Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
The main goal of this study is to understand how companies use the concept of Digital Analytics and how to leverage their results from Digital Analytics implementation.
Our annual Trends report is always a team effort, and this year’s team was bigger and more diverse than ever. More than 1,000 Fjordians, plus (for the first time) 85 clients from five continents, inspired our report, each bringing their own individual perspectives and experiences to the table.
We first gathered insights in all forms—a mix of hastily-drawn thoughts on Post-it Notes, elegant (and not-so-elegant) illustrations, simple scribbles and some long-form copy, and even some musings over a cup of coffee. We then took those insights into workshops designed to hone the thinking and spot patterns—and tapped into some digital tools to help us gather evidence for our best ideas (because at Fjord, we’re all about blending the physical with the digital). The result? Seven Trends affecting business, technology and design in 2018.
Today, we see deep division across global populations on a broad range of issues, which is creating social and political anxiety. We’re also experiencing tension as a result of deep technological change that is altering the world we live in. There is no running from these forces. For the first time, we feel that there is just one meta theme for Trends in 2018: Tension.
IT Digital Marketing, SEO Services Agency in Karachi PakistanMahboob Ali
Icreativez is a leading IT company that provides end-to-end solutions like website development, mobile/desktop app development, and enterprise software development. It has a team of over 15 professionals with expertise in various technologies. The company aims to become an industry leader by offering innovative software products and implementing latest technologies to enhance business operations for its clients.
Although digital disruptions have been happening for a few decades, no one would have imagined the transparency and efficiency technology brought to remote working.
TrenDigi Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2012 to develop apps, design cloud storage solutions, provide enterprise integration, and cooperate with corporations. The company prides itself on employing talented and caring colleagues to create excellent customer experiences. TrenDigi offers a range of solutions including software development, system development, and online marketing. For software development, TrenDigi specializes in mobile app development, enterprise customized software, and collaboration. For system development, TrenDigi focuses on web development, information system development, and enterprise integration. For online marketing, TrenDigi assists with branding, evaluation, and effectiveness analysis.
DesignBrief is an outsourcing service that provides design, engineering, and project management services. It offers a broad range of services including product design, prototyping, manufacturing drawings, and more. DesignBrief works with an in-house team and partner network to complete projects for companies in various industries. Outsourcing to DesignBrief provides flexibility compared to hiring in-house specialists and can reduce costs since clients only pay for the services they use.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
The main goal of this study is to understand how companies use the concept of Digital Analytics and how to leverage their results from Digital Analytics implementation.
Our annual Trends report is always a team effort, and this year’s team was bigger and more diverse than ever. More than 1,000 Fjordians, plus (for the first time) 85 clients from five continents, inspired our report, each bringing their own individual perspectives and experiences to the table.
We first gathered insights in all forms—a mix of hastily-drawn thoughts on Post-it Notes, elegant (and not-so-elegant) illustrations, simple scribbles and some long-form copy, and even some musings over a cup of coffee. We then took those insights into workshops designed to hone the thinking and spot patterns—and tapped into some digital tools to help us gather evidence for our best ideas (because at Fjord, we’re all about blending the physical with the digital). The result? Seven Trends affecting business, technology and design in 2018.
Today, we see deep division across global populations on a broad range of issues, which is creating social and political anxiety. We’re also experiencing tension as a result of deep technological change that is altering the world we live in. There is no running from these forces. For the first time, we feel that there is just one meta theme for Trends in 2018: Tension.
IT Digital Marketing, SEO Services Agency in Karachi PakistanMahboob Ali
Icreativez is a leading IT company that provides end-to-end solutions like website development, mobile/desktop app development, and enterprise software development. It has a team of over 15 professionals with expertise in various technologies. The company aims to become an industry leader by offering innovative software products and implementing latest technologies to enhance business operations for its clients.
Although digital disruptions have been happening for a few decades, no one would have imagined the transparency and efficiency technology brought to remote working.
TrenDigi Technology Co., Ltd. was founded in 2012 to develop apps, design cloud storage solutions, provide enterprise integration, and cooperate with corporations. The company prides itself on employing talented and caring colleagues to create excellent customer experiences. TrenDigi offers a range of solutions including software development, system development, and online marketing. For software development, TrenDigi specializes in mobile app development, enterprise customized software, and collaboration. For system development, TrenDigi focuses on web development, information system development, and enterprise integration. For online marketing, TrenDigi assists with branding, evaluation, and effectiveness analysis.
DesignBrief is an outsourcing service that provides design, engineering, and project management services. It offers a broad range of services including product design, prototyping, manufacturing drawings, and more. DesignBrief works with an in-house team and partner network to complete projects for companies in various industries. Outsourcing to DesignBrief provides flexibility compared to hiring in-house specialists and can reduce costs since clients only pay for the services they use.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
This agency provides marketing and branding services including visual content creation across various platforms. They consult with clients to develop, write, design, shoot, and deliver visual materials to engage customers and maximize brands. The agency works directly with partners on each project to create a powerful synergy between the client's brand and the agency's creative insights. They have worked with a diverse range of industries and produced award-winning campaigns for clients such as Johnson & Johnson.
The document summarizes work done by a futures thinking group on trends in media and entertainment. The group identified trends like technology as a human extension, living and creating virtual realities, and senses technologies. For each trend, the group described the change, driving forces, how it affects people and consumption, and the speed and coverage of the trend. The work was done by gathering online information and having workshops to categorize and evaluate the trends. The group found it challenging to prioritize the trends but found the topic very interesting.
Lens Interactive is a leading user experience and design firm with offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India. It has worked with over 200 clients on more than 500 projects across various industries. The company focuses on user experience design, websites, branding, and developed an educational mobile app called YooYoo Kids. It has a team of over 20 employees with expertise in design, development, and project management tools.
Designing for a better citizen experience / UX Camp Europe 2016Martin Jordan
Presentation slides from UX Camp Europe 2016 — a report on how design in UK Gov developed, how designers work and why there are 400 designers, but no one being a UX designer.
This document provides information about a company called We Are Snook that specializes in service design and customer experience design. They work with clients to map customer journeys, identify pain points and opportunities for improvement, co-create solutions through prototyping and testing, and support implementation to improve brand experience, customer satisfaction and business outcomes. Their process involves customer research, journey mapping, prototyping, and implementing customized solutions to meet client needs.
Nine ways Creative Professionals can become Creative Entrepreneurs Dominique Falla
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.
Creative entrepreneurs then use their creative or intellectual knowledge and skills to earn a living, usually in a business or as a solopreneur. This differs from traditional entrepreneurship that has mainly focused on manufacturing and industrial products.
In this Slideshare, we look at nine ways graphic designers can become creative entrepreneurs
This document discusses seven cases related to product development and innovation.
Case 1 looks at how to discover unidentified customer needs through a treatment program developed for COPD patients in collaboration with designers, practitioners, and patients.
Case 2 examines how Lego communicates with users through its ambassador program of volunteer adults who represent the Lego community.
Case 3 discusses how netbooks, originally intended for developing countries, became popular among general computer users in Western countries.
Case 4 profiles a charity initiative in Danish supermarkets where customers can donate money from bottle returns to charities.
The remaining cases cover consequences of innovations like the Segway, cradle-to-cradle design principles applied to products, and how
Digital signage has vast applications in various sectors from healthcare to food outlets, education to sports, transportation to retail. Digital signage is spreading its root in its adjacent industries by offering customizable brand content, eye-catching visuals, and analytics and reports that help clients plan their moves ahead of time.
