Avanade Systems integrator safeguards data with easy-to-use information protection technology Avanade, Inc., is a systems integrator that deploys Microsoft technologies-based solutions to customers around the world. With a fast-paced, data-intensive business environment, it was crucial for the company to enforce security policies that protect confidential information. Unfortunately, Avanade relied on written policies and lacked technology that could enforce its rules. To rectify the situation, Avanade rolled out Microsoft Office 2003 Information Rights Management (IRM) powered by Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) for Windows Server 2003 to its globally dispersed employee base. The technology has proven to be a perfect fit for Avanade’s business environment. Today, the company has a tangible way to enforce information security policies with a solution that delivers persistent protection of information, is easy to use, and supports how Avanade employees work.
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Accenture Global consulting company revamps knowledge system with integrated portal solution Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, the company collaborates with clients to help them become high performance businesses. Accenture needed to simplify access, improve search, and streamline content management for the Accenture Knowledge Exchange, its corporate system for publishing and sharing intellectual capital. Accenture migrated the Accenture Knowledge Exchange to a corporate portal based on Microsoft software. The portal provides a central information access point for employees and enhanced tools for content providers. More thorough content indexing and deeper topic coverage enhance search. Business benefits include easier knowledge retrieval, more efficient knowledge asset management, a net reduction in servers, and annual cost savings exceeding one million dollars.
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Gallup Global research firm boosts communications and collaboration and saves $1.8 million Gallup is a world leader in studying human nature and behavior and helping clients use its research to achieve success. Rapid growth and global expansion created a need for new ways for Gallup associates in 27 countries and multiple time zones to communicate, collaborate, and manage information. To address those needs, the firm upgraded to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and is implementing Exchange Unified Messaging, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Enterprise, and Windows Rights Management Services. Gallup expects that implementing these products will help the firm increase efficiency, enhance team building, and streamline communications. And by acquiring a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement with an Enterprise Client Access License Suite Step-Up, the company saved U.S. $1.8 million in licensing costs and simplified license management.
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Grant Thornton LLP Accounting firm improves productivity, collaboration with digital note-taking program Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, one of the six global accounting organizations. It provides personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients. In May 2005, Grant Thornton LLP piloted the Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 note-taking program to capture client information and to share project information among teams. Before the pilot, many Grant Thornton LLP professionals gathered client and project information in paper notes and shared information through e-mail and on the telephone. Finding information and transporting paper files between offices often was time-consuming and cumbersome. Following the pilot, OneNote users at the firm report a 45 percent increase in note-taking productivity and a greater ease in exchanging information among remote sites.
Client experience
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Clifton Gunderson Accounting firm streamlines audit processes with XML-enabled data-gathering solution Clifton Gunderson is an accounting and consulting firm with offices in 14 states. The firm's audit services require clients to provide business information on complex paper forms, but the firm did not have an efficient method of collecting, storing, accessing, or sharing that data. To better capture in-depth client data, the firm used Microsoft® Office InfoPath 2003 XML-based forms to connect with a Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2000 database so that client data can be rolled-forward, updated, shared, and accessed by employees and clients through other XML-enabled Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003 programs. The InfoPath 2003 forms are expected to reduce the time for clients to update and submit data from several days to a few hours. With improved access to information, Clifton Gunderson employees will be able to make better, more informed audit decisions for their clients.
Service delivery
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BDO Chartered Accountants Accounting firm expects to save up to 625 labor hours weekly with integrated solution
BDO Chartered Accountants & Advisers offers accounting and other services throughout Australia. The company stores project details in a database so that employees can reuse this information when working with new customers. However, the information was difficult to access, especially for mobile employees. Also, BDO used a variety of scheduling, document publishing, and calendaring systems that were outdated and had little integration. To address both of these problems, BDO and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Ensyst implemented a pilot project to test an integrated solution including Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Windows Vista, and products in the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Independent third-party analyst BearingPoint found that the new solution helps BDO use its intellectual property more efficiently, work more effectively with customers, and increase employee satisfaction.
