Christian Aid has announced that compression software has enabled the organisation to accelerate its decentralisation programme and ensure its global operations are responsive to local needs in developing countries.

Staff working abroad will now be able to access the same data as colleagues based at the charity's London head office.

The charity wants half its staff to work away from head office by 2008 and aims to move its decision-making process overseas.

Supplied by iOra, the software compression system is used alongside Microsoft SharePoint content management software. It provides remote staff with access to decision-making support systems and overcomes problems with poor connectivity and power availability.

The system replicates parts of the document library, says Steven Buckley, head of the charity's common knowledge scheme.

"SharePoint with iOra has enabled us to accelerate our decentralisation programme where decision making staff can be based in developing countries rather than in London," said Buckley.

"That means we should be more agile and responsive to local needs. For example, if you're working for a western organisation, posting staff out to Paris or Singapore is easy. The connectivity is there and staff have the right access to information.

"Changes on the system are synchronised, but with the new system it is highly compressed, which means replication of large amounts of data does not require high connectivity," he said.

The software is already being used by staff in Kenya, Honduras and Tajikistan, and will now be extended to more than 60 countries.