SOURCE: CH2M HILL

September 16, 2008 03:07 ET

CH2M HILL's Enterprise Management Solutions Selected to Support IT Integration for Merger of Leading Corporate Travel Management Firms

DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - September 16, 2008) - CH2M HILL's Enterprise Management Solutions (EMS) group, a provider of full IT life-cycle management for network infrastructure and IT operations, has been selected by Andavo Travel and Christopherson Business Travel to integrate the two travel companies' IT systems in support of their recent merger.

CH2M HILL has supported Andavo Travel since 2001, when the company selected the firm to fully manage its IT infrastructure and systems. Under an expanded contract, CH2M HILL will integrate Andavo's and Christopherson's IT systems and streamline the combined IT infrastructure. CH2M HILL will fully manage the two companies' IT operations on an ongoing basis once the IT integration is completed at the end of 2008.

"Our business is 100 percent dependent on our IT systems, from our online reservation system to our VOIP phone system. Nothing happens if our systems are not up and running, which is why it is so valuable to have CH2M HILL's team overseeing our IT systems," said Brenda Rivers, CEO of Andavo Travel. "CH2M HILL has given us reliable IT systems that have kept up with our needs and with technology trends -- plus they have made it possible for our IT costs to stay flat for several years. That would be impossible if we tried to accomplish it with an internal IT team. The performance would not be the same, and we would be facing the rising IT costs that are hurting so many other businesses our size."

Richard Crockett, vice president and a chief technical officer with CH2M HILL, commented, "Andavo and Christopherson understand the value of focusing on their core competency and outsourcing business processes to expert partners. We are proud to have supported the growth of Andavo over the past several years through our IT work and we look forward to collaborating with the Christopherson team as well."

The services provided by CH2M HILL include strategic IT planning, network design and deployment, application development and deployment, remote infrastructure management, managed server hosting, 24/7 help desk service and 24/7 monitoring of IT systems. These services align a company's IT infrastructure and systems with its core business strategy, which results in:

--  24/7 proactive monitoring and management of critical IT infrastructure
--  Increased reliability and performance of critical systems and
    applications
--  Lower operating costs for network and systems
--  Significant reductions in the need for capital investments in IT
    equipment
--  Improved IT risk management and compliance-related safeguards
--  Enhanced IT security and business continuity systems
    

Andavo Travel and Christopherson Business Travel merged in early 2008, forming a $250 million company that is now one of the largest travel management firms in the U.S. travel industry. The merged company, with a staff of more than 250, has major operations in Denver, Colo., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Marin County, Calif. The combined company provides full-service integrated business travel, meeting/incentive travel and personal/leisure travel services to corporate clients across the United States.

About CH2M HILL

Headquartered near Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, procurement, construction, management and operations for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With $5.8 billion in revenue and more than 25,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2008). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of energy, water, transportation, environmental, nuclear and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer, including being named by FORTUNE as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For and one of America's Most Admired Companies (2008). Visit www.ch2mhill.com.

CH2M HILL Enterprise Management Solutions (EMS) is an industry-leading management consulting and solution development business. EMS provides a unique ability to leverage its core lines of business--consulting, enterprise spatial, enterprise collaboration, integrated security and emergency preparedness, program management and managed IT services--to provide capabilities that span the entire client enterprise. CH2M HILL Managed Services business operates and maintains information technology infrastructures and network-based services for clients worldwide. By providing end-to-end management of a company's IT operations, CH2M HILL Managed Services allows companies to focus on their core business functions resulting in reduced annual technology costs while increasing reliability, scalability, security and overall system performance. For more information about CH2M HILL EMS visit: www.ch2m.com/ems.