: K F Data Solutions announced today release of its new business information management system, the Consultant BIM, specifically designed to meet the business information management needs of consulting environmental and geotechnical engineering firms.  This software product makes it easy to share basic business information among all of a firm's offices and staff requiring only an Internet connection and a web browser for each workstation. The system offers a very intuitive user interface that requires a minimum of training for effective use.  It allows tracking data regarding a firm's clients, employees, vendors, contacts, deliveries, phone calls, email, faxes, job leads, marketing activities, RFPs, proposals, projects, drawings, presentations, spreadsheets and documents (both electronic and hardcopy).  It integrates tracking of these items into a single relational database system eliminating multiple entry of data.  Data is easily and rapidly retrieved using the built-in advanced search capabilities. The system is a perfect complement to many existing accounting software packages and can be customized to include a live read-only link to these packages so project budget status can be monitored easily by project managers. 

The Consultant BIM has been designed to deal effectively with the negative impact on chargeability caused by wasted professional and executive time spent looking for project data and company historical documents.

The basic system has been designed to meet an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the business information management needs of typical environmental/geotechnical consulting firms ranging in size from a few employees to several hundred employees.  K F Data Solutions will customize the Consultant BIM to meet the specific needs of each firm at considerably less cost than a full custom package. With only a minimum amount of customization, structural, general civil and other engineering firms, hydrogeologic and other consultants will benefit from this product as well.

The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database working with ASP.Net provides a high degree of data security as well as fast efficient data access. The system may be installed on an in-house or hosted server running either Windows 2000 server or Windows 2003 Server.  Since no software other than a web browser is installed on each workstation installation and maintenance is simple being restricted to the server only.