Liquor Control Board of Ontario Selects Microsoft EPM Technology to Provide the Right Mix for its Project Management Needs
Retailer moves to centralize all project work with Microsoft Office System to enhance information sharing and efficiency, report progress, and collaborate on projects
|
MISSISSAUGA, ON. — June 16, 2004 — Microsoft Canada Co. today announced that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is upgrading its project management environment with Microsoft® Project Server 2003, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003, and Windows SharePoint® Services. The LCBO, the world's largest single purchaser of beverage alcohol is the winner of numerous international awards for its excellence in retailing.
The LCBO's Toronto-based IT (Information Technology) department built a secure, flexible, and high-performance enterprise project management (EPM) system with Microsoft Project Server 2003, Microsoft Office Project 2003, and Windows SharePoint Services. These Microsoft Office System products will allow LCBO employees to efficiently manage their project work throughout the organization's corporate offices. The entire organization will be able to work together to continually improve processes, increase efficiency, and facilitate knowledge sharing. LCBO's Infrastructure group's pilot is due to run until the end of June 2004. At that time, the project will be assessed and lessons learned will be applied before it is rolled out to the entire Division. Once the rollout to the IT Division is complete, the EPM solution will then be made available to all divisions within the organization.
"Project work is carried out throughout our organization and information needs will be effectively shared between teams in our central location," says LCBO Systems Analyst Ivor Davies. "Microsoft EPM technology has allowed us to bring files into one common space, making information sharing much more efficient and effective."
With the EPM technology, administrative tasks are automated, reducing support time requirements for the team by centrally storing all project documentation and giving users access through Web-based tools. The control features of Windows SharePoint Services allows users to track document changes, assigning different version numbers to the document, for easier auditing and control over content.
"We are excited that the LCBO has chosen to manage its extensive project portfolio with Microsoft EPM technology," says Joe Galati, Product Manager, Microsoft Canada Co. "Access to effective project management tools allows the LCBO to meet project deadlines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations. The new tools also allow the organization to improve efficiency through improved project delivery, which results in reduced cycle times, minimized costs, and high levels of quality control."
With automatic project updates and status reports, the LCBO project teams can access ongoing information on project work status throughout the organization enabling better resource management. Those tools allow the organization to more effectively manage its project portfolio by continually identifying, prioritizing, and investing in projects that align with the LCBO's corporate strategy and ensure efforts are spent only on activities that positively contribute to its bottom line.
About the Microsoft Office System
The Microsoft Office System is an easy way to help more people use information to positively impact their business. Through a system of familiar and easy-to-use programs, servers and services, users can connect people and organizations to information, business processes, and each other -- helping ensure they derive the most value out of information. The Microsoft Office System consists of Microsoft Office 2003 Editions, Microsoft Office FrontPage® 2003 web site creation and management tool, Microsoft Office InfoPath™ 2003 information gathering program, Microsoft Office OneNote™ 2003 note-taking program, Microsoft Project and Project Server, Microsoft Office Publisher 2003, Microsoft Office Real-Time Communications Server 2003, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office Visio® 2003 drawing and diagramming software. Enabling software, such as Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system and Exchange Server 2003, enhance the features and functionality of products in the Microsoft Office System.
About LCBO
A $3.3 billion provincial government enterprise, the LCBO has 598 retail stores and employs some 6,000 people, including part-time staff. In fiscal 2003-04, in part due to store improvements, the LCBO transferred a record $1.04 billion dividend, in addition to $308 million in provincial sales tax, to the Ontario treasury. The LCBO estimates it also remitted more than $411 million in federal and municipal taxes. These funds, totaling almost $1.8 billion, support a wide range of important government social programs, services, and capital projects.
About Microsoft Canada
Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Co. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ "MSFT") the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting, and local support services in both French and English. Microsoft Canada is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario with MSN.CA offices located in Toronto and eight regional offices across the country dedicated to empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Visit Microsoft Canada's Web site at www.microsoft.ca
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft, FrontPage, InfoPath, OneNote, SharePoint, Visio and Windows Server are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