User Experience Design: The Past, The Present, The FutureCharbel Zeaiter
In our mostly true exploration of the history of UX and the current space we're in, we look to how UX Designers will be called upon in the future to create experiences that matter.
Designing for physical versus digital productscxpartners
My slides from Interaction 12 in Dublin, Ireland. User experience is important but it's not everything: Designing for physical versus digital products.
The virtual Converge event hosted by Globant welcomed over 10,000 attendees and featured Steve Wozniak as a keynote speaker. Speakers discussed how AI is helping create "Augmented Organizations" and changing how software is developed through "Augmented Coding". Tan Le of EMOTIV spoke about brain-computer interfaces and how environments may one day adapt to human brain activity. Wozniak and Globant's CEO discussed the importance of passion and ethics in building companies. Overall the conference explored how AI is accelerating and enhancing people's work.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Described by Microsoft as the Business Collaboration Platform for Enterprise and the web, there are so many ways SharePoint 2010 can add value to your organisation. Launched officially on May 12, we take the covers off SharePoint 2010 and share its highlights with you.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen Think! Event: Deploying and Managing Windows 8 in the WorkplaceIntergen
This document provides an overview of deploying and managing Windows 8. It introduces the presenters, Andrew Kosmadakis and Jeff Tebbs, who have experience with System Center and standard operating environments. The document discusses how Windows 8 is a new user experience that builds on Windows 7 and supports new input devices like touch. It also covers managing bring your own devices (BYO) in the consumerization of IT and how Windows 8.1 improves personalization, search, and device support.
The document discusses how organizations can better unlock the value of their information by improving information management and search capabilities. It notes that typical information workers currently spend up to 25% of their time searching for information to complete tasks. The document then outlines challenges organizations face around information duplication, incorrect versions, and difficulty finding needed information or people. It proposes developing an information portal to better communicate, coordinate and collaborate. The portal could include search, document management, workflows, knowledge bases, directories and more. The document also discusses taking a phased approach to deployment and the progression from basic search to more advanced taxonomy-based search.
Dynamics Day 2016: digital transformation - getting personalIntergen
This document discusses digital personalization and how it can improve customer experiences. It defines digital as any electronic touchpoint between a brand and its customers, staff, and suppliers. The changing customer journey is explained, from information gathering to purchase. Personalization is defined as delivering the right message to the right person at the right time across channels. Data from various sources can provide customer context to improve personalization. The benefits of personalization include engaging customers and driving business goals. Technology and a clear strategy are needed to successfully implement personalization.
This document discusses 6 principles of user experience: 1) Don't fail your users, 2) Usability is not enough, 3) Treat every page like a home page, 4) Don't wait for your cat to bark, 5) Make your business 2.0, and 6) Design is not a democratic process. It provides background on each principle, such as how usability is now expected rather than exceptional, the importance of search and other entry points beyond the home page, and how design decisions should involve user experience experts rather than trying to please all stakeholders. Useful resources are also listed.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
This agency provides marketing and branding services including visual content creation across various platforms. They consult with clients to develop, write, design, shoot, and deliver visual materials to engage customers and maximize brands. The agency works directly with partners on each project to create a powerful synergy between the client's brand and the agency's creative insights. They have worked with a diverse range of industries and produced award-winning campaigns for clients such as Johnson & Johnson.
The document summarizes work done by a futures thinking group on trends in media and entertainment. The group identified trends like technology as a human extension, living and creating virtual realities, and senses technologies. For each trend, the group described the change, driving forces, how it affects people and consumption, and the speed and coverage of the trend. The work was done by gathering online information and having workshops to categorize and evaluate the trends. The group found it challenging to prioritize the trends but found the topic very interesting.
Lens Interactive is a leading user experience and design firm with offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India. It has worked with over 200 clients on more than 500 projects across various industries. The company focuses on user experience design, websites, branding, and developed an educational mobile app called YooYoo Kids. It has a team of over 20 employees with expertise in design, development, and project management tools.
Designing for a better citizen experience / UX Camp Europe 2016Martin Jordan
Presentation slides from UX Camp Europe 2016 — a report on how design in UK Gov developed, how designers work and why there are 400 designers, but no one being a UX designer.
This document provides information about a company called We Are Snook that specializes in service design and customer experience design. They work with clients to map customer journeys, identify pain points and opportunities for improvement, co-create solutions through prototyping and testing, and support implementation to improve brand experience, customer satisfaction and business outcomes. Their process involves customer research, journey mapping, prototyping, and implementing customized solutions to meet client needs.
Nine ways Creative Professionals can become Creative Entrepreneurs Dominique Falla
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.
Creative entrepreneurs then use their creative or intellectual knowledge and skills to earn a living, usually in a business or as a solopreneur. This differs from traditional entrepreneurship that has mainly focused on manufacturing and industrial products.
In this Slideshare, we look at nine ways graphic designers can become creative entrepreneurs
This document discusses seven cases related to product development and innovation.
Case 1 looks at how to discover unidentified customer needs through a treatment program developed for COPD patients in collaboration with designers, practitioners, and patients.
Case 2 examines how Lego communicates with users through its ambassador program of volunteer adults who represent the Lego community.
Case 3 discusses how netbooks, originally intended for developing countries, became popular among general computer users in Western countries.
Case 4 profiles a charity initiative in Danish supermarkets where customers can donate money from bottle returns to charities.
The remaining cases cover consequences of innovations like the Segway, cradle-to-cradle design principles applied to products, and how
Digital signage has vast applications in various sectors from healthcare to food outlets, education to sports, transportation to retail. Digital signage is spreading its root in its adjacent industries by offering customizable brand content, eye-catching visuals, and analytics and reports that help clients plan their moves ahead of time.
User Experience Design: The Past, The Present, The FutureCharbel Zeaiter
In our mostly true exploration of the history of UX and the current space we're in, we look to how UX Designers will be called upon in the future to create experiences that matter.
Designing for physical versus digital productscxpartners
My slides from Interaction 12 in Dublin, Ireland. User experience is important but it's not everything: Designing for physical versus digital products.
The virtual Converge event hosted by Globant welcomed over 10,000 attendees and featured Steve Wozniak as a keynote speaker. Speakers discussed how AI is helping create "Augmented Organizations" and changing how software is developed through "Augmented Coding". Tan Le of EMOTIV spoke about brain-computer interfaces and how environments may one day adapt to human brain activity. Wozniak and Globant's CEO discussed the importance of passion and ethics in building companies. Overall the conference explored how AI is accelerating and enhancing people's work.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Described by Microsoft as the Business Collaboration Platform for Enterprise and the web, there are so many ways SharePoint 2010 can add value to your organisation. Launched officially on May 12, we take the covers off SharePoint 2010 and share its highlights with you.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intergen Think! Event: Deploying and Managing Windows 8 in the WorkplaceIntergen
This document provides an overview of deploying and managing Windows 8. It introduces the presenters, Andrew Kosmadakis and Jeff Tebbs, who have experience with System Center and standard operating environments. The document discusses how Windows 8 is a new user experience that builds on Windows 7 and supports new input devices like touch. It also covers managing bring your own devices (BYO) in the consumerization of IT and how Windows 8.1 improves personalization, search, and device support.
The document discusses how organizations can better unlock the value of their information by improving information management and search capabilities. It notes that typical information workers currently spend up to 25% of their time searching for information to complete tasks. The document then outlines challenges organizations face around information duplication, incorrect versions, and difficulty finding needed information or people. It proposes developing an information portal to better communicate, coordinate and collaborate. The portal could include search, document management, workflows, knowledge bases, directories and more. The document also discusses taking a phased approach to deployment and the progression from basic search to more advanced taxonomy-based search.
