intergen smarts 20 (2009)

< Copyright 2009 Intergen Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of Intergen Limited >

The same trade,more tools.

The global economy may have slowed

but Intergen continues at pace. We have

had a busy three months with lots of new

initiatives, new projects, new technologies, new

people, new relationships and new clients. Whilst it

is certainly tough out there, I don’t ever remember

it being easy. We have always fought hard for

everything we have got and when things have got

harder we have knuckled down and fought even harder.

Our Rapid Results and HealthCheck initiatives have been very

successful. So much so that our initial Rapid Results for CRM offering

has been joined by Rapid Results for SharePoint, Rapid Results for iGovt Logon

service and Rapid Results for Enterprise Search. These offerings provide certainty

over price and deliverables and allow you to take the fi rst steps without having to

bet the farm. Just what you need to keep moving ahead in these uncertain times.

We have been working on some fantastic projects across all of our practices.

We have a number of signifi cant Dynamics AX projects underway and some

exciting Dynamics CRM projects. We have recently completed a new website

for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise using Microsoft SharePoint and have

another signifi cant website nearing completion along with some great intranets

being delivered using SharePoint. We have extended our experience in Microsoft

Silverlight by delivering – in a very short timeframe – a website for Microsoft’s

up-and-coming Offi ce 2010. The www.offi ce2010themovie.com website was

developed entirely in Silverlight in less than three weeks and displays our talents

fairly and squarely on the global stage.

As we continue to extend our capabilities to ensure that we are able to offer our

clients a range of services across the Microsoft “Stack,” we are very keen to help our

clients exploit the full potential of Unifi ed Communications, not just as a stand-alone

concept but as a truly embedded business solution. We are pleased to have David

Porta join us as our Service Line Leader for Unifi ed Communications to provide us

with a strong platform of experience for us to build upon. Our goal is to extend our

clients’ investment in the Microsoft Platform and Unifi ed Communications through

application integration and innovative solutions. Watch this space.

In July, we welcomed Richard Westlake to our Board of Directors. Richard brings

with him a wealth of experience in corporate governance and will greatly assist

Intergen in becoming world class, not just in our solution delivery, but also as

a company. We have a huge number of opportunities in front of us and having

Richard on board will help ensure we follow the best opportunities and take

maximum advantage of them.

The year is more than halfway through and there is an awful lot to do before it’s

over. We have some exciting things happening and look forward to sharing more

with you and helping you to achieve your goals over the coming months.

[email protected]

THE PURPOSE OF A BOARD >> 6CASE STUDY >> 7

SOCIAL MEDIA >> 8NEW TECHNOLOGY >> 9

PACKAGES AND PARTNERSHIPS >>10BACKSTAGE WITH OFFICE 2010 >> 11

THOUGHTS ON THE INDUSTRY >>12

>> HOT NEWS:

Microsoft Partner Awards 2009Intergen is a fi nalist in four categories – Enterprise Content Management, Dynamics CRM, Dynamics NAV and Solution of the Year. Watch this space!

Microsoft TechEdTechEd is just around the corner and yet again Intergen is gearing up for another great event with some great Hands on Labs and plenty of yellow.

Intergen Dynamics DayIt’s free, and you’re invited. See overleaf for more details.

INTERGENITE PHOTO GALLERY >> 2

WORLDWIDE PARTNER CONFERENCE >> 3MANAGEMENT CONSULTING >> 4

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS >> 5

>>2 >> I N T E R G E N I T E P H O T O G A L L E R Y

Melanie Highet

What do you do?As a Business Development Manager here in the north, my job is to help customers see and realise their potential by partnering with Intergen.

How do you make a difference?I focus on the business outcomes and try to demystify technology, breaking things down into business problems and opportunities that our customers understand.

What do you love about your job?Winning! I’m pretty competitive and I like the thrill of the chase. I also love the fact that our customers come in all shapes and sizes and across many different industries.

A bit about yourself…I’m a bit of an extrovert, married to Scott, and I’m a Warriors fan, a skier and wannabe chef.

Intergen Dynamics Day 2009Intergen is running a special event for users of Microsoft’s Dynamics products in Wellington on October 15 - 16. Whether you’re a user of Microsoft Dynamics AX, NAV or CRM, you’ll get value attending this free user-oriented event.

During a day and a half of presentations, we will cover a broad range of areas, including:

• Presentations from Microsoft detailing the current and future directions of the

Dynamics product range, including a keynote from a Microsoft regional executive.

