UK pharmaceutical firm Shire is overhauling its intranet technology to improve staff efficiency.

The company will replace its content management system and relaunch the site to give employees easier access to company data and to encourage the reuse of web content.

Mike Longden, Shire’s corporate business systems associate director, says the firm’s existing content management system is five years old and out of date.

‘Our tool was bought from a company that no longer exists so it is unsupported, which is quite risky,’ said Longden.

Shire is implementing the Rhythmyx content management system from vendor Percussion Software, which will connect content and information channels via a set of content-driven applications.

The new system will go live in the next six months, enabling the firm to create content and reuse digital assets across multiple channels, says Longden. ‘We may want to extend the system to our external web site, and offer web capability to business users who want to create mini-sites within the organisation,’ he said.

The system will make it quicker to create and upload content, and deliver consistent branding across all online content.

‘We expect staff to find information in an easier and more structured manner and if they can get to that information quicker, it helps them with their day-to-day jobs,’ said Longden.