The Botswana Ministry of Local Government needed to automate its business management systems to reduce a huge backlog of unclosed manual accounts in local authorities. The ministry worked with Microsoft® Certified Partner PSU International in deploying Microsoft Dynamics® GP 8.0 business management software. Today, 60 per cent of local councils are up to date with their returns compared to zero in 2002, when the project started.

Responding to high numbers of deaths at sea in the fishing industry, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution contracted Active Web Solutions (AWS) to create an automated sea-safety application. AWS developed a location-based service infrastructure, code-named GeoPoint, which transmits position data to a centralized tracking and alerting system. AWS used GeoPoint to build MOB Guardian, a search-and-rescue application for fishing vessels. To extend GeoPoint to more scenarios, AWS migrated it to the Windows Azure™ platform. By hosting GeoPoint in the “cloud,” in Microsoft® data centers, AWS attained massive scalability, richer functionality, and lower infrastructure costs. AWS was able to quickly convert its application to a hosted service and avoid the expense of building and managing a data center. AWS also has the flexibility and scalability to offer GeoPoint to many more markets.

The CaveDigital Board Meeting solution is enabling the City of Porto to be much more efficient in how it schedules and manages council meetings and how it has greatly reduced their use of paper.

The city of Belgrade has replaced their technology platform to enable them to improve citizen services and increase efficiencies

This ambitious project aims to provide the people of Bizkaia with exciting new services based on the Citizen Service Platform. The BiscayTIK Project, developed by the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia (Biscay Provincial Authority), in Spain’s Basque Country, is already established as a worldwide benchmark with regard to using Information and Knowledge Technologies for providing citizen service. The Microsoft Citizen Service Platform-based project will provide free e-mail for the entire population of Biscay and will give town halls modern integrated management applications and a web portal where citizens can access services and carry out and fulfill a wide range of tasks and obligations.

This video explains the pilot project done by Newham to improve the productivity of managers through the use of Microsoft technologies.

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario with a metropolitan area population of more than 350,000. The innovative municipality prides itself on the strategic use of technology and delivering a high level of core services to its citizens. Facing mounting budgetary pressures, London was looking to update its desktop computing environment in order for city officials to be more responsive to the public. Working with Microsoft® Gold Certified partner CMS Consulting Inc., London became one of the first Canadian municipalities to upgrade its desktop computing environment to the Windows® 7 operating system operating system. Employees at the city are now taking advantage of the software’s capabilities to access data more quickly, securely and productively – allowing staff to support more efficient and lower-cost municipal services.

Klamath County, Oregon, faces information technology challenges typical in many local governments in the Western United States. They are home to an array of aging hardware and software infrastructure, face intense budget pressures, and must support an increasingly networked workforce for whom always-available computing resources are a mission necessity. The county’s mission is to continuously provide services, even in the face of snowstorms, earthquakes – or even terrorist events. This makes reliability and fault-tolerance a key requirement. The county implemented Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) messaging solution to address these challenges. The early results have been promising. In addition to increasing the reliability and responsiveness of the county’s IT infrastructure, the county is realizing administrative savings while delivering robust email services.

The Tax Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (DURS), which collects taxes and enforces the nation’s tax laws and regulations, used Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 for its enterprise messaging solution. Users wanted larger mailboxes, but this was too costly. DURS also sought to simplify administration and improve availability. Working with Microsoft Services, DURS deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. The new solution has lower disk input/output, so DURS can use inexpensive Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) disks for storage and provide users with larger mailboxes while lowering storage costs. The new Database Availability Group feature provides automatic failover to minimize user disruptions. Expanded security and compliance tools help DURS protect confidential information, and simpler administration saves each senior IT worker an hour a day.

Like many city governments, the City of Miami faces mounting pressures to deliver more city services with less budget. City IT managers saw in Windows 7 the opportunity to deliver significant benefits, even in an environment of scarce staff and increasing demand for IT services. The city expects an estimated return on investment (ROI) of 151% and internal rate of return (IRR) of 78%with payback in less than 15 months based on direct IT labor savings alone. Benefits include direct IT labor-cost savings estimated at U.S.$89/PC/year, made possible by automated deployment, enhanced security, and desktop management tools. When power savings are included, the business case is even more compelling, with an estimated net present value (NPV) of $250/ PC during a 3-year cash-flow period and a payback period of approximately 9 months.