Dynamics Day 2016: digital transformation - getting personalIntergen
This document discusses digital personalization and how it can improve customer experiences. It defines digital as any electronic touchpoint between a brand and its customers, staff, and suppliers. The changing customer journey is explained, from information gathering to purchase. Personalization is defined as delivering the right message to the right person at the right time across channels. Data from various sources can provide customer context to improve personalization. The benefits of personalization include engaging customers and driving business goals. Technology and a clear strategy are needed to successfully implement personalization.
This document discusses 6 principles of user experience: 1) Don't fail your users, 2) Usability is not enough, 3) Treat every page like a home page, 4) Don't wait for your cat to bark, 5) Make your business 2.0, and 6) Design is not a democratic process. It provides background on each principle, such as how usability is now expected rather than exceptional, the importance of search and other entry points beyond the home page, and how design decisions should involve user experience experts rather than trying to please all stakeholders. Useful resources are also listed.
Dynamics Day 2016: service transformation through digital platformsIntergen
Ryman Healthcare saw an opportunity to transform residential care through mobile devices in residents’ rooms. Creating a transformation programme that’s moving its operations from a heavily paper-based world to a modern, cloud connected, mobile paradigm, Ryman is creating an exciting and leading edge future for aged care provision.
EPiServer Introduction and Update: Part 2 Intergen
EPiServer talk about what’s new with the latest version of the EPiServer (CMS Content Management System) and cover their latest offerings for commerce and communities.
This document summarizes Dynamics Day 2015, an event held by Intergen. It discusses Intergen's business updates, including its presence in 5 locations across 2 countries with 350 employees. It also discusses Intergen's services portfolio and how it aims to deliver consumable cloud-based solutions. Finally, it discusses Microsoft's vision and the intelligent cloud, and how partnerships with Microsoft can provide value to Intergen clients.
The document discusses key topics from Dynamics Day 2015 including intelligence, integration, scale and agility, and cloud computing. Intelligence provides insights through data science and personalized experiences. Integration connects business apps and data across many platforms and systems. Scale and agility are achieved through unlimited cloud computing power, operational analytics, and continuous updates. Cloud computing delivers on the original promises of SOA through features like continuous updates.
Dynamics Day 2016 keynote: Achieving true platform productivityIntergen
James Page discusses achieving true platform productivity, with Lorraine Taylor, CEO of Variety – the Children’s Charity providing a case study of platform productivity in action.
This document discusses several employees and the classic cars they own. Tony Stewart owns a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth that he raced in the past but now enjoys for sentimental reasons. Mark Trotter owns a Subaru WRX, his second car but first hot hatch, and is a fan of fast four-door cars like his father. John Jameson owns a Mitsubishi GTO, an unusual choice that stands out from the ordinary.
This document is the first issue of Intergen's company newsletter called "SMARTS". It provides an overview of Intergen as a company that offers a full range of Microsoft services and solutions. It highlights Intergen being awarded Microsoft Gold Partner status and recapping their recent launch party event. It also includes articles on various projects, technologies and staff profiles. The goal of the newsletter is to provide informative and entertaining content that demonstrates Intergen's approach of intelligent business solutions.
DZ Crew is a professional UX design agency that offers services including UX design, web and mobile app design, interaction design, and WordPress development. The agency emphasizes clear project timelines, efficient communication, and ensuring the success of their clients. They highlight their experience creating over 100 projects for clients in the US and Europe.
Intergen has had a successful first half of the year, completing several significant projects and beginning new projects. One of the most significant projects was developing an online vehicle re-licensing system with Unisys that allows New Zealanders to re-license their vehicles online. Intergen has also grown, opening a new office in Christchurch and moving their Auckland office to larger premises. They are excited about new tools from Microsoft that will help improve the software development process.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Intranet designs guaranteed to engage and inspireInteract
How to create a beautiful intranet design your users will love in five simple steps: brought to life by outstanding intranet design examples from companies including Sony, Travelex, the NHS, Mattress Firm, Piedmont, the NSPCC, and many more.
Intergen has experienced significant growth over recent years, requiring investments in core business systems. Intergen implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV for finance and Microsoft CRM for client management, which integrate together. Intergen also implemented Microsoft Project Server for project management and SharePoint for reporting, tasks, and their intranet. Intergen continues evolving their systems to support ongoing business growth and provide insights for customer solutions.
This document summarizes information about Mobindustry Corp, a team of developers located in Ukraine that offers mobile and web development services. They have a team of certified senior developers with over 15,000 work hours and an average rating of 5 stars. They have experience developing apps and websites for clients in various industries using technologies like Python, .NET, iOS, Android and more. They follow an Agile development process with sprints and milestone-based deliverables. Clients praise their communication, project management and ability to help bring ideas to life.
Duolequ is a new location-based mobile service for people born after 1980 in China that allows users to check-in to locations, get recommendations, connect with friends, earn rewards from shops, and obtain badges. It aims to build relationships between users, shops and locations. Duolequ's business model involves various revenue streams including profit sharing from events, advertising, selling virtual gifts and company membership fees. It sees opportunities to help businesses with customer loyalty, branding, targeted marketing and more.
The document provides an overview of various web design, UI/UX design, presentation design, 3D modeling, software development, and marketing services offered by Athena Inc. It consists of brief descriptions of each service area, highlighting how the company's experts help clients achieve their goals through strategic, user-centered designs and solutions.
This document discusses the importance of responsive web design which allows websites to be easily viewed on different devices. It emphasizes designing websites that are user-centric and intuitively structured to save users time. Responsive design helps websites take into account the prevalence of smartphone and tablet use and ensures good functionality across different browsers and operating systems.
This document discusses the importance of responsive web design for websites. It explains that responsive design allows websites to be easily viewed and navigated on different devices like mobile phones and tablets. It also emphasizes that responsive design helps websites reach more potential customers while maintaining consistent functionality across different platforms and browsers. The document recommends responsive design as a best practice for businesses to account for the prevalence of smart devices used to access the internet.
Amy and Kieran were recently invited to represent Freerange by giving a one hour guest lecture – ‘Designing for Interactive User Interfaces’ – to Kieran's student group at UniSA. The lecture focused on application design specific to mobile – although the process can extend to any device.
Designing for Interactive User InterfacesKieran Wallis
A presentation by Freerange Future on Interactive User Interface design for the University of South Australia 3rd Year Visual Communication students. www.freerangefuture.com
Designing for Interactive User InterfacesKieran Wallis
A presentation by Freerange Future on Interactive UI design for 3rd year Visual Communication students at the University of South Australia. www.freerangefuture.com
Tom Callaway is a UI/UX designer who has worked with global brands, startups, and agencies. Over the past 3 years, he has been updating the mobile app, website, dashboard, and customer platform for Preoday, an online ordering platform for businesses. Some of his recent projects include redesigning parts of the Preoday platform, developing new features for their mobile app, and providing marketing support. He also helped redesign websites for clients like Guinness World Records and Fiora.
This document provides information about internship and graduate opportunities at Microsoft in the UK. It discusses the various roles and teams interns and graduates can work in such as software development, marketing, finance, and sales. It promotes Microsoft's internship program which provides real work experience and stretch projects. It also describes Microsoft's MACH graduate program which includes training, coaching, and the opportunity to work in technical roles, project management, or sales. The document emphasizes Microsoft's focus on developing skills and providing opportunities to have impact and contribute to shaping the future of technology.
Starting small in 2008 with only two employees, today Green Global has grown to become the leading IT consultancy in central Vietnam, with over 100 skilled technical personnel. With our broad consulting scope and technical capabilities, Green Global has created innovative solutions for more than 400 projects, serving hundreds of clients from both private and public sector organizations.
