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GATESHEAD-based information technology solutions and support provider IT Professional Services (ITPS), together with its mobile communications technology partner, Sunderland-based Cellular Solutions, hosted a seminar at which a vision of a new world of work was revealed to over 50 leading North East enterprises.

“Everyone in the world of ICT has been talking about the launch of Microsoft’s Vista and Evo technologies, which were released earlier this year,” said ITPS Marketing Manager Lisa Richardson.

“This suite of products explores the collaborative world we work in today, simplifying how people work together and communicate with each other across departments and organisations. With the aim of making it easier to find, share and action information, the integration of Microsoft’s Vista, Office 2007, SharePoint 2007 and Mobile6 has created the next generation of Microsoft’s collaboration technology.

“Providing a platform to inform North East businesses to these new Microsoft products was the primary driver behind our decision to stage this seminar.”

Main speaker at the seminar was Dominic Kapas from Microsoft, who presented an overview of Microsoft’s vision of a new world of work.

“People are at the core of every business and enterprise,” said Dominic. “They develop customer relationships, drive innovation and are responsible for building partner connections.

“Software continues to have an increasingly important role in enabling people to meet their obligations. Customer relationship management, compliance and corporate governance, acceleration of business processes, supporting an increasingly distributed and mobile workforce and empowering professionals with information are just some of the areas where software makes a crucial contribution,” added Dominic.

“Most companies ask why choose Microsoft? Well, our software is widely used and supported. People are already familiar with it. It’s becoming increasingly easier to use. It’s easier to integrate with what most organisations already have, and it is constantly evolving to meet changing needs. Above all, it is people ready.”

The focal point of Dominic’s presentation was Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the benefits it can deliver to organisations. He outlined how SharePoint, with its integrated suite of server capabilities, can be employed to improve organisational effectiveness by providing comprehensive content management and enterprise search facilities, accelerating shared business processes and delivering truly effective information-sharing.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 supports all intranet, extranet, and web applications across an organisation within one integrated platform, instead of relying on separate fragmented systems.

Also speaking at the seminar was Phillip Bainbridge from Cellular Solutions, who presented a number of mobile working application case studies using Microsoft Mobile6 technology.

“Many of our clients have already seen the benefits of Microsoft integration especially within the mobile workforce. The launch of Mobile6 has seen huge growth and this seminar demonstrates how the Microsoft portfolio has been brought together, giving organisations a real understanding of what the Microsoft ethos can deliver for their business,” explained Phillip.

Both presentations provoked considerable thought and debate amongst the audience.

“We already use mobile technology with ITPS’s support to help our staff to work remotely, but what today’s event has revealed is that we have scope to work even smarter,” said Trevor Waggett, Head of Finance and IT at regional development agency One NorthEast.

“As the person responsible for delivering value across the agency, I am particularly interested in helping our people to work with greater knowledge. What I have heard today will certainly help me do that.”

Robert Anderson, IT Manager for the Newcastle-based Grainger plc was equally enthusiastic. “As the UK’s largest quoted residential property owner, a lot of our work is email-centric,” said Robert.

“SharePoint appears to offer a solution that would help us to organise and manage this data more efficiently by introducing content management, version control and also stop the duplication of data. This is something that we have decided to evaluate in the near future.

“I was also very interested in the presentations on mobile working which is something we are currently looking to introduce into our processes.”

“This is just one in a series of small informal events that we are planning to hold over the next year at which we will provide North East businesses the opportunity to discover what key players within the world of IT are planning for the future and to actively participate in the discussions,” added Lisa.

For further information on ITPS’s seminar programme, contact Lisa Richardson on 0191 442 8300 or visit www.it-ps.com.

IT Professional Services, Axwell House, Waterside Drive, Metrocentre East Business Park, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 9HU
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