The Human Resource Accountancy Magazine, April 2005 Software and systems can help even the smallest company to manage payroll and HR more easily. But as Lesley Meall finds, systems integration is the key to the biggest business benefits. ...With increasing dependence on computer-based communications, HR systems also need to be better integrated into the company's overall technology infrastructure. 'For a new employee, turning up on their first day and finding they don't have network access or an e-mail account can be very off-putting,' says Michael Richards, chief executive of Snowdrop Systems. So, the company recently introduced Snowdrop Directory Services (SDS), to provide a link between its HR and Payroll software and an organisation's IT network. 'It's important to create a good impression with new starters by sorting out all their IT privileges before they arrive,' says Richards, so network access is automatically created for an employee as soon as their data is entered into the HR system. It also disables network access when someone leaves, because, as Richards observes: 'The security risks of not doing so can be considerable'