The document discusses invisible user interfaces (UIs) and how to design for them. It provides examples of invisible UIs like an elevator that knows a user's destination without input. The presenters are from Screen Interaction, a design agency working to improve digital experiences. Invisible UIs are interesting because technology is making devices more context-aware of users and their environments. To design invisible UIs, one must understand users' contexts, use prototypes, and define design principles.
Intergen's newsletter, Smarts, now available for online reading.
Intergen provides information technology solutions across Australia, New Zealand and the world based exclusively on Microsoft’s tools and technologies.
Creating intelligent content: How to automate personalised, one-to-one market...Intergen
Now more than ever as organisations we need to accelerate our digital engagement and use our content intelligently, sensitively and helpfully.
One of the only ways to connect with customers is digitally, and so the challenge for us as brands is how do we deliver a relevant and engaging experience at scale? And, within that, how do we make sure that we're tailoring the right content, to reach our audiences in the right ways, at the right time?
In this webinar, we'll discuss the importance of personalisation in delivering an outstanding customer experience and the challenges marketers face when it comes to delivering true one-to-one personalised journeys. We will then look how Episerver's new Content Intelligence and Content Recommendations can, through the power of AI, help marketers gain deep content insights and automate true one-to-one, personalised marketing at scale.
The Coronavirus pandemic had a profound impact on the way we work. Almost overnight, organisations have had to learn how to work remotely – and collaborate effectively – often by the most expedient means possible.
The good news is that the flexible, remote working practices and tools that always seemed like a good idea in principle, have now been tested under extreme conditions and, in many cases, have been proven to be highly effective. To maintain the momentum and continue to realise the benefits, it's essential that we balance that flexibility and immediacy with governance and management. This is particularly true with 'easy to use' tools designed with user empowerment at their heart, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and others.
In this webinar, we explore common pain points and problems arising from the explosive growth of these tools and potential solutions to those problems. We will hear from Anthony Martino, IT Operations Manager at flybuys (Australia), on how they plan to balance user empowerment with effective governance and management. We will look at practical approaches available to all customers, to continue realising the benefits of flexible working in a secure, streamlined and controlled manner.
For more information visit https://www.intergen.co.nz/ReimagineWork/ #ReimagineWork
Customer Insights: It's time to get personalIntergen
During this webinar, Qassem Naim, Head of Data and Tech at FCB NZ (one of the largest global advertising agencies) joined us to discuss how excellent customer experience starts by getting personal. To do this right, it is important to understand how each customer interacts with your business. We then looked at how the Dynamics 365 Customer Insights platform can help you unify customer data from any touchpoint and personalise the buying experience for each customer through AI-driven insights and recommendations.
For more information visit https://www.intergen.co.nz/ReimagineWork/ #ReimagineWork
Working Remotely with Microsoft TechnologiesIntergen
This document summarizes working remotely with Microsoft technologies like Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) and Microsoft Teams. It introduces the speakers and provides an agenda for the presentation. The presentation will demonstrate WVD and discuss its security, management and licensing. It will also focus on staying productive while working remotely using Microsoft Teams and Empired's Teams Rapid Enablement offer.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Digital workplaceIntergen
Keep pace with new technology demands while ensuring data security and meeting expectations. The document discusses challenges of keeping up with multiple new platforms, cloud services, market entrants and customer/staff needs. It introduces Success Factors toolkit to help, including Dynamics 365 Field Service, Intelligent Services, a chatbot, modern apps and case studies. Upcoming sessions will provide starting steps like evaluations, quick wins and strategic planning to get started.
(1) Keeping pace with changing technology and customer expectations is challenging for Toyota, as platforms, cloud services, and competitors constantly evolve while staff and customers demand more.
(2) Safety of customer data and intellectual property must be maintained while adapting to new digital opportunities in the car buying process, as dealer visits decline but online research increases.
(3) Toyota seeks to balance its leadership position in New Zealand with understanding the customer journey, which involves both emotional and practical considerations from initial interest to ongoing ownership.
This document discusses the challenges of keeping pace with new technologies and demands across multiple areas for an organization. It mentions keeping up with new platforms, cloud services, market entrants, staff expectations, customer demands, data security, and engagement while transforming services.
This document discusses the importance of customer engagement and keeping pace with customer needs. It emphasizes understanding customers at multiple levels, from the end users to various partners in the value chain. It promotes taking a holistic approach to customer engagement by aligning the entire organization around the shared purpose of enhancing lives. Breaking large goals into smaller, more manageable pieces is recommended to make progress without becoming overwhelmed. Different tools and approaches can be used, but the focus should remain on solving customer problems. Internal customer engagement is also important to help the various groups work together successfully.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Business transformation across the enterprise (NZ...Intergen
The document discusses business transformation across New Zealand Police. It notes that New Zealand Police has approximately 12,500 staff including 9,000 sworn officers, and has deployed 7,000 mobility devices and 4,100 tablets to frontline officers across its 12 police districts and 371 stations. It also discusses the Realtime Intelligence and Operational Deployment (RIOD) system which provides situational awareness, an Integrated Safety Response program, and collaboration between agencies with a focus on better outcomes for individuals.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Bringing your people on the change journeyIntergen
This document discusses taking people on a change journey and the challenges of keeping pace with change. It emphasizes the importance of creating a shared vision with one's team first when undergoing transformation. While projects may be completed on time and under budget, truly embedding change and evolving culture takes significantly more time. Lastly, it notes that breaking old habits and fully embracing new ways of working can take individuals 21 days.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Why digital transformationIntergen
Keep pace with new technologies and changing customer demands while maintaining data security. Convergence allows for faster learning and adaptation compared to competitors through empowering employees with technology to better serve customers.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Unleash your digital enterpriseIntergen
The document discusses how every organization needs to transform into a digital business to enable future growth. It highlights that most New Zealand business leaders agree on this need for transformation but that many organizations still have limited strategies. The top barriers to transformation include lack of digital skills and leadership. While CIOs currently lead most transformation efforts, respondents felt CEOs and chief digital officers should also provide leadership.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - The future is hereIntergen
The document discusses how businesses can keep pace with changing technology and customer demands. It mentions the need to keep up with new platforms, cloud services, market entrants, staff expectations, and customer demands while also keeping data and intellectual property safe. It then discusses using learning analytics and artificial intelligence to gain insights from educational data to improve learning experiences and student outcomes.
The document discusses the challenges of keeping pace with new technologies like cloud services, platforms, and customer expectations while also keeping data and intellectual property safe. It notes that boundaries are becoming less defined as people use personal devices, cloud services, and collaboration tools in many different places. It raises questions about how to keep pace with changes while maintaining security, what is different now compared to before, whether the cloud makes things cheaper, how to learn about new technologies, and how to ensure an organization is keeping up with changes safely.
This document discusses the importance of user experience (UX) design for businesses. It notes that UX may be one of the only ways left for brands to differentiate themselves. It emphasizes that technology alone is not disruptive - not being customer-centric is the biggest threat. The document advises that to build great products, companies must focus on user behavior through UX design. It suggests evaluating teams and budgets to integrate UX practices and mindset throughout organizations.
Intergen Convergence 2017 - Data as your most important assetIntergen
This document discusses how data is an organization's most strategic asset and how to bring data to life. It outlines the organization's data journey from having data that was hard to prepare, untimely and inconsistent, to developing governance and bringing granularity, timeliness and the right metrics to measure success. The document emphasizes understanding an organization's purpose or "WHY", and how leadership can read that WHY to determine how to adjust their actions and take the right actions to achieve their goals.