• Case studies from customers using these solutions, how they implemented them and

what benefi ts they’ve realised.

• Third party products and how they can help you get more out of your Dynamics

investments.

• Presentations covering a broad range of topics, including business intelligence,

integration opportunities and how to get the most out of your solutions.

In addition, consultants from Intergen and our partners will be on hand to answer any

questions and to help with any requests.

This free event will run from 9am on Thursday 15 October through to 2pm on Friday 16

October. We’re taking bookings now – email [email protected] to secure your

place. More information will be available soon – keep an eye on our website.

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E T W E N T Y >

>> INTERGENITE:

Chris Auld gets to work in Mumbai.

Jian Sun delivers training in his homeland in Mandarin Chinese.

Deb Auld and the ubiquitous, Intergen-infamous yellow Croc.

Coming soon:

Mark Orange impresses at the inaugural SharePoint Conference.

>>3>> W O R L D W I D E PA R T N E R C O N F E R E N C E

Every year I look forward to the WPC with great anticipation. And every year I come home from the four-day event exhausted, with lots of ideas and numerous items on my to-do list. We are entering one of the biggest release cycles ever for Microsoft and as a

result there was a very intense agenda. In any given year there are always at

least three sessions you could attend at any one time, in a venue spanning

1.2 miles, and this year there was more to see than ever. At times I felt a little

like a possum in the headlights, not knowing where to look.

In an attempt to keep abreast of everything I saw and share my adventures,

I eagerly tweeted and wrote daily postcards for our blog and intranet.

I could fi ll this entire issue of SMARTS (and then some) with updates from the

conference, but in the interests of brevity, I will leave you with some

short snippets from my WPC postcards. For the full version, visit our blog

(www.intergen.co.nz/blog) or www.digitalwpc.com.

Day 1 After participating in the Day of Giving the day before (that’s me way in the

background), doing my bit for the city by planting trees, we were off to a good start.

To give you an idea of scale: 8000 attendees (approximately 6000 delegates

and 2000 Microsoft employees) – that’s half of the total population of Levin!

Key aspects/cool stuff covered included:

• Excel 2010 – “Sparklines” which allow you to view ‘mini’ charts within a cell

• Outlook 2010 – an ‘ignore’ function where you can ignore a conversation

going on

• Outlook 2010 – tips when you are doing something (like presenting you

with an Out of Offi ce message before you send an email to someone)

• Dynamics CRM – social networking integration, including accessing

Twitter data within and from CRM

• Offi ce Web Applications

• Voice to text features of Exchange, as part of Microsoft’s expanding

Unifi ed Communications vision

I also had the pleasure of being part of a roundtable discussion with Stephen

Elop (President, Microsoft Business Division). It was great to get the chance

to meet and have discussions with a senior Microsoft executive. Well done

Microsoft New Zealand.

Day 2 Everyone was geared up for Steve Ballmer’s keynote. Key topics he

covered in his talk were Bing, social networking and the economy. The way he

described our current world situation is as an ‘economic reset.’

Day 3 On day three we looked into the future. We took a look at the Mobile

Marketplace and an impressive Surface-based health application. I then heard

the ‘father of multi-touch,’ Bill Buxton, explain that Microsoft Surface isn’t a

product – it’s a way of thinking.

Microsoft’s Chief Operating Offi cer, Kevin Turner, covered Microsoft’s FY2010

strategy with impressive openness.

After this, I went to the public sector value keynote, where Rob Wolf from

eSponder showed off the video from the All Stars game, which just so

happened to feature the multi-touch work that our team worked on.

Day 4 On the fi nal day, I attended the regional keynote (APAC), which

included a panel discussion with two Kiwi companies, where we discussed a

number of differing views on Microsoft’s Cloud/Online offerings.

In the afternoon we covered Microsoft and the Web, and in my last WPC

session we got to see some real world applications from the partners that

made them – a good chance to see the end use of products.

All in all a great WPC, with lots of messages, updates, interaction and jazz.

[email protected]

Wayne Forgesson is Intergen’s Director of Marketing.

Postcards from the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 13 – 16 July 2009, New Orleans


That’s me at the Day of Giving.

Steve Ballmer evangelises.

Feeding the thousands.

>>4 >> M A N A G E M E N T C O N S U L T I N G

Change Management

For most people, change is an everyday occurrence. It happens in small, almost incidental increments that, while not always agreed with, raise little resistance. Large-scale, or transformational change, is a different kettle of fi sh. From rethinking an organisational process to wholesale restructuring – the only thing that is guaranteed with change is that it won’t be easy. In fact, 60% of organisational change efforts fail.