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Avanade Systems integrator safeguards data with easy-to-use information protection technology Avanade, Inc., is a systems integrator that deploys Microsoft technologies-based solutions to customers around the world. With a fast-paced, data-intensive business environment, it was crucial for the company to enforce security policies that protect confidential information. Unfortunately, Avanade relied on written policies and lacked technology that could enforce its rules. To rectify the situation, Avanade rolled out Microsoft Office 2003 Information Rights Management (IRM) powered by Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) for Windows Server 2003 to its globally dispersed employee base. The technology has proven to be a perfect fit for Avanade’s business environment. Today, the company has a tangible way to enforce information security policies with a solution that delivers persistent protection of information, is easy to use, and supports how Avanade employees work.
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Accenture Accenture makes strategic choice for integrated messaging and collaboration Accenture, a worldwide management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company, was one of the first companies to implement an enterprise-scale messaging and collaboration technology platform. As the company advanced, it saw the need for a more efficient and cost-effective way to collaborate. After evaluating its current and future needs, Accenture decided to embrace the messaging and collaboration capabilities of the Microsoft line of server software. The company worked with Microsoft and Avanade, a global technology integrator that specializes in Microsoft technology solutions, to transition from Lotus Domino and Notes to Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. Migrating to the Microsoft technologies enabled Accenture to reduce operating costs, improve collaboration, and provide flexibility for its global work force.
Practice performance
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Virchow Krause and Company Automation helps top accounting firm accelerate client acceptance, mitigate risk Virchow Krause and Company provides a range of accounting and consulting services to clients throughout the Midwest. The firm needed a way to accurately assess potential risk when accepting new clients-especially publicly traded companies that must comply with various regulatory requirements. Paper-based client acceptance processes were inconsistent across the firm’s 10 practices and could take as long as six weeks to complete. To minimize its exposure to risk and streamline its processes, Virchow Krause implemented Captaris Workflow, an automated business process management system from Captaris, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Based on the Microsoft line of server software, Captaris Workflow uses Microsoft SQL Server to manage data. The automated workflow solution gave Virchow Krause the strict control it needed over the client acceptance process and cut the approval timeline from weeks to days.
Osborne Clarke Leading European law firm moves towards unified communications Leading European legal firm Osborne Clarke recognized a need to update its intranet to make it easier for employees to navigate tools and information across the business. At the same time, it reinvested in other key Microsoft products that are helping the company move towards unified communications. The goal of this investment is to increase efficiency and productivity and support a cultural shift away from hard copy documents to the use of electronic files as statutory primary business records.
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Biggart Baillie Security solution helps solicitors access client data securely from any location Leading Scottish law firm Biggart Baillie wanted to provide solicitors and other free earners with more flexible, secure access to client information, such as case notes, whilst away from the office. The firm opted to deploy the Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 3.6 to support its remote operations. Now, using a simple logon, users can view the information they need at any time from any location; provide a faster, more responsive service to their clients; and reduce travel, without compromising security.
Client experience
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Blank Rome Legal firm invests in service quality with client extranet and collaboration tools Blank Rome wanted to simplify attorney collaboration on client matters to ensure the highest-quality service. The law firm invested in a portal based on Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies, giving attorneys access to a range of information specific to each client matter from one view. Blank Rome added extranet portal capabilities to share relevant information directly with clients. Centralizing matter information has made it easier for groups to coordinate service delivery for complex client matters and to collaborate without regard for geographic location. Extranet collaboration has accelerated the firm’s ability to respond to client inquiries and share critical information rapidly, enhancing the client experience. In 2006, Blank Rome upgraded to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, further extending the firm’s culture of collaboration to clients and co-counsel.
