Microsoft consultants
 
We consult to Business from an initial consultation; assessing the
business processes, technologies, problems and enjoy providing a long
term strategy to achieve a best of breed long term solution that fits
within the customer's budget.
 
A good example of our work is Sundale Aged Care 
Queensland which began in 2005. In this project we assessed Sundale's 
overall business process, IT infrastructure & applications, issues, problems 
and difficulties they faced. We architected a better 'long term solution' 
and devised a 'strategy' to address these needs cost effectively, whilst achieving a high quality solution.
 
Initial Assessment of Business Process & Systems
 
Our 
initial assessment revealed a large number of discrete applications that didn't 
interact and caused the following problems:
 
- Multiple passwords necessary for each application (no single sign on)
- Necessity to log into every application (no integration with active 
directory)
- Multiple duplication of entry of data (lack of integration between all 
applications)
- Rework and badly architected applications causing work to be done multiple 
times in each application (not cost effective)
- Lack of meeting business process needs and inefficiency
 
Consultants Architecture & Strategy
 
  
We initially competed with a large multinational IT company and 
outbid both in cost and quality. Some of the benefits that resulted 
include:
- Developing a strategy to build new applications into a 
framework of Service Based Architecture (SOA), services for the 
company-wide facilities.  This included developing cost 
effective common services 'Enterprise 
Services' for the company.  This reduced the cost 
of developing new applications with much functionality shared or reused from the 
common enterprise services.
- Integrating siloed (stand alone) legacy systems into the new Architecture to 
reduce the need for double entering of information.
- Future proofing the architecture by allowing for the integration and 
deployment of Microsoft BizTalk for a full enterprise system service bus (ESB) 
when required
- Provided tight integration of existing legacy applications 
into both the new services and new applications
- Provided an Identity management (single sign on/automatic sign on) system to 
reduce the need for different passwords, identities per application.
Projects
 
The following projects have been developed (in order of occurrence):
 
- Microsoft.NET Content Management 
Website allowing content update and modification live 
- Microsoft Office (MOSS) SharePoint Setup deployment and modification, extension 
with Web Part development and integration into Enterprise Services 
- Assessment of current systems, Business Needs, shortcomings, planned product 
integration and Development of a Architecture 
and migration strategy  
- Development of Enterprise Services, 
which provided common services for simple tasks such as User Account 
creation 
- Integration to 
existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and publishing of that data 
for the enterprise applications
- Design and Development of stage 2 & 3 for Staff Appraisals (staff performance management) 
- Email authorisation 
application for all staff correspondence.  This application ensures no outgoing 
communication is possible without authorisation, significantly improving public 
image risk 
- Feedback Help 
Desk, a web based application for public (through DotNetNuke .net website 
integration), internal patients, staff and management to log complaints, deal 
with and assign to outside staff to rectify problems and track feedback items 
until completed successfully.  Note: this uses full featured Windows Workflow to track, escalate and manage 
tasks cost effectively
- Constant Enterprise Application and network 
support
 
Details and Technologies
| Project 
Description | Produce enterprise level web 
services to publish enterprise data for all applications according to a Service 
Oriented Architecture (SOA).  
 | 
| Start 
Date
 | 
 | 
| Finish Date
 |  | 
| Value | 
 
 | 
| Solution 
Deployed | Visual Studio, Visual Source Safe, 
SQL Management Studio, 2003 Server
 | 
| Size in terms of 
the number of tables, size  of database, complexity of code | 218 tables, databases used and 
developed are several Gig, code is very complex with involved business rules 
using bleeding edge technologies such as MS Workflow, Windows Communication 
Foundation
 | 
| Technical 
environment | Microsoft .NET Application 
Development, SQLServer, C#,  Windows Server 2003, Visual Studio, SQLServer, SQL 
Reports, IIS |