Amanda Fajerman (Barhead Solutions)
Barhead Solutions has helped the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) bolster its data security measures and streamline its legal procurement process using a Microsoft-based contract and matter management solution called Consensus.
The BoM provides a range of surveillance, forecast, and warning services and is also relied upon by governments and industries to make informed decisions on policies and strategies.
Supporting the delivery of these fundamental services is the Bureau’s legal department, which provides advice on a wide range of matters, from data-sharing agreements with regulatory bodies to the procurement of equipment and vendor management.
One of the biggest challenges for legal procurement teams is keeping track of contracts and critical information, such as scheduled price increases, key amendments and other details.
To manage legal matters and contracts, the Bureau was using an internally built matter management software (MMS). As a result of a number of issues within their MMS, the Bureau was looking for an enhanced solution which had a similar Microsoft-based look and feel.
Microsoft-based Consensus features an intuitive and familiar interface that is similar to the Bureau’s MMS but also offers new capabilities, most notably the contract lifecycle and facilities management modules.
According to Barhead, the Bureau was also drawn to greater level control over sensitive data stored in Consensus.
“As organisations transition to the cloud, legal teams are becoming increasingly concerned with data sovereignty and security, which is why our team ensured customers have complete control over their data within Consensus,” explains Amanda Fajerman, Barhead Consensus engagement manager.
“In addition, as legal teams prepare for generative AI and CoPilot, we have seen an increased awareness in the use of Microsoft technology for information and knowledge management.”
In using Consensus, the Bureau’s legal department was not only able to easily track and manage matters and sensitive data from a centralised platform, but also file emails from Outlook, access documents from SharePoint and extract data for more accurate reporting.
Combined with its seamless integration with Microsoft business applications, such as Outlook, Consensus ensures legal team members can easily find key information and collaborate on critical matters, while ensuring sensitive data is kept safe and remains secure.
Barhead had previously worked on a return-to-work app called Clearspace with the BoM, which is also considering options in further leveraging more of Microsoft’s low-code Power Platform.
