"Our roles are to co-ordinate and administer client projects especially in the areas of meeting management, milestone management, management of risks, issues and deliverables, and handling and analysing data from MI reports, monitoring to ensure productivity against specific projects targets. A key personal attribute is the ability to work with the technical team to innovate service delivery at our new Projects Solution Centre at Stepps in Glasgow"

The centre at Stepps will employ innovative software to help manage major projects for companies around the globe. The software aims to enable companies undertaking major projects, from construction to workforce reorganisation,  avoid falling into the common traps which result in failure to meet objectives. Crucially, it aims to allow companies to ensure key milestones in projects are being met, and make the key people aware of what steps must be taken next.

Steve Boyle, CEO of the Altran CIS consulting and information services division in the UK (right) and architect of the project factory concept,  noted he had several years ago, as a member of the international Global-scot network established by Scottish Enterprise and the then Scottish Executive to promote Scotland's interests, introduced the development agency chief to senior bankers in Germany. Perry had seen the early pilot version of the project factory concept and shown interest.

"They have played a very smart game here," Boyle is reported saying of Scottish Enterprise. "They have just got us on the hook to think about Scotland. They have never really let us off the hook."

Altran CIS will receive nearly £250,000 of regional selective assistance funding from the Scottish Government, over three years. Boyle put the headcount number on which the grant funding is based at about 30, emphasised this was only because he was cautious about over-promising, and highlighted the potential to increase the workforce to about 200 in coming years.

This ambition is further demonstrated by Altran CIS's move to arrange an option to take additional space at the former Black & White site, beyond that which it is leasing initially. Altran CIS's investment in the project factory amounts to more than £2m.

In Europe
At the  close of February in Germany, Askon Consulting Group, Berata, Euro Space and Altran CIS  combined into Altran GmbH & Co. The merger in one technology consultancy creates one of the largest consulting firms of Germany, represented in 16 German cities with more than 1,300 workers and annual turnover of €155.1m in 2007.  

Altran is  active within the ranges automotive, air and space travel, energy, medical technology, telecommunications, optics, healthcare as well as financial services in Germany. Clients include  EADS/Airbus, AUDI, BMW, Carl Zeiss, Daimler, O2, Vodafone and Volkswagen.

Sources: St Andrews University
Sutherland Consulting
The Herald
Altran CIS UK