Despite advances in management science, most leaders still view organisations

as machines – tinkering and streamlining to leverage opportunities and

improve effi ciency. But organisations and machines are fundamentally

different – the major point of difference is people. So it’s unsurprising that the

most common points of failure for change projects are human related.

What can organisations do to give change initiatives the best chance of

success? Our top six tips are to:

1) Adopt a well regarded change model and follow it: John Kotter

achieved incredible success with his eight-step change model. While the

extent to which you implement each step may change depending on the

extent of your change effort, it is important that each step is considered

and adapted to suit your purpose.

2) Allow individuals time to ‘process’: Most change efforts start as the well

kept secret of a small number of high level executives. During the initial

planning stage, these individuals become ‘acclimatised’ to the change. The

same cannot be said for the rest of the organisation. Ensure staff have suffi cient

time and information to process the change and reach considered conclusions.

1Ford, J. & Ford, L. (2009). “Decoding Resistance to Change”. Harvard Business Review2Stevenson, D. (2008) “Original Thinking”. Toolbox for IT.

3) Treat ‘resistance’ as a key information resource1: A common reaction

to negative feedback is to treat it as resistance and batten down the

hatches. Re-framing ‘resistance’ as a valid source of information can lead

to improved change options.

4) All organisations have ‘change agents’ – identify yours and work

with them2: Change agents do not have to be those formally leading

the change. These are individuals at any level of the organisation who

understand people, are strong self-starters with the ability to infl uence

and motivate change in others.

5) Be realistic about what to expect: Despite the best planning and effort

on your part, if your change initiative will negatively impact some or all

individuals, you must be realistic about how that change will be received.

6) Be prepared to ‘change the change’: Don’t be afraid to deviate from

the plan. Effective consultation and dialogue with staff may identify

information or issues that may not have been apparent. There is no

golden rule that the best change plans come from the top. Be open to

new ideas and approaches wherever they come from.

These tips will not guarantee an easy ride, but they will make you

better prepared for the change journey.

>>Intergen is proud to introduce its

newest addition in the form of a dedicated

Management Consultancy practice. Our team

of experienced consultants specialise in

providing high quality services around change

management, organisational capability,

knowledge management, collaboration and

strategic planning.

As a close knit team, we offer extensive peer

support and are constantly engaged in extending

our knowledge to make sure we provide you,

our clients, with traditional and leading edge

management thinking and practices.

We know that it’s not just ‘what’ you do, but

‘how’ you do it that makes the difference.


Intergen’s Management Consulting team: Alex Natelli, Sally Jansen van Vuuren, Jennifer Wray, Paddy Payne.

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E T W E N T Y > >>5>> U N I F I E D C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

Introducing Intergen’s Unifi ed Communications Practice David Porta

What do you do?I am the Unifi ed Communications (UC) Business Line Lead. I am responsible for developing an end-to-end UC practice using Offi ce Communications Server, Exchange Unifi ed Messaging (UM) and Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) while also developing value-add UC offerings within our existing core products, including Dynamics CRM and NAV and SharePoint, as UC has a symbiotic relationship with all of them.

By integrating OCS with other existing Microsoft products, organisations are able to offer powerful collaboration services that produce signifi cant cost savings and enhance the effi ciency of staff.

How do you make a difference?By listening to the customer and to fellow Intergenites to develop and nurture long term relationships and by making sure we understand the business requirements and create solutions that are aligned to those needs.

What do you love about your job?I’m very passionate about Unifi ed Communications and I’m also very passionate about people. I love the culture, drive and enthusiasm here at Intergen, and I genuinely believe that we have tremendous potential for a fantastic future together.

A bit about yourselfI am originally from Mexico. I lived in the United States for six years where I attended university and worked as a Network Architect. I lived in Japan for three years where I completed my studies and worked as a Network Administrator. After September 11, I migrated to New Zealand and I am now a proud new Mexi-Kiwi citizen!

I have spent the last nine years working with Cisco and Microsoft Unifi ed Communications, working for the Ministry of Social Development, IBM and Microsoft prior to joining Intergen.

I have a 10 year-old son named Sammy, and I love movies, games, cooking and red wine.

While many people have heard the term ‘Unifi ed Communications,’ not everyone is clear as to what it means or the value it can bring to an organisation.

Unifi ed Communications (UC) refers to a

solution that facilitates seamless interaction

for inbound and outbound communications

between various communications systems

and applications. These include Instant

Messaging, texting, e-mail, calendaring, voice,

video, web collaboration, CRM solutions,

portals, document management systems and

bespoke desktop and mobile applications.