Business Change Management is more than just sending out a few emails, doing a bit of training and writing a new policy. It is about understanding the things that make the business unique, working with people to find out how the change will actually affect them and how they feel about it. You can then provide them with the right information and tools to comfortably and confidently transition to the new system.
Equally, it’s not a one off, hit and run activity. Supporting people as they transition to new ways of working should be ongoing throughout the life of a project and beyond.
This approach leads to the development of a change strategy, creation and delivery of communications and training resources, and the facilitation of all staff training.
Working with people to understand their needs and then coming up with practical and creative ways to address them allows you to come up with targeted approaches to getting people on board.
It’s hard not to be inspired by someone who is actually excited and committed to change. Alternatively, change is never successful when a solution is thrown in and people feel that leaders are ‘doing it to them, not with or for them’.
Enters InterConnect, a proven approach that focuses on what your business wants to achieve and then works with your people leaders to give them the skills and confidence to support their teams through the transition. The approach is based on having conversations, providing an open forum for teams to discuss the changes and giving your leaders the knowledge and skills to maintain the drive for change.
With more than 50,000 new malware created every day organisations can no longer afford to risk the financial and reputational impacts of a security or data breach, which can be too much for a business to recover from. Because of this, IT managers face increasing scrutiny and pressure from CEOs, managing directors and boards to prove that they are keeping the organisation secure.
The changing threat landscape means organisations need to be vigilant and smarter about security. While businesses still face threats from infected devices and malware, attackers have also moved beyond that. For example, there is an increasing number of targeted email attacks with cyber criminals spending time to monitor communications so they can imitate emails that are so sophisticated that even relatively savvy users will open them.
This webinar will explore the building blocks required to ensure you have the roadmap required to best protection against cyber attacks. We will provide you with a high level view of the following topics:
· Audit and discovery – What are your weaknesses and are you compliant?
· Education – Do your employees know when not to open that attachment?
· Policy – Do you have the right policies for your industry?
· Technology – Where to start and what has changed?
Dynamics Day 2016: Microsoft Dynamics 365 first lookIntergen
The document discusses Microsoft Dynamics 365 and its features. It describes how Dynamics 365 provides a common application platform with PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, and a common data model. It can connect different business systems and data sources. Dynamics 365 includes solutions for sales, customer service, field service, operations, and more. It also discusses how users can consume Dynamics 365 through different pricing plans and licences. For existing Dynamics users, it explains they have a choice to stay on their current version or transition to Dynamics 365.
Dynamics Day 2016: CRM Field Service and Project ServiceIntergen
Steven Foster and Microsoft’s Scott Smedley look at how Field Service and Dynamics Portals can change the way you serve your customers, ensuring you provide an intelligent and data-driven engagement that empowers employees and customers.
“An Outlook of the Ongoing and Future Relationship between Blockchain Technologies and Process-aware Information Systems.” Invited talk at the joint workshop on Blockchain for Information Systems (BC4IS) and Blockchain for Trusted Data Sharing (B4TDS), co-located with with the 36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE), 3 June 2024, Limassol, Cyprus.
AI 101: An Introduction to the Basics and Impact of Artificial IntelligenceIndexBug
Imagine a world where machines not only perform tasks but also learn, adapt, and make decisions. This is the promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a technology that's not just enhancing our lives but revolutionizing entire industries.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technologies, XML continues to play a vital role in structuring, storing, and transporting data across diverse systems. The recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present new methodologies for enhancing XML development workflows, introducing efficiency, automation, and intelligent capabilities. This presentation will outline the scope and perspective of utilizing AI in XML development. The potential benefits and the possible pitfalls will be highlighted, providing a balanced view of the subject.
We will explore the capabilities of AI in understanding XML markup languages and autonomously creating structured XML content. Additionally, we will examine the capacity of AI to enrich plain text with appropriate XML markup. Practical examples and methodological guidelines will be provided to elucidate how AI can be effectively prompted to interpret and generate accurate XML markup.
Further emphasis will be placed on the role of AI in developing XSLT, or schemas such as XSD and Schematron. We will address the techniques and strategies adopted to create prompts for generating code, explaining code, or refactoring the code, and the results achieved.
The discussion will extend to how AI can be used to transform XML content. In particular, the focus will be on the use of AI XPath extension functions in XSLT, Schematron, Schematron Quick Fixes, or for XML content refactoring.
The presentation aims to deliver a comprehensive overview of AI usage in XML development, providing attendees with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Whether you’re at the early stages of adopting AI or considering integrating it in advanced XML development, this presentation will cover all levels of expertise.
By highlighting the potential advantages and challenges of integrating AI with XML development tools and languages, the presentation seeks to inspire thoughtful conversation around the future of XML development. We’ll not only delve into the technical aspects of AI-powered XML development but also discuss practical implications and possible future directions.
GraphSummit Singapore | The Art of the Possible with Graph - Q2 2024Neo4j
Neha Bajwa, Vice President of Product Marketing, Neo4j
Join us as we explore breakthrough innovations enabled by interconnected data and AI. Discover firsthand how organizations use relationships in data to uncover contextual insights and solve our most pressing challenges – from optimizing supply chains, detecting fraud, and improving customer experiences to accelerating drug discoveries.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 6DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 6. In this session, we will cover Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI.
UiPath Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI webinar offers an in-depth exploration of leveraging cutting-edge technologies for test automation within the UiPath platform. Attendees will delve into the integration of generative AI, a test automation solution, with Open AI advanced natural language processing capabilities.
Throughout the session, participants will discover how this synergy empowers testers to automate repetitive tasks, enhance testing accuracy, and expedite the software testing life cycle. Topics covered include the seamless integration process, practical use cases, and the benefits of harnessing AI-driven automation for UiPath testing initiatives. By attending this webinar, testers, and automation professionals can gain valuable insights into harnessing the power of AI to optimize their test automation workflows within the UiPath ecosystem, ultimately driving efficiency and quality in software development processes.
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into integrating generative AI.
2. Understanding how this integration enhances test automation within the UiPath platform
3. Practical demonstrations
4. Exploration of real-world use cases illustrating the benefits of AI-driven test automation for UiPath
Topics covered:
What is generative AI
Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI.
UiPath integration with generative AI
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Let's Integrate MuleSoft RPA, COMPOSER, APM with AWS IDP along with Slackshyamraj55
Discover the seamless integration of RPA (Robotic Process Automation), COMPOSER, and APM with AWS IDP enhanced with Slack notifications. Explore how these technologies converge to streamline workflows, optimize performance, and ensure secure access, all while leveraging the power of AWS IDP and real-time communication via Slack notifications.
GraphRAG for Life Science to increase LLM accuracyTomaz Bratanic
GraphRAG for life science domain, where you retriever information from biomedical knowledge graphs using LLMs to increase the accuracy and performance of generated answers
How to Get CNIC Information System with Paksim Ga.pptxdanishmna97
Pakdata Cf is a groundbreaking system designed to streamline and facilitate access to CNIC information. This innovative platform leverages advanced technology to provide users with efficient and secure access to their CNIC details.
Dr. Sean Tan, Head of Data Science, Changi Airport Group
Discover how Changi Airport Group (CAG) leverages graph technologies and generative AI to revolutionize their search capabilities. This session delves into the unique search needs of CAG’s diverse passengers and customers, showcasing how graph data structures enhance the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated search results, mitigating the risk of “hallucinations” and improving the overall customer journey.
