Case studies

"If you are in a remote part of Africa and a member of the group has a fall, our representative doesn't have time to access email or call the UK office to locate medical forms. They need to know there and then if the individual has any allergies or if they are on any medication that might cause a reaction. Speed of information in these situations is critical."

Staff often found themselves sharing large files over email, reducing all other communication channels to a snail's pace. On one occasion, email even failed to send the required document. It was clear that the company could no longer rely on email to support its operations.

Using Huddle, The Great Projects has been able to create a centralized virtual office where the team can access all the information they need. This can vary from customer application forms through to downloading a colleague's observation about a group of gorillas. All research and notes from the conservation projects are uploaded into Huddle and used to monitor the animals' progress or note any anomalies.

Huddle has also helped to promote collaborative working. Staff are able to swap and discuss information more easily, keeping everyone in the loop, whether they are in Latin America or Borneo. The workflow element also allows employees to set up a 'running order' of who needs to review and approve which documents.

"I'd trialled other collaboration tools, but Huddle was able to offer the best customer experience. All too often with cloud companies, you can't actually just pick up the phone and speak with someone who can really help you. That's not the case with Huddle. Everyone I've spoken to is very knowledgeable about the product. That human connection is really important to us because, if something goes wrong, we need to know that the support is there," Afzaal continues.

"Currently we just use Huddle internally, but we see great merit in opening it up to our partners as they often need document access. It's utterly transformed how we work and I believe that we will continue to find new ways in which it can positively impact our business, the animals we're working to help and our customers."