Microsoft is now embedding UC

functionality into the various products in its

portfolio, right from the code, which means

that Microsoft solutions are in essence

becoming purpose built to deliver UC

services. As a result this eliminates the need

for integration exercises in pure Microsoft

UC solutions and signifi cantly reduces the

effort when integrating with compatible PBX

and IP PBX solutions.

The UC strategy from Microsoft aims at benefi ting organisations in numerous

ways. In simplifying the delivery of UC functionality, it is more cost effective

for clients to implement, maintain or consume. UC services can be delivered

using already deployed infrastructure. As applications are already familiar,

operational and administrative staff won’t experience excessive change or

require large amounts of training. In essence, by deploying Microsoft Unifi ed

Communications, organisations will be able to deliver more functionality and

re-use the majority of their infrastructure and corporate intellectual property.

Intergen understands that the future of Unifi ed Communications lies

in the software, such as the enterprise applications used to support the

business processes, like Offi ce, SharePoint, CRM, NAV, Exchange and Offi ce

Communications Server. Intergen has created a Unifi ed Communications Business

Line through which we can offer and deliver end-to-end UC solutions to clients.

Leveraging the success and proven value of our Rapid Results packaged

solutions, we are currently developing a number of Rapid Results UC offerings

which focus on helping organisations take advantage of the benefi ts that UC

offers through a quick and cost effective engagement model.

If you have any questions or would like to know how your organisation could

benefi t from UC, please don’t hesitate to contact me at

[email protected].

>> INTERGENITE:

>>6 >> T H E P U R P O S E O F A B O A R D

What difference does a Board make?

Now, more than ever, it seems companies need to give especially careful consideration to how they ensure their ongoing success. Good governance and a robust business model are imperative.

Intergen is pleased to have recently appointed its fi rst Independent Director to the

Intergen Board. Richard Westlake joins Intergen’s Board of Directors, Tony Stewart,

Paddy Payne, Wayne Forgesson and Chris Auld, and brings invaluable directorial

experience and a fresh external perspective to the Board table.

We caught up with Richard to ask him about the contribution a Board makes to

an organisation, what it is there to do and how an independent director plays a

part. We learn that mistakes are compulsory and how “a few grey hairs” can make

all the difference.

What difference does a Board make to an organisation?

A Board is there to give management and owners greater confi dence. We’re there

to agree strategies, how we are going to get there, and then hold management

accountable. The Board’s role is to build tomorrow’s company out of today’s and

be ready for tomorrow. How good you have been in the past is irrelevant.

We look at how we are positioned, what the trends are, what the risks are and

then think through the possible scenarios and how we will react.

What a lot of Boards lose sight of is that we’re all in the same waka trying to

paddle in the same direction. Often in an organisation there can be a ‘collective

inevitability.’ It’s a Board’s role to test organisational thinking, question if there is

a better way of doing something and recognise if we’re stuck in a train of thought.

Having a Board isn’t just about having a talkfest. We need to ask ourselves, “Is

the company better off for having had a meeting today? How have we helped

empower the CEO to do what needs to be done?”

I once worked with a man who made a vast fortune and until we formed a Board

around him his biggest fear was making a mistake and losing everything. Once

there was a Board in place, with people he could bounce ideas off, this was a

weight off his shoulders. That’s what a Board is there to do.

What value does an Independent Director bring to a Board? What do you

bring to Intergen?

Perhaps the greatest value I bring is that I’m not an IT professional. I bring the

independence of someone who is not too close to the family, so to speak. I’ve

had experience in a broad range of businesses. I’ve seen the pitfalls and made

mistakes along the way – which is important – and can say, “I’ve seen this before;

let’s not do that.” I bring the advantage of a few grey hairs.

By coming from the ‘outside,’ I also have a sense of how the organisation is being

seen without such a vested interest, and can see plain business opportunities and

issues without being ‘close in the weeds.’

This is the role of an Independent Director, to provide a level of oversight, apply

a commonsense overlay and a reality check. I’m there as a sounding board to the

rest of the Board.

Why are mistakes so important?

When you always get things right, nothing changes. When things go wrong, you

have life experience and learnings. The New Zealand psyche seems very intolerant

of failure. I prefer the American approach to failure, where if you get rich one

more time than you go broke, you’re okay.

In New Zealand you see Directors who have had spectacular failures and they

become untouchable, when really they may be the ones who can provide the

greatest value to a Board.

