Pfizer, Pharmacia Groove Together
by Volker Weber
The I.T. department at drugmaker Pfizer Inc. began using Groove Technology Inc.'s online collaboration application early this year to manage departmental projects. Now it's taking things a step further -- in preparation for Pfizer's pending $60 billion merger with Pharmacia Corp., the IT group is using Groove to manage its own submerger with its former rival's IT department.
Between the two groups, there are about 150 people involved in the integration project. The collaborative work centers around helping Pfizer's IT managers get a handle on how their Pharmacia counterparts do things, says Don Courville, senior director of Pfizer's IT leadership team. Courville and his team are familiarizing themselves with Pharmacia's infrastructure, applications, and best practices -- information that will be used to turn the two departments into one cohesive group.
The combined IT departments are expected to be operating as one by the first of the year, about the time the merger is slated to close.
