accessed by all team members. Now they use OneNote to organize individual and team notes and to work together on group projects.

Gather and Organize Information

Instead of jotting down notes on paper during internal meetings and client conference calls, Infosys MSSP consultants quickly type details in OneNote files on their desktop or laptop computers. They also use OneNote to create action lists, brainstorm solution proposals, and store ideas to be used in reports.

OneNote has a user interface designed to look like a three-ring binder. Tabs across the top and side of each page help consultants to organize information by topics. For example, a consultant keeps notes in specific OneNote folders and sections according to focus, corresponding research, and common resources or projects. (See Figure 1.)

Research on different options for client solutions is collected from multiple sources and organized in OneNote files. When research is conducted and information is collected from Web sites, OneNote adds the URL, making it easier for consultants to identify the origin of the data or to find the source months later. “We write a synopsis and then keep it with the research and the source link in one place in OneNote,” says Kant. “We can extract previous research, organize all the information collected, and create whatever types of files are needed.”

Keep Track of Action Items

Infosys MSSP consultants use Note Flags in OneNote to create to-do lists, highlighting important items, urgent client notes, and details that require follow-up. They then view a summary of the flagged items in the Note Flags Summary task pane, which is a list of hyperlinks to all the notes that have been marked with flags. The list can be sorted by date, type of note flag, or section of their notebooks. With electronic to-do lists created in OneNote, Infosys MSSP consultants easily identify action items to make sure that all client requests are delivered and nothing falls through the cracks.

Share Notes and Work Together

Using OneNote with the Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 messaging and collaboration client, consultants can immediately distribute relevant notes from client meetings to other team members by mailing them directly from their OneNote notebooks. “Whenever we need to share the notes of a meeting, we take notes using OneNote on the desktop kept in the conference room,” says Kant. “Then we send them in e-mail to the meeting participants.”

Because all Infosys MSSP consultants can access the OneNote files on a single server, teams are encouraged to work together to find client solutions. For example, the consultants and architects can quickly consolidate notes about a new platform or other technology solutions and store the notes on the server, so that all team members can keep track of progress on client projects. On large projects, they can collaborate, divide tasks, and keep ideas for deliverables located in one place for peers or managers to review. Successful solutions can be archived, and best practices can be viewed by all consultants.

Find and Reuse Data

With research kept in one location, MSSP consultants at Infosys can quickly access, search, reuse, and update information about clients and solutions. Team members can quickly pinpoint a particular piece of critical data by easily searching their entire OneNote notebook and their shared digital notebooks.

For example, if a consultant needs to find notes and research about a new recommended platform for a client, he can type the platform name or another keyword in a search box. OneNote searches all folders, sections, and pages for the results, which then are displayed in a matter of seconds in a Page List task pane with hyperlinks for easy access.

The relevant information can be quickly processed into a proposal or solution document or used to make key decisions. Consultants can access and reuse successful ideas or strategies for multiple projects. As a result, they don’t duplicate existing ideas, research, and work.

Benefits

With OneNote 2003, Infosys MSSP consultants more effectively use their notes and share their information more efficiently with other consultants, the Infosys business units, and, most importantly, with clients. Individual productivity and MSSP teamwork improves with increased organization and streamlined processes to create client solutions. Errors are reduced, research is easy to locate, and successful solutions and strategies can be reused. By reusing best practices frequently, high-quality solutions can be delivered, on time, to clients.

After only three months of OneNote use, Infosys MSSP team members are completing client projects almost 7 percent faster because of the amount of time that is saved by not having to aggregate, retype, reformat, and search for information in their notes. (See Figure 2.) The ability to perform more billable client work has a significantly positive impact on the bottom line of Infosys's Microsoft Solutions Practice.

Overall, Infosys will realize a net present value—the total value from investing in this solution—of U.S.$1,903 per user over three years, and the company expects to recoup its investment in the OneNote deployment within five months. This investment includes the initial cost of the software, training its users, and an application testing process.

Increased Individual and Team Productivity

Updates made to OneNote files stored on a shared workspace are available to all Infosys MSSP consultants, so they can work together more frequently to find technology solutions for clients. According to a financial survey by Hollen, Inc., the sharing of work-in-progress notes has increased by 11 percent, which means greater collaboration with team members, the business units, and clients. “Productivity is higher because OneNote makes managing notes from client interviews and research easy for consultants,” says Kant. “Finding information from hundreds and thousands of notes takes seconds with the search functionality.”