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Pellerano & Herrera International law firm uses CRM for effective marketing and deeper client relationships
The largest law firm in the Dominican Republic, Pellerano & Herrera was founded in 1952 and handles more than 10,000 cases annually from clients in 110 countries. With an extensive and fast-growing client base, Pellerano & Herrera sought a CRM solution that could centralize client data; help the firm retain, manage, and acquire clients more efficiently; and deepen its client relationships. Working with its Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, Rock Solid Technologies, Pellerano & Herrera deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. By centralizing all its client information in one system, the firm benefits from easier information sharing, better client service, and more efficient follow-up on proposals and sales opportunities. In addition, the firm’s marketing staff is able to produce new marketing campaigns, increase the efficiency of marketing efforts, and measure campaign effectiveness.
Service delivery
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Linklaters Linklaters uses virtual meeting tool to improve productivity and collaboration, reduce costs Linklaters, a leading global law firm, has been expanding its international network to benefit from new business opportunities. As part of a drive to centralize and standardize IT infrastructure, Linklaters needed a tool for internal and client virtual meetings to encourage collaboration, improve staff productivity, and avoid unnecessary travel costs. Linklaters implemented Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2005 in October 2005, after a successful pilot using an earlier version of the software. One-on-one meetings are still important to the firm, but Live Meeting has helped Linklaters conduct routine meetings virtually and securely, bringing together colleagues and clients from different offices and time zones without the need for long-distance travel. With Live Meeting, employees can share anything on their desktop, including e-mail messages. Live Meeting has powerful integration with the Microsoft Office System applications.
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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Law firm digitizes bond series transaction process to save $1.1 million annually Since 1863, Orrick has provided clients with legal services in transactional law and litigation. Within its Structured Finance practice, Orrick helps clients execute transfers of securities interests using a widely-used manual process to complete weekly transactions. To support a higher volume of business, the firm is using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, a document control and audit solution from Microsoft partner Workshare, and a digital signing platform from Microsoft partner IntelliSafe, to create an extranet for processing transactional documents. With this new system, Orrick will be able to add new clients with current resources while saving roughly U.S.$1.1 million annually by eliminating many of the costs associated with a paper-based system.
Practice performance
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Willcox & Savage Law firm sees $2 million savings from instant search, automated forms Willcox & Savage is a Virginia law firm that understands the power of technology to help meet customer demands. Recently, the company used the 2007 Microsoft Office system to streamline its matter intake process and improve team collaboration. Willcox & Savage expects initial efforts to return more than U.S. $2 million in annual productivity savings and serve as a model for automating additional business processes for even greater savings.
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Linklaters reporting solution increases visibility of information for law firm employees In line with its strategy for market leadership, international law firm Linklaters wanted its partners and managers to be able to analyze business performance faster and more effectively. The existing SAP solution produced reports suitable for the firm’s power users in HR, Finance, and Marketing, while other employees had to rely on improvised reporting techniques for insight into the business. Linklaters worked with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Information Management Group (IMGroup) to develop a business scorecard using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. Employees can now view reports of the rich data contained within the company’s SAP system and share them across the organization. This gives managers much greater insight into the company’s success and the people who drive it.
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Freehills Freehills adopts integrated Microsoft system for financial reporting and analysis system Leading Australian law firm Freehills faced many information challenges. The firm needed its people to make faster decisions based on accurate, up-to-date information, but they were challenged by a financial reporting system that had evolved over time and was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Freehills overhauled its core business intelligence infrastructure, replacing it with technology built on Microsoft’s SQL Server 2005 Analytics and Reporting platform. Developed with Microsoft Gold Certified Partners ADERANT, the new reporting system has cut the time it takes to produce reports, empowered users, improved the consistency of data across Freehills, and allowed more in-depth analysis of the firm’s financial information.
Golder Associates Engineering consulting group increases efficiency with global collaboration solution With dispersed storage of critical information, Golder Associates had multiple document versions spread worldwide. The company wanted a faster way to identify the most recent information and to locate relevant, but dispersed, documents. Microsoft Strategic Partner Avanade helped implement a global collaboration and search solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. It provides the ability to locate documents, templates, and e-mail correspondence; project/proposal workspaces where dispersed teams can work together; and collaboration workspaces where those with similar areas of expertise can establish best practices and share ideas. Golder has plans to upgrade to Microsoft Office Professional 2007 for better support for mobile workers and tighter integration with the collaboration solution.