HCL Notes and Domino License Cost Reduction in the World of DLAUpanagenda
Webinar Recording: https://www.panagenda.com/webinars/hcl-notes-and-domino-license-cost-reduction-in-the-world-of-dlau/
The introduction of DLAU and the CCB & CCX licensing model caused quite a stir in the HCL community. As a Notes and Domino customer, you may have faced challenges with unexpected user counts and license costs. You probably have questions on how this new licensing approach works and how to benefit from it. Most importantly, you likely have budget constraints and want to save money where possible. Don’t worry, we can help with all of this!
We’ll show you how to fix common misconfigurations that cause higher-than-expected user counts, and how to identify accounts which you can deactivate to save money. There are also frequent patterns that can cause unnecessary cost, like using a person document instead of a mail-in for shared mailboxes. We’ll provide examples and solutions for those as well. And naturally we’ll explain the new licensing model.
Join HCL Ambassador Marc Thomas in this webinar with a special guest appearance from Franz Walder. It will give you the tools and know-how to stay on top of what is going on with Domino licensing. You will be able lower your cost through an optimized configuration and keep it low going forward.
These topics will be covered
- Reducing license cost by finding and fixing misconfigurations and superfluous accounts
- How do CCB and CCX licenses really work?
- Understanding the DLAU tool and how to best utilize it
- Tips for common problem areas, like team mailboxes, functional/test users, etc
- Practical examples and best practices to implement right away
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
Full-RAG: A modern architecture for hyper-personalizationZilliz
Mike Del Balso, CEO & Co-Founder at Tecton, presents "Full RAG," a novel approach to AI recommendation systems, aiming to push beyond the limitations of traditional models through a deep integration of contextual insights and real-time data, leveraging the Retrieval-Augmented Generation architecture. This talk will outline Full RAG's potential to significantly enhance personalization, address engineering challenges such as data management and model training, and introduce data enrichment with reranking as a key solution. Attendees will gain crucial insights into the importance of hyperpersonalization in AI, the capabilities of Full RAG for advanced personalization, and strategies for managing complex data integrations for deploying cutting-edge AI solutions.
Programming Foundation Models with DSPy - Meetup SlidesZilliz
Prompting language models is hard, while programming language models is easy. In this talk, I will discuss the state-of-the-art framework DSPy for programming foundation models with its powerful optimizers and runtime constraint system.
Programming Foundation Models with DSPy - Meetup Slides
Intergen Smarts 26 (2011)
1. >> T H E I N T E L L I G E N T B U S I N E S S M AG A Z I N E I S S U E 2 6
< Copyright 2011 Intergen Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of Intergen Limited >
INTERGENITE PHOTO GALLERY >> 2
WEB UPDATE >>
6MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX 2012 >>
7
8CONSULTING SERVICES
9OFFICE 365 >>
10MOBILITY >>
11POST PC COMPUTING >>
12
>> HOT NEWS
UX DESIGN FOR MOBILITY >> 3
WORLDWIDE PARTNER CONFERENCE >> 4
>>
INTERGEN'S DECADE {1.0} >>
5
Out with {decade 1.0}, in with {decade 2.0}
The Christchurch team has a new home
After months of cramped quarters, saintly
quantities of patience and plenty of
team morale to buoy them along, the
team (pictured, centre) moved into their
commodious new office in June.
Intergen celebrates its 10-year milestone
In June we turned 10… and we celebrated and
reflected accordingly. See page 12 for photos.
MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX 2012 >>
10 years ago a group of 38 people emerged from the Advantage Group and
Intergen was born. Since then, we’ve grown to almost 300 people in six locations
across New Zealand and Australia. We’ve completed thousands of projects
for hundreds of clients, using an ever-increasing
range of Microsoft technologies. The staff of
Intergen have become known as Intergenites.
Intergenites are dedicated to delivering the
absolute best solution to their clients and
take great pride in being innovative and
technically excellent. They love to see the
difference they make, and people benefiting
from the solutions they deliver.
In terms of other recent achievements, we were also incredibly
proud to achieve recognition from Microsoft at the annual Worldwide Partner
Conference in July, where we were awarded both Presidents Club and Inner Circle
status for 2011, both accolades reserved for the top Microsoft Dynamics Partners
worldwide. Inner Circle recognises us as being both the largest Dynamics licence
revenue provider in New Zealand and for achieving greater than 5% licence
revenue growth, placing us in the top 1% of Dynamics partners globally. As part
of these achievements, we receive attention from Microsoft executives at the
highest level. This is extremely valuable to us and to our clients.
Attending Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference is an amazing experience,
not just for the scale but also for the insights. Microsoft showed off some
fantastic new developments, including updates in Microsoft System Center.
This is a relatively new area for us but one in which we see a lot
of opportunity. We have assembled significant experience in
Microsoft System Center and we are already starting to deliver
some great solutions to help IT departments deploy and
manage their desktop and server environments.
Our annual Dynamics Day moved to Auckland this year. The
event allows us to share with the Dynamics community some
of the insights we have about the future of the products and
explore some ideas and possibilities that may help businesses
get even more benefit from their Dynamics investment. This year’s
event is the biggest yet, with well over 200 attendees registered from all over
New Zealand, some coming from as far as Australia.
We have very much enjoyed working with our clients over the past 10 years,
delivering solutions that have helped you achieve your goals. From where we
sit the future looks every bit as exciting and challenging as the past. We look
forward to continuing to help you achieve your goals for years to come.
In June we celebrated our 10-year anniversary. More than anything, the past 10 years have been
about people. We have a great team and we’re incredibly proud of what we have achieved.
Photo: The Christchurch team
tony.stewart@intergen.co.nz
2. >>2
1. Sydney Intergenites celebrate their new spacious work quarters
with a spot of indoor cricket.
2. And a spot of Xbox.
3. A Perth office social night out involves Craig Keenan demonstrating
his climbing skills (with a less than successful result).
4. Aiden, the Intergen guide dog, visits the Auckland office.
5. Organisers Lucy O'Neill and Josephine Hall reap the fruits of their
labour at the Wellington Young Professionals Cocktail party.
6/7. First day in the new Christchurch office.
8. Eugen Buzoianu celebrates one year at Intergen (and one year and
one day in New Zealand) with a giant yellow cake.
9. The Intergen Social Club Bake-Off winning entry.
10. Aaron Sinclair and Lee Herd put their tastebuds to the test as
bake-off judges.
11. The Christchurch indoor soccer team.
12. The Auckland team celebrates a mid-winter shared lunch.
>> I N T E R G E N I T E P H O T O G A L L E R Y
987
432
65
121110
1
>>2 < 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 S I X >
3. Designing the Mobile User Experience (UX)
The mobile web is different. Companies are hungry to know what to do with
mobile but many teams aren’t sure where to begin.
With an increasing number of mobile devices available, you must now
plan your online channel with mobile devices in mind, ensuring you have
the capability to be responsive to multiple display dimensions. Mobile user
experience presents us with the opportunity to craft new ways for people to
interact with your systems and content.
As a web designer, the good
news is that the design
methodology is similar to
designing for traditional
browser-based user interfaces
— of course with some
additional mobile-only
considerations for smaller
screen displays.
Designing a website that works seamlessly on both full-sized screens and
mobile devices can be challenging. Content that fits just fine on a large
screen may not quite work on smaller devices, and you cannot rely solely
on doing the technical work to tell the mobile browser to serve up the
presentation layer correctly.
Creating a mobile-ready website is not simply about removing the design
‘candy’ from your carefully crafted designs. We can’t just add in bigger call-
to-action buttons and expect our mobile experience to be a success.
We need to stay mindful of UX design principles in order to appeal to a
mobile audience. Here are some key considerations to bear in mind.