In your opinion, how is the economic downturn affecting

New Zealand businesses?

Now is a time of tremendous opportunity. When you think about it, most fortunes

start in times like these. I’ve always been a glass three quarters full sort of person.

There will be life after this, and 95% of companies won’t go broke.

There’s a saying, ‘Even a dead fi sh can swim downstream.’ If a company has a

good business model and runs in a cost effective manner, this is just a part of life.

Times like these sort out those who can manage and those who can’t, and it’s a

great time to sort out competitors and focus on increasing productivity.

ABOUT RICHARD WESTLAKE MA (OXON),

AFINSTD, FNZIM

Richard has more than 15 years’ experience as

a Director and Board Chairman. In addition

to Richard’s directorship with Intergen,

he is Chairman of the Standards Council

of New Zealand and of the New Zealand

Telecommunications Carriers’ Forum. He

has also been an Independent Director of

Kiwibank since its establishment in 2001.

Richard is Director of Westlake Consulting

Limited, advising on organisational

governance, strategy and board management

relations.


>>7< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E T W E N T Y >>> C A S E S T U D Y

Blackbay reels in awards for real-time mobile worker solutions

How does a New Zealand based company have such kudos with world-leading customers? The answer is by forging innovative partnerships in their own back yard. Christchurch-based mobile solutions provider, Blackbay, is right at home on the world stage. The international pedigree of their clients speaks for itself, including DHL, Australia Post, Konica Minolta and Royal Mail. Blackbay partners with the best, providing real-time mobile worker solutions in supply chain and fi eld service industries.

Blackbay’s leading edge mobility solutions have been integral in cutting

costs, slashing delivery timeframes and improving operational effi ciency in

companies with thousands of mobile workers. Blackbay has relished seeing

their partners win international accolades for service delivery. Blackbay

customer, Royal Mail, was recently named the winner of the Wireless & Mobile

Excellence award at the Gartner Summit, based on its delivery of business

value and best practices within its wireless initiative.

The Pain

“As Blackbay continues to mature its business model in a highly competitive

arena, we need to retain agility and add more capacity and capability. That

capacity needs to come from a true partner with as much commitment to our

success as we have,” says Lisa Miles-Heal, Chief Operating Offi cer of Blackbay.

Intergen has a clear view of our business goals.

“When you share a view on the end game, there is freedom for the partner to

respond and react not “according to the letter” of the contract, instead doing

what’s best in any given circumstance. Intergen has amazing capability in the

market, but it’s far more than that; it’s about a partnership we can trust,”

she continues.

“Intergen always aligns the right resources and people with what needs to

be done, so we’re all driving towards the same outcome. The energy and

innovation is evident in everything they do and they understand our culture,

the business of our customers and the way we work. By working with one

partner, over time, you build trust, confi dence and respect that is invaluable

commercially, and that increases effi ciencies on specifi c engagements.”

Intergen’s Business Development Manager, Mark Ginnever, agrees that a

great synergy has developed. “We have supplied a variety of resources over

time to augment the talent at Blackbay. We now have a range of people who

are familiar with the Blackbay products and direction. For us, it is all about

helping clients succeed.”

Mobile solutions technology is making a difference in real-time.

As a market leader in the rapidly developing enterprise mobility market,

Blackbay has remained at the top through innovation and commitment to

excellence. By staying at the leading edge of Microsoft technology adoption,

and having a willingness to push the

boundaries, Blackbay has achieved a point

of difference through which they continue

to achieve success. This is an approach

that fi ts well with Intergen and has been

the basis for a successful partnership,

allowing Intergen to enhance Blackbay’s

solution offering and expand their

capabilities by adding high end .NET skills,

system interface design and development

expertise. Lisa comments, “It is Intergen’s

market edge in specialist areas such as

Business Intelligence which enables the two

companies to work together and leverage

skills and individuals strengths to deliver

results for Blackbay.”

Intergen and Blackbay are currently

working on enhancing Business Intelligence

within their product. Lisa comments, “We

recognise Intergen’s market edge in BI, and

it’s now a case of giving them the freedom

to do what they do best.”

The Gain

Punching above their weight in

international size, but heavyweights in

product creation and service delivery,

Blackbay’s world class mobile solutions will

continue to support premium customers in

performing smarter and faster.