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Skanska USA Building Online collaboration tools are helping Skanska USA Building respond more effectively to sales opportunities Nisan Gertz’s first major sale in his new job was the construction management deal for a major medical center, worth more than U.S. $100 million to Skanska USA Building. Not only did Gertz take the business away from the competition, but he did so after entering the contest late and winning the job in just two weeks-much less than the instead of the eight to ten weeks that it usually takes to win a project. His advantage: the ability to collaborate effortlessly with other Skanska employees across the country, regardless of geographic or organizational boundaries.
Client experience
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CH2M HILL CH2M HILL optimizes business development performance with new CRM solution CH2M HILL’s multiple CRM and home-grown opportunity-tracking systems resulted in diverse, disconnected applications for supporting business development. These islands of data drove redundant data entry and data inconsistency, and could not provide a single, enterprise-level view for managing strategic pursuits/accounts. Management engaged technology research firm Gartner Consulting to discuss CRM needs and objectives, and to get suggestions about potential vendor solutions. CH2M HILL’s selection committee narrowed the choices to four vendors and ultimately selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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Jones Lang LaSalle Real estate management firm links global operations with customer-focused solution Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is one of the world’s largest and most diverse real estate services and money management firms. With more than 22,000 employees in 160 offices worldwide, JLL required a scalable, secure, enterprise-wide customer relationship management (CRM) system to efficiently share customer information across geographical and organizational boundaries. After an extensive review, the firm chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM to replace its regional CRM systems, including Salesforce.com and Siebel. The new solution ties global operations together and offers employees a user-friendly interface. With the first phase of implementation complete, JLL gains the ability to accurately track client needs and identify greater cross-selling opportunities, which has lead to improved client service and increased sales.
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John L. Scott Real Estate Real estate firm launches 3-D visual online property search tools As a leading residential real estate company in the Pacific Northwest, John L. Scott is well known for its commitment to technology to optimize online listing features on its Web site. The company strives to continually provide a better online experience through detailed, robust property information. When managers saw the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform, they immediately decided to integrate the immersive, visual, three-dimensional aerial views and interactive mapping technology into the site. In under a month of development time, John L. Scott launched High-Definition Home Search. This experiential way to see homes from a bird’s eye view boosted online visits to their highest levels ever, increased return visits by 47 percent, and provided viewers with a 300 percent performance improvement over the previous property search tool.
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BridgeStreet Worldwide Corporate housing provider boosts revenue with interactive mapping solution BridgeStreet Worldwide is a corporate housing provider offering fully-furnished apartment accommodation services in more than 100 U.S. metropolitan areas and more than 50 locations around the globe. BridgeStreet Worldwide’s initial mapping solution offered little more than static road maps for clients and guests who were evaluating the company’s accommodations online. The company replaced its static solution with Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping software, which offers high-resolution satellite imagery, aerial views of available apartments, and an interactive mapping solution with point-of-interest information around apartment locations. BridgeStreet Worldwide also utilized Microsoft MapPoint 2006 business mapping software to better analyze customer travel data with available property locations.
Service delivery
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Perkins+Will Architectural firm simplifies processes and cuts costs with unified messaging Perkins+Will is a globally recognized architectural and design firm. In September 2006, the company learned that support would soon end for its main PBX voice-mail system. With the system at capacity, and a smaller voice-mail system in use at several offices, Perkins+Will considered its options. Rather than consolidating on the previous voice-mail system, the company chose a unified messaging solution built on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Currently, Perkins+Will is deploying unified messaging, along with other products in the Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite including Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007, Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. As a result, the company will cut costs, boost efficiency, and simplify system administration. The highly scalable system will also enhance communication and collaboration.
