Effective collaboration and efficient document management are essential to the success of any project, especially during times of economic uncertainty. 4Projects—a leader in the field of project collaboration solutions—saw an increasing need for a new kind of collaboration and content management strategy. The company developed 4Projects, a Web-based solution built using the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Enterprise Edition data management software and the Windows Server® 2003 operating system. Customers, such as Waitrose supermarkets, use the solution to share documents, expedite review and approval processes, and archive completed projects for future reference. Using the software-plus-services approach, 4Projects generates consistent monthly revenue for itself, while helping its customers reduce costs, save time, and mitigate risk.

haysmacintyre is a firm of chartered accountants and tax advisers that comprises 22 partners and 158 staff based in the United Kingdom. In the past, the company’s application and e-mail servers were only partially fault tolerant. In August 2008, haysmacintyre worked with Microsoft® Gold-Certified Partner Silversands to deploy Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 Enterprise Edition. Partners and staff now enjoy higher availability and more robust security.

TriSys Business Software has been at the forefront of technology innovation in the recruitment industry since the early 1990s. The company designs and implements advanced recruitment software systems to help agencies perform IT-related tasks—from front to back office; in Windows®-based and Web-based environments; and for recruitment consultants, customers, and candidates. With the advent of software-plus-services, TriSys saw an opportunity to create new delivery options for its recruitment software. Based on the software-plus-services model and built using Microsoft® technologies, TriSys ASP offers a fully managed, completely integrated desktop and server experience that dramatically reduces IT, hardware, and software licensing costs for customers. Agencies, such as Additional Resources, can save 60 percent on IT expenses, while easily scaling to meet business demand.

Perth and Kinross Council wanted a more cost-effective delivery environment for its growing portfolio of citizen-centric services, some of which required multiple servers consuming large amounts of electricity. The council decided to evaluate a virtualisation strategy where multiple, software-based servers are stored on a single machine. It joined the rapid deployment programme for the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Hyper-V™ technology for a clustered virtualisation solution spanning its two main sites. The council forecasts that in the first year it will save £100,000 (U.S.$152,000) compared to the cost of buying new physical servers. Its carbon footprint has improved with annual power savings of 350,000 kilowatt hours of electricity equating to an annual cost saving of £26,000 and 151 tonnes less in carbon dioxide emissions from April 2009.

Personnel at Cheval Property Finance used manual, paper-based systems to administer loan applications. The company worked with Linksfield Technologies to create a Web-enabled loan-processing infrastructure—built on Microsoft® technologies—that delivers electronic, straight-through processing. Today, employees have more than doubled the number of loans they can handle in a single day.

The National Ice Centre (NIC) is a major sports and events venue in Nottingham, England. IT staff at NIC make it a priority to stay current with the latest version of the software and operating systems they use, so they began an aggressive deployment of the Windows Vista® operating system as soon as it was made available for business adoption. Initial deployment results have generated IT support savings, improved computer security, and increased productivity. With over 40 percent of its computers now running Windows Vista, NIC plans to complete Windows Vista standardization before the end of calendar year 2008.

Lancashire Insurance Group, a startup commercial and re-insurance company based in Bermuda, wanted to build an underwriting system to gain rapid market share with a diverse range of products. Using only four in-house developers, Lancashire replaced its underwriting system with an end-to-end Microsoft® solution and created 40 risk-averse sophisticated products within just four months. Due to its technology, Lancashire operates with less than 100 people whereas its competitors employ up to 300.

Design and print-on-demand service provider Prontaprint wanted to enhance service quality and standardise new brand positioning across its 175 franchised centres. It built a Web solution based on Microsoft® technologies to improve collaboration between the centres as well as with customers. As a result, it receives more than 350 Web sales enquiries a month from business customers, and the average value of print orders has risen by 55 per cent—from £350 to £550.

The Corporate Intelligence team at Yell used Microsoft® Expression Blend™ to reinvent its U.K. sales presentation tool. The result? An innovative, user-friendly tool that presents timely, personalised product performance data for potential customers and helps them to choose the most appropriate advertising programmes.

First Mile is a fast growing start-up business in the United Kingdom (U.K.) recycling and waste industry. Using Microsoft® technology, First Mile has evolved a Web-hosted, low-cost operating system that links customers, suppliers, operations, finance, customer service, and sales. As a result, the company’s operating costs are 20 per cent lower than its competitors. It now runs a U.S.$10 million business with overheads 50 per cent lower than others in the sector. The system will help First Mile operate in every U.K. city at low-cost without expanding overheads, and increase the number of services provided as its customers’ demands become more sophisticated.