>>8 >> S O C I A L M E D I A

Embracing Social Media

Last year we were heartened – and somewhat pleasantly surprised – to host more than 80 people at an event talking about online communities. Many people are familiar with the personal benefi ts that can be gained from using online services such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and what many people are realising is that many of the same tools used by these services can be utilised by organisations – to develop and grow communities and spheres of infl uence inside and outside organisations. No longer is the web a one-way publishing mechanism: it’s now a two-way method of communication.

While most organisations have a web presence, there is signifi cant

opportunity to evolve this presence to engage with your audience. Within the

organisation, the intranet can be extended to better understand staff issues

and needs; externally, there are opportunities to put an interactive presence

out to the market, using the web to engage with visitors to understand

what they are looking for. From these understandings you may develop new

ways of researching needs and wants, or differentiate yourself from other

organisations. At the very least, you create a reason for people to return.

This isn’t all about marketing either. By becoming more engaged with your

visitors you have a better chance to understand their needs more fully, which

can provide useful input into new products or services. You can listen to


PUBL IC ED IT ION

customers to fi nd out what they like or dislike about your offerings. You can

encourage and reward people for helping each other, creating a sense of

belonging and, ultimately, a self-managing community. And these people can

contribute their opinions, ideas and content to make the experience better for

others – without the sanitisation that can sometimes come from a marketing

or communications team.

So how can your organisation implement one of these solutions? Intergen has

a range of offerings for organisations looking to embrace social media. As

always, which offering you select depends on what you want to do. EPiServer’s

Community and Relate+ offerings enable organisations to create web and

intranet communities – either on their own or by supplementing an existing site.

Similarly, Microsoft SharePoint is also broadly deployed, and we can customise

this, utilise the EPiServer offerings, or take advantage of NewsGator Social

Sites which tightly integrates with SharePoint. Intergen has recently partnered

with US-based NewsGator, which has a long history in RSS aggregation and

online community development.

Ultimately, whichever solution you choose depends on what you want to

achieve – talk to us to discuss your options. Email: [email protected]

Intergen’s walking the talk and is on Twitter – get real-time updates by

following www.twitter.com/teamintergen.

>>9< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E T W E N T Y >

Microsoft has a heritage in creating developer tools, and Visual Studio 2010 is the latest version of Microsoft’s Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Designed to help developers create applications that utilise the full gamut of Microsoft technologies, the latest release of Visual Studio adds a raft of new features and refi nes some old ones. One of the exciting new additions is the support for parallel development.

“As demands for application performance increased, customers have

traditionally solved the problem by simply increasing the underlying power

of the hardware that the application is running on. Over the last several

years developers have seen the CPUs that their applications run on start to

include 2, 4 or more cores. While the power of the hardware has increased,

the transition to a multi-core environment has impacted the applications that

developers write. The majority of applications will not be able to automatically

take advantage of this multi-core hardware change.” (Source: Microsoft)

Writing robust parallel capable code with the tools that are currently

available is not a trivial exercise. There is no support within these tools to

debug multiple paths of execution; there is no built in support to identify

areas of the code that might present concurrency issues; and there are

other issues such as thread affi nity and ordering expectatations that need

to be considered.

Add to this the fact that sometimes parallelising a process can actually reduce

its performance due to the overhead involved in managing the multiple paths

of execution and it is easy to see why many customers often choose to avoid

this problem altogether and opt for a single-threaded solution.

Visual Studio 2010 addresses these concerns head-on:

• The debugger is now aware of the parallel nature of code and can present

the state of the application execution during debugging across the

different parallel execution units.

• Concurrency issues can be identifi ed using the Parallel Capable

Performance Analyzer that enables you to extensively instrument your

code to visually see the concurrency issues that are in your applications.

• .NET Framework additions such as Parallel Language Integrated Query

(PLINQ) provide the next generation of components for our solutions.

At Intergen we understand the signifi cance of these additions to Visual Studio.

Many of our customers have solved their performance issues in the same

way that Microsoft has described above

– by adding more powerful hardware. We

see Visual Studio 2010 as providing us

with a great opportunity to deliver vastly

improved performance for new and existing

applications to our customers, whether

those solutions are online transaction

processing systems, e-commerce websites or

line-of-business applications. In times where

customers want to get more for less, this

approach will enable all of us to get more

value out of our existing hardware.

[email protected]

>> N E W T E C H N O L O G Y

Joe Newton is Practice Principal, Enterprise Applications.A preview of Visual Studio 2010

>>10 >> P A C K A G E S A N D P A R T N E R S H I P S

Rapid Results and HealthCheck Update

Intergen forms partnership with Fuji XeroxThe humble photocopier has changed signifi cantly in the past few years. Devices

that deliver fast copying, faxing, scanning and printing are now commonplace

in most mid-sized offi ces. Now, with the next generation of multifunction devices

from Fuji Xerox, any preconceptions about photocopiers need to be reset again.