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HDR Firm saves 60 percent by acquiring multiple integrated server products under one license Architectural, engineering, and consulting firm HDR wanted a more secure, efficient, and easy-to-use collaboration environment to make the best use of its people, intellectual property, and client relationships as it grew and expanded geographically. To achieve that goal, the firm built an intranet portal with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to support real-time collaboration, workflow processes, and document control. HDR chose to further expand its work-sharing capabilities by investing in the Microsoft Enterprise Client Access License (CAL) Suite that covers key technologies that enhance HDR’s communication, collaboration, and security infrastructure, under a single license. With the Enterprise CAL Suite, HDR virtual teams work more efficiently, and the firm simplifies license management and saves approximately 60 percent of the cost of the individual product licenses.
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Shaw Group Construction and engineering firm drives collaboration and client service excellence As a Fortune 500 construction and engineering firm with 20,000 employees worldwide, The Shaw Group maintains its leadership through innovation and effective collaboration-both among its employees and with its customers. Shaw was using Microsoft® SharePoint® Products and Technologies throughout the organization to provide value in its client services, and the company wanted to take advantage of the collaboration-enhancing benefits of Microsoft Office 2003. With a new intranet launching in four weeks based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, the Shaw IT team decided to upgrade the organization to Office 2003. Using well-integrated tools and resources, the team exceeded its objectives, completing the deployment in less than four weeks. Shaw employees readily adopted the user-friendly software to provide even more efficient, valuable services through effective collaboration.
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United Properties Commercial real estate firm projects sizeable ROI from building a collaborative workspace and document management solution using 2007 Microsoft Office system Like most commercial real estate companies, United Properties manages hundreds of properties and creates thousands of documents and property management-related reports each year. To add to this challenge, the company’s property management team relies on a collection of disparate systems for key strategic and tenant information, increasing both processing and storage costs. United Properties wants to implement a collaborative workspace solution that will help control costs, provide quality information, unlock line-of-business data from numerous enterprise applications, and provide a better document management solution to enable the property management team to work more productively. To discover how the 2007 Microsoft Office system can help the company create a cost effective document management and collaboration solution, United Properties has decided to participate in the Microsoft Office Rapid Deployment Technology Adoption Program. The company plans to implement a corporate portal using components of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, as well as Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services technology, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
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EDC EDC improves productivity of mobile real estate agents with messaging solution As the largest and oldest chain of independently owned real estate agencies in Denmark, EDC oversees on average two property sales every hour. The company’s agents spend most of their time in the field. EDC believed that these employees would be more productive if they could use mobile devices to access their e-mail, calendars, address books, and other information stored in the office. In 2006, to support these mobile workers, EDC deployed beta versions of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 in a pilot project. The new solution supports centralized IT management of mobile devices and offers convenient message access to field agents. It has also proven itself as reliable and easy to deploy, and it integrates easily with the company’s existing IT infrastructure, which is based on the Microsoft server product portfolio.
Practice performance
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Skanska USA Building Assembles better planning and forecasting with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Highly dependent on accurate forecasting and current analysis of project timelines and costs, Skanska USA had concerns with delays created by the high volume of project data and manual processes which could significantly postpone the creation of reports. Using Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, Skanska built a solution that enhanced data usability and improved both the timeliness and accuracy of the forecasting, planning, and budgeting. PerformancePoint Server 2007 gave users quick, easy access to accurate, consistent data and the ability to create a wide variety of reports that enable flexible, in-depth analysis.
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Brasfield & Gorrie General contractor automates tasks with productivity and collaboration tools Brasfield & Gorrie has become a leading general contractor in the southeastern United States by hiring some of the best and brightest and making the most of their talents. In this spirit, IT executives wanted to provide employees a way to create more compelling customer presentations and work more productively in general. The company therefore deployed the 2007 Microsoft Office system, including Office SharePoint Server 2007. As a result, employees are creating complex spreadsheets with ease, designing customer presentations 25 percent faster, and working more efficiently overall. In addition, the company reduced the time spent on intranet maintenance by 10 percent for one IT professional, and reduced the time spent on budgeting by 15 percent for managers and by 50 percent for the company treasurer. It also implemented a simpler registration process for internal training.
