Building a better intranet with Google

Taylor Woodrow Construction has bolstered its intranet using Google's corporate search app.

Since the site enabled Google-based search last September, the support department has received 25 per cent fewer calls, which would previously occur when users could not find the content they were looking for on the intranet.

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The Google Search Appliance also enables the company's 1,800 employees to subscribe to certain types of information and receive notifications when new or revised documents are published.

Sean McAndrew, business systems analyst at Taylor Woodrow Construction, told silicon.com the company has been through a number of mergers and acquisitions over the last few years so the intranet had to work across and combine three organisations.

McAndrew said: "[Taylor Woodrow] wanted to make sure everything was in a single system but also that all the documentation was up-to-date and classified in the right way."

The Google Search Appliance also provided the intranet with dynamic page summaries to help staff assess whether they want a particular document before trying to download it.

McAndrew added: "Although you're only shaving off a few seconds each time [by not downloading an unwanted document] you're reducing the frustration level."

Another advantage of adopting a Google-based intranet is that the company "did not have to roll out a structured training regime to people because they knew how to search", he added.

Taylor Woodrow already uses Google Earth to produce 3D models of its proposed constructions and plans to pilot Gmail and the business version of the Google Desktop app.