With the ApeosPort range of multifunction devices from Fuji Xerox, you can

not only copy, fax, scan and print, but the device can now be integrated into

your business processes. The underlying technology used in these devices

allows them to access the internet to send and retrieve data, connecting to

your organisation’s business applications to simplify and streamline document

workfl ows. A key differentiator is the inclusion of a web browser – these

devices can now access resources on the web, or on the intranet, without the

intervention of a PC, while using the familiarity and ease of use of a browser.

So what does this mean for Intergen? At Intergen, our goal is to add value

to the applications we implement and develop, and the ApeosPort devices

allow us to extend their reach. For instance, documents can be scanned and

automatically uploaded to a SharePoint portal; or, using the web browser in

the device, documents can be retrieved from the portal and printed – again,

no PC required.

Intergen is partnering with Fuji Xerox to provide implementation services

for Fuji Xerox customers that want to go to the next level and integrate

their devices with their applications. Devices such as these represent a

new opportunity to further integrate technology into a business, adding

demonstrable value to business processes and to create effi ciencies that had

only previously been imagined a few years ago.

Over the past few months we have introduced several offerings designed to provide our customers predictable results for a predictable cost, taking advantage of the knowledge and experience we have in a number of key products.

Our Rapid Results offerings are targeted

at those organisations that want to

get a solution up and running quickly,

with a fi xed scope and price, while our

HealthChecks are like a vehicle Warrant

of Fitness – enabling you to check your

software to see if it’s delivering the results

you need.

Since our original Rapid Results and

HealthCheck releases we have recently added

some more offerings to the mix.

In addition to the original Rapid Results

offerings for Dynamics CRM and

SharePoint, Rapid Results for Enterprise Search is now available. Designed

for those organisations that want to fi nd and utilise the information and

knowledge they have stored in disparate locations – on fi le servers, on

SharePoint servers, on websites – this offering utilises Microsoft Search Server

to deliver a single, cohesive way of fi nding and accessing this information.

This solution can also form the basis of a more powerful search solution,

either immediately or as your needs evolve.

In the HealthCheck area we have three new offerings. Our Microsoft

Dynamics CRM HealthCheck allows organisations to get a comprehensive

understanding of how they use Microsoft’s customer management product

and whether they are getting full value out of their system.

We also have two offerings for SQL Server, which is the database platform

underpinning many of Microsoft’s enterprise solutions. The SQL Server

Confi guration HealthCheck is a short exercise where one of our consultants

reviews the confi guration of a SQL Server instance and reports on any

confi guration issues that they fi nd. Our SQL Server Application Performance

HealthCheck provides a more detailed and rigorous investigation of your

SQL Server database and the performance of applications running on it. As

well as checking the overall confi guration of your SQL Server, we look at its

performance, common operational tasks, and your development practices.

All solutions are available now.

Visit www.intergen.co.nz for more information.


>>11>> B A C K S T A G E W I T H O F F I C E 2 0 1 0

It seems Intergen is getting a bit of a name for itself around Microsoft Corp as the go-to Silverlight guys. With our work with TextGlow – a browser-based document reader – and ButtercupReader – a digital talking book reader for the visually impaired – we’ve been lucky enough to take Silverlight to some pretty cool places.

With only a couple of weeks until the big reveal of the latest version of Offi ce,

Microsoft Offi ce 2010, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July,

Microsoft Corp needed a ‘Backstage’ website with all the bells and whistles,

built entirely in Silverlight, inside two weeks.

Ever keen to get their hands on the technology and make ground breaking

stuff, our Backstage project team set to work, using every minute available to

them to get the job done. James Newton-King, a trusty member of the team,

runs through the features of the site.

Backstage is full of videos from the Offi ce 2010 team who go behind the

scenes of Offi ce development and talk about what they have been busy

working on since 2007. The main Backstage website is 100% Silverlight and

shows off lots of great features, including:

• 100% Silverlight design

• Smooth streaming – videos will scale from HD for awesome broadband

connections down to speed-optimised resolutions for mobile devices

• Embedded social links to those sites all the cool kids are using (Twitter,

Facebook, Delicious, Digg, Live)

100% Silverlight website, high profi le global launch, two weeks’ notice – who you gonna call?