OneNote helps ensure accountability and ownership of tasks, keeps all consultants up to date on project information, and reduces the risk of losing knowledge collected from multiple sources and by numerous people. For example, Infosys MSSP consultants meet with clients, take notes about their business needs and challenges, research potential solutions, pull all the information into one place so all team members can review the same data, and develop recommendations to their clients for new service offerings or platforms. Electronic to-do lists are carried forward from one meeting to the next, to help track a project’s progress and to make sure that all client requests are handled in a timely manner. “The summary of all pending action items helps us to quickly recall what work is outstanding and when it is due,” says Kant.

Higher Efficiency

MSSP consultants at Infosys have more time to devote to developing technology solutions and other billable client work because OneNote provides better, faster tools to perform tasks that are ordinary yet essential. The risk of errors or lost information is minimized because data is accessed by everyone from the central server. “The time saved is significant because we find information more quickly and easily with OneNote,” says Kant. “We are confident that we won’t lose any information.”

E-mail notes about client requests and research are sent to other team members directly from OneNote with Outlook 2003 or placed in shared files, so consultants don’t have to take the extra time-consuming steps of transcribing or photocopying information. “Our notes are now more organized and retrievable, and our research on different topics is easily organized and referenced in OneNote files,” Kant says. Other Infosys MSSP team members agree that they have received many benefits from their use of OneNote. (See Figure 3.)

Improved Decision Making

With easy access to accurate, up-to-date information, MSSP consultants at Infosys have confidence that data is reliable and comprehensive. Project details, recommendations for solutions, and previous company knowledge such as successful ideas and proposals are easy to find with OneNote. As a result, consultants make more informed decisions. “Because information is key to the consulting business, OneNote makes a big difference,” says Partha. “We believe OneNote will be a useful tool for executives and consultants to use on their desktops and laptops.”

Future Plans

As the next step, Partha wants his team to start using the audio recording feature of OneNote during meetings with customers. Audio that is recorded in OneNote is linked automatically to corresponding typed notes, which makes it easy for consultants to respond to crucial client needs and requests.

Partha also plans to expand the use of OneNote to teams of consultants, account managers, and business development managers who are often located in different countries and work together on contract proposals and projects. With OneNote, the remote teams will take notes, record discussions, use customized note flags to easily track assignments, and store the information on a central server. “OneNote definitely facilitates decision making, which in turn helps us create better proposals,” says Partha. “We expect to be even more productive as a result of using OneNote in our group.”

How Benefits Were Measured

Hollen Inc., an independent consulting organization, conducted client surveys, analyzed all business value contributions by the use of Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 to the MSSP group at Infosys Technologies, and conducted a cost-benefit analysis using proven financial metrics and tools associated with the investment in the OneNote solution. Microsoft has retained Hollen’s Business Value Analysis practice to review the economic justification of OneNote solutions with select customers and to validate the linkage between investments in OneNote and quantifiable business benefits to these customers.

The Microsoft Office System

Microsoft Office is the business world's chosen environment for information work that provides the software, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about Microsoft Office System, go to:

‌office

Microsoft Office OneNote 2003

Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 is a new program in the Microsoft Office System that enables information workers to be more productive in meetings, at their desks, at presentations, and in brainstorming sessions—anywhere they work with ideas and notes.

For more information about Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, go to:

office/onenote

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Figure 3. In a financial survey by Hollen Inc., more than 80 percent

of Infosys MSSP consultants agree that OneNote helps them

keep their notes in one place. As a result, information is easier and

faster to find and track.

| |Software and Services

■ Microsoft Office System

− Microsoft Office OneNote 2003

− Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 | | |

[pic]

Figure 1. Because all of a consultant’s notes are stored

in one place, information is easily accessible to reuse

and share with colleagues.

[pic]

© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, the Office logo, OneNote, and Outlook are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Document published June 2004 | | |

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:

For more information about Infosys Technologies products and services, visit the Web site at:



“The time saved is significant because we find information more quickly and easily with OneNote. We are confident that we won’t lose any information.”

Ravi Kant, Technical Architect, Microsoft Solutions Practice, Infosys Technologies

| |

“Productivity is higher because OneNote makes managing notes from client interviews and research easy for consultants. Finding information from hundreds and thousands of notes takes seconds with the search functionality.”

Parthasarthy M.A., Head Delivery, Microsoft Solutions Practice, Infosys Technologies

| |

Figure 2. MSSP consultants at Infosys have their own ways of taking and

organizing notes. Since all the information is located in one place, it is easily

accessible for a consultant to reuse and share with colleagues. This saves

-time, leading to additional hours to spend on billable client projects.

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