Know thy user
The best thing a mobile designer can do is observe human behaviour. It’s a
common misconception that UX for mobile is all about creating something
for users that are time poor, checking their mobile on the bus, train or
>> U X D E S I G N F O R M O B I L I T Y
>> INTERGENITE
April Hague-Smith
What do you do?
I’m a Web Strategist and User Experience
Designer in the Wellington office.
How do you make a difference?
I love problem solving and finding solutions
that the entire team is proud of and
passionate about. I have been working as an
Information Architect and Usability Specialist
since 2004. I'm passionate about what I do
for a living and believe it can benefit those
who use the experiences I design.
I enjoy helping public sector organisations,
commercial businesses and individuals
deliver the best possible online experience
for their customers and stakeholders. I have
achieved this through my knowledge and
practice of interaction design combined
with my experience involving customers
throughout the project lifecycle using a range
of user-centered design research techniques.
What do you love about your job?
I have been in agency land most of my
career, so it's great to see how the other side
tackles the same sort of project! It's great
to work with a team of people that have
such experience and knowledge within the
digital space and to be able to bring my own
knowledge and experience to the table.
walking along the street. In actual fact, people are now using their mobiles
at home as they would a laptop, preferring specific tools (or apps) available
to them on mobile.
Understand the medium
When you’re using your mobile phone to consume the web, rather than your
PC or laptop, instead of navigating via your mouse to interact with the web,
you’re now using your fingertips. This, of course, provides its own unique
challenges. You need to ensure that your design accommodates fingertip
navigation. Designers need to rethink conventional mouse-based interaction
– i.e. rollovers and dropdown menus. Be mindful of your own thinking and
age-old habits – don’t be constrained by past conventions.
Participate in the culture
If you don’t already own a mobile device, go out and buy one. You need to
participate in the culture that you are designing for. Embrace the chaos and
experience the ways in which this dynamic and interesting space is changing
each and every day. Stumble on your own usability frustrations and learn
from these in your own designs.
Prototype, prototype, prototype
Prototyping is important in an iterative user-centred design process.
Prototyping provides us with a space where we can test design alternatives,
generate new and better ideas, and gradually refine them into final design
solutions. Prototype early and often through the design process, continually
testing with users and iterating based on their feedback.
Mobile isn’t a fad. Forecasts predict that smartphones will outsell personal
computers this year. We need to ensure that our designs meet this increasing
demand and provide positive online mobile user experiences.
If you’d like to chat about your questions and concerns about how to design
for mobile user experience, we’re always keen to talk.
mark.delaney@intergen.co.nz.
Mobile design application requires a different approach.
>>3< 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 S I X >
4. >> 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
>> INTERGENITE
The curtains have fallen on another Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference
(WPC). Held in Los Angeles this year, this was the biggest WPC ever, with over
16,000 attendees converging from around the world. For those of us travelling
long distance, having the conference one stop away in LA was a bonus. As
always, Microsoft was an excellent host and looked after the large contingent of
partners, especially those new to the WPC experience.
I was joined at WPC this year by our CEO, Tony Stewart, and our Chief Operating
Officer, Simon Bright.
For me, WPC can be broken down into three key components, each of which is
equally valuable:
• Keynote and session updates. The opportunity to hear from Microsoft
executives including Steve Ballmer, Kevin Turner, Kirill Tatarinov and many
others about Microsoft’s vision for the future, and upcoming activities and
plans.
• Networking with Microsoft Executives and fellow partners from around
the world. The opportunity to hear first-hand about future plans and how we
are best positioned to leverage them.
• The Expo, renamed this year to the Solution Innovation Center. The
opportunity to meet key partners from all around the world that we represent
and work with.
While 2011 wasn’t a major ‘wave’ year for Microsoft, there was still plenty of
new stuff to discuss, see and hear about. Key technologies discussed included:
Wayne’s highlights from Microsoft
Worldwide Partner Conference 2011
• Cloud (Azure and Office 365)
• Windows Phone 7 ‘Mango’ release
• Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
• Windows Intune/Systems Center
There were two key highlights for me at this year’s event:
• Seeing the demo created by the Intergen team utilising CRM 2011, Office
365 and Azure at the Tuesday keynote.
• Receiving recognition for achieving Inner Circle status for the second year
in a row. This recognises Intergen’s position in the top 1% of Dynamics
partners worldwide. Plus we received Presidents Club status, recognising
the top 5% of Dynamics partners worldwide.
As with every other WPC I’ve attended, there were always more things to do
than time allowed, which is a shame when there are several important things
happening at the same time. That is an unfortunate reality of attending an
event of this scale. All in all another successful WPC.
Next year WPC heads back to Toronto (it was last there in 2004) and I’m sure
it will be another memorable event.
wayne.forgesson@intergen.co.nz
1. The red carpet treatment.
2. They must have heard we were coming?
3. We slummed it on a trip to Santa Monica.
2 3 4 5
4. A visit to the Microsoft store.
5. We built this demo.
>>4 < 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 S I X >
Tristyan Lebrun
What do you do?
I am a Senior CRM Consultant in Intergen’s
Sydney office.
How do you make a difference?
I love finding elegant solutions to complex
problems. I have been working in the CRM space
for over seven years now and have a strong
background in business analysis and project
management. I pride myself on developing
strong relationships with my customers and
as my background is in contact centre-based
CRM systems, I’m heavily focused on the user
experience when delivering projects.
What do you love about your job?
I am extremely excited to be part of the Sydney
office. I’m a self-confessed start-up junkie so for
me Intergen provides the best of both worlds
because for once, this “start-up” comes with the
added advantage of having a fully established
New Zealand practice behind it.
A bit about yourself…
I was born in Sydney and have lived most of my
life in the Inner West. I’m an amateur musician
and supporter of the local Sydney music
community. I make an effort to try and see as
much live music as possible in my spare time.
In the not so distant past I had a brief stint as
a professional poker player, however I realised
quickly that the seedy underworld of the poker
lifestyle was not for me, and now I only play
casually these days.
Tristyan Lebrun
What do you do?
I am a Senior CRM Consultant in Intergen’s
Sydney office.
How do you make a difference?
I love finding elegant solutions to complex
problems. I have been working in the CRM space
for over seven years now and have a strong
background in business analysis and project
management. I pride myself on developing
strong relationships with my customers and
as my background is in contact centre-based
CRM systems, I’m heavily focused on the user
experience when delivering projects.
What do you love about your job?
I am extremely excited to be part of the Sydney
office. I’m a self-confessed start-up junkie so for
me Intergen provides the best of both worlds
because for once, this “start-up” comes with the
added advantage of having a fully established
New Zealand practice behind it.
A bit about yourself…
I was born in Sydney and have lived most of my
life in the Inner West. I’m an amateur musician
and supporter of the local Sydney music
community. I make an effort to try and see as
much live music as possible in my spare time.
In the not so distant past I had a brief stint as
a professional poker player, however I realised
quickly that the seedy underworld of the poker
lifestyle was not for me, and now I only play
casually these days.
5. >> W E B U P D A T E
The Government of Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts
(DCA) enriches and supports Western Australians in the culture and arts
sectors, helping to support these sectors to provide unique and transforming
experiences. To help in doing this, DCA’s website needed to undergo its own
transformational experience.
A user friendly, good looking and manageable solution, attractive to users
and staff alike, was the order of the day, and DCA chose EPiServer as the web
platform to make this happen.
“What we needed could have been achieved on many platforms, but
EPiServer provided a user-friendly interface for the end user and an intuitive
and simple CMS tool for staff,” says Richard Denboer, DCA’s Web Systems
Manager.
