Creating your own network database doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. Thanks to Microsoft Office Groove 2007, a collaboration software program that comes with most Microsoft Office packages, creating shared workspaces and storing group-accessible documents is no longer just for the tech-savvy.
Wes Phillips, of Bryant-Phillips Associates, uses a Microsoft Office Groove workspace to track all of his leads (bottom image). At a glance, he's able to view a lead's source, status, scope of work, and more. Phillips also uses Groove to create project schedules (top image), which are viewable by all employees and subs.
Photo Credit: Bryant-Phillips Associates
Groove creates a Web-based workspace that can be viewed and modified by any number of users, whether from the office, the field, or from home. Workspaces come in predetermined categories — there are calendar, discussion, and file-sharing spaces, among others — but workspace templates can be customized to precisely fit users' needs.
DAILY MOVESWes Phillips, president of Bryant-Phillips Associates, in Apex, N.C., uses Groove not only to help manage construction projects but to streamline day-to-day business activities as well. He has a number of workspaces (separated by “tabs”) that keep him apprised of daily activity in the field.
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