• Deep linking directly to videos

• Commenting and rating videos, video view counts

As well as the main site we have created an RSS feed of

recently added videos. Not only can you subscribe to it

via an RSS reader but the feed also works with iTunes and

other video podcast clients.

Finally, visiting mobile users will automatically be

redirected to an HTML mobile version of the site,

complete with low resolution videos for 3G mobile

devices. It looks fantastic on my iPhone.

It was a crazy ride getting everything done in time for

the launch but the end result was worth it. Check out

Backstage With Offi ce 2010 at offi ce2010themovie.com.

[email protected]

The mobile version of Backstage viewed on the iPhoneThe Backstage video podcast playing inside iTunes.

The Backstage website for PCs, 100% Silverlight design.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT INTERGEN:

Auckland: +64 9 966 3070 [email protected]: +64 4 472 2021 www.intergen.co.nzChristchurch: +64 3 964 0017Dunedin: +64 3 477 5648Sydney: +61 2 9969 0088 www.intergen.com.au Perth: +61 434 122 880

< S M A R T S - T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E . I S S U E T W E N T Y >>> T H O U G H T S O N T H E I N D U S T R Y

Microsoft’s roadmap– What does it mean for us?

In the technology industry, there’s always something new. Software and hardware companies are perennially announcing or releasing products intended to be the “next big thing,” expecting us – consumers and information workers alike – to readily embrace the latest and greatest.

As a company that prides itself on

keeping up with the latest trends,

Intergen invests signifi cant time and

effort into understanding these new

offerings and – above all – what benefi ts

they can provide. And as a leading

Microsoft partner, we’re continually

tracking new products and services

that come from the software giant. The

next 12 months are a watershed year

for Microsoft as several major products

are scheduled for release, including

updates of fl agship products Windows

and Offi ce. But while it’s always exciting

to have new products to implement and

talk about, the real value of any offering

is determined by the value it brings.

Microsoft watchers are in for a busy

year. In addition to updating its

key Offi ce and Windows franchises,

Microsoft is also driving change in other

parts of the industry. The company’s

investment in online services is starting

to come to market, and indications are that this will be a signifi cant focus for

the company over the next few years – the multi-billion dollar investment in data

centres alone go a long way to proving this.

New versions of Windows and Offi ce – both client and server products – are

scheduled for launch, with Windows 7 due to appear on October 22, and Offi ce

2010 in the fi rst half of next year. Not only are they important products, they’re also

products which are facing increased competition, with organisations such as Google

starting to venture into both the operating system and offi ce application arenas.

Beyond the desktop, after months of testing, Windows Azure, Microsoft’s foray into

cloud computing, will be released in its fi nal form towards the end of 2009, not only

delivering a new platform for the development community, but also establishing it

as the technology that underpins many of Microsoft’s online offerings.

Enterprise implications

Based on what was shown at Microsoft’s recent Worldwide Partner Conference,

the company is doing everything it can to appease the early adopters who believe

that online applications are the way to go, while presenting a cohesive upgrade

path to its existing – and largely enterprise-focused – customers, who are seeking

an evolution and not a revolution.

While no easy task, indications are that Microsoft is being successful at walking

this narrow tightrope. Offi ce 2010 features both traditional client software

and web-based versions and regardless of the version, Offi ce has embraced

collaboration in an online world, and organisations that are suffi ciently equipped can

share and work together – whether they are in the same offi ce or in a different country.

It’s also important to realise that solutions don’t have to be deployed entirely in the

cloud or on-premise – hybrid deployment models enable organisations to trial these

solutions, or seek to gradually migrate to a cloud-only model.

The themes of connectivity and communication are core to many of Microsoft’s

recent moves. By embracing online connectivity and multiple business models, how

we communicate and collaborate will change, regardless of where we are, what we’re

doing and what device we’re using.

Whether its connecting to cloud-based services or other users, Microsoft is

demonstrating that signifi cant value can be added to applications that communicate

and transact across a network, which more often than not is the World Wide Web.

Having a variety of deployment options provide organisations of all sizes and abilities

to select an option that meets their budgets, timeframes, requirements and internal

abilities. Whether organisations are looking to move to the latest products, use these

products as part of a larger deployment, or just to test out the features and functions

of an offering, organisations can now have a choice as to how they work, often with

minimal upfront cost.

Here at Intergen we are embracing all these developments and can see many ways

we can add value. Regardless of the deployment option or application involved,

the solution still needs to meet the needs of the organisation using it, and by

understanding how these latest offerings fi t together we can help our customers

choose the best option for their requirements.

intergen smarts 20 (2009)

Technology