Staff had found the old web solution difficult to update and to learn the
ropes on, and “the result was a clunky, messy website,” Richard explains. Ease
of use in the new system was paramount. The new content management
system needed to empower a wide range of content creators, the support
needed to be professional and responsive, and the product releases needed
to be kept on track.
Having a local website provider was also important to DCA. Richard says: “With
a solution selected that ticked all the boxes, we needed to find a local provider
that would provide a good quality service, good communication and ongoing
support.” Having Intergen on the ground in Perth proved useful. “Intergen
was excellent to deal with and provided great results. The communication was
excellent and the solution was delivered on time,” Richard says.
DCA now has a website its staff are proud of and confident in. As a CMS tool,
EPiServer is more intuitive, and as a destination it offers a far greater and more
dynamic user experience. DCA can now direct its users to a friendly, up-to-date
website that reflects its true purpose and provides a fitting showcase for local
arts and culture.
In summarising the greatest gains EPiServer has brought DCA, Richard says:
“It’s now really simple for us to change content on our website, and our people
are very well trained and confident. And that’s the reason why we purchased
EPiServer creates a fitting showcase for Western Australian arts and culture
Getting personal online
Customer engagement is critical for any website. With the explosion of
social media and web media in general, how users are influenced, consume
information, and make purchasing decisions has been altered forever. Our
expectations have changed significantly from the days when one set of
content sufficed for all.
Users are increasingly expecting company websites, products, and services
to be tailored to their individual preferences, past experiences, and what
they happen to be doing – at that moment, in real-time. This puts new
demands on organisations to create personalised and engaging experiences
for their audiences. Returning visitors to a website want to see a page based
on all the information collected from previous visits, while new visitors are
expecting customised messages based on their location or activity.
EPiServer – because it’s simple and easy to use,
and allows us to change our content quickly and
confidently – and we’re happy with that!”
EPiServer has recently updated its core EPiServer platform, combining
personalisation capabilities across content, community, commerce, and
communication ensuring organisations can target personalised content on
their websites, online stores and communities.
Organisations using the latest version of EPiServer can now allow their
marketing teams to deliver targeted and personalised content across any
of these properties, ensuring information is relevant and timely – giving
visitors the information they need to make decisions, or perform transactions.
Demographic and behavioural data such as location, the number of visits they
have had, the pages that have been viewed, search terms, and many other
factors are used to easily and clearly identify visitors and use these factors to
tailor experiences.
We see potential for organisations of all kinds to
adopt these solutions and ensure they deliver a
tailored experience for their audiences – internal
or external. These capabilities deliver the flexibility
to ensure the right information is reaching the
right people, ensuring your investment in your web
solutions delivers maximum value.
If you'd like to talk about the latest offerings from
EPiServer, email wayne.forgesson@intergen.co.nz
>>5< 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 S I X >
6. Introducing Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 has reached “General
Availability” and is soon to be officially launched at a
virtual global event. In recent months Intergen has been
working with several customers who have been eager
to get on board early with the latest release of AX. And
while it’s early days, we can see some excellent business
productivity stories emerging already. We look forward
to being able to tell some of these soon.
There are plenty of Dynamics partners to choose from.
Why choose the Intergen Dynamics team?
A successful implementation is about more than just technology. It’s about
forming a trusted partnership with your technology provider and knowing that
they “get” the unique needs of your business – and that they can build solutions
that meet and can continue to evolve with them.
In the Microsoft world we often talk about leveraging the stack. Interoperability
is key to Dynamics AX, and it’s a platform that works at its best when drawing
upon and working with Microsoft’s other complementary technologies. To make
the most of the Dynamics range, you need to have a depth and breadth of
specialist Microsoft resources on hand. Gone are the days of a single Dynamics
consultant backed by a team of multi-purpose developers. And this is where we
can do what our competitors can’t, drawing on deep Microsoft expertise right
across the business, bringing specialist knowledge to all areas of your project.
Finding a partner who is as passionate as we are about the strategic application
of Microsoft technology is key to the success of any project.
Plus we inSure a great result.
As well as bringing the scope and depth of resources you need to a project,
we also give you the assurance that your solution is in good hands with us.
We’ve taken Microsoft’s SureStep methodology and melded this with Intergen’s
own tried and true application and governance model to create inSure. inSure
combines our existing business process focused approach and extends the
Microsoft SureStep methodology.
The Dynamics AX 2012 proposition.
With more than 1,000 new features and enhancements to talk about, we’ll keep
it simple here. After all, for all these new features, AX is still all about simplicity.
And familiarity. And ‘pervasive interoperability’. (And power and value.)
Darren Wilson of Westland Milk Product explains Westland’s consideration of
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012:
“We intend on implementing Process Industries for
Dynamics AX2012, and have entered the design phase
for this. We evaluated our options and an upgrade to
Dynamics AX 2012 was the ideal all-in-one solution for our
process manufacturing, product traceability and wireless
warehousing needs."
>> M I C R O S O F T D Y N A M I C S A X 2 012
James Page is Intergen's Practice Principal, Dynamics Solutions.
>>6 < 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 S I X >
7. Here are some of the key features, as we see them:
1. RoleTailored User Interface
The new user interface works just like the familiar Microsoft Office
products. Enhancements to the RoleTailored user interface include
FactBoxes, Fast Tabs and Preview Panes that let you view data from
multiple sources without leaving the current form. Word and Excel work
bi-directionally with AX 2012, and Microsoft Office add-ins allow you
to view, analyse and update information within AX. And collaboration
through SharePoint workspaces allows teams to quickly organise and share
information.
2. Built-in Industry Capabilities
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 offers industry-specific capabilities out of
the box, with support for public sector, manufacturing, services, retail,
wholesale and distribution businesses included in this latest release. AX
2012 combines and makes these capabilities available to all customers,
which is a bonus for complex organisations requiring capabilities for more
than one industry.
3. Core ERP Suite Capabilities
In a nutshell: there are more capabilities than ever, and they’re better
than ever. New capabilities include supplier relationship management,
case management and the Audit Work Bench, as well as enhancements
in finance, sales and marketing, procurement, project accounting, human
capital management, supply chain management, inventory management,
and global risk and compliance.
4. The Application Foundation
Master data, reference data and global engines are the foundation of the
application. The enhancements in these three areas simplify the definition
of master and reference data and the use of global engines across the
multi-entity enterprise.
5. Business Intelligence and Reporting
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 BI and Reporting includes more than 800
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reports, 11 SQL Server Analytics Server
data cubes and enhancements to the framework, providing out of the box KPIs
for different roles.
6. The Framework
There are a number of structural enhancements in this release designed for
increased IT efficiency and value. These include a graphical workflow editor
and cloud-based services that help reduce IT complexity and front-end capital
requirements. New programming concepts help IT professionals write less code.
Role-based security accelerates the implementation of internal controls, and
a host of new and improved Enterprise Portal features deliver the benefits of
Microsoft AX 2012 through the internet and a web browser.
In all, Dynamics AX is a product designed for agility, so you can “adapt quickly
to change, expand into new markets and develop innovative products and
services.” Sound like something you’d like to know more about? We’d love to
talk to you about your next step into the “new generation” of ERP.
james.page@intergen.co.nz
>> M I C R O S O F T D Y N A M I C S A X 2 012
Couldn’t make it to this
year’s Dynamics Day?
If you couldn’t make it to Intergen’s Dynamics
Day this year, but still want to learn about the
latest developments in the world of Microsoft
Dynamics, never fear. We’ll be making post-
event synopses and highlights available at
www.intergen.co.nz/dynