Implementation and Use of Collaboration Technologies in a Multinational Engineering Group: The Case of Kværner

Abstract

This case study presents the experiences from implementation and use of collaboration technologies in Kvaerner, a multinational engineering group. Kvaærner has implemented a global area network for supporting communication and information exchange among the companies in the group, serving as the backbone for use of other collaboration technologies such as document management and desktop conferencing. The case study presents the lessons learned from the implementation of this network, and the challenges related to achieving full utilisation of the collaboration technologies in Kvaerner. The chapter is based on interviews with representatives from central IT management in Kvaerner, and three Kvaerner companies (two in Australia and one in Norway). Additional information was collected from the Kvaærner website (www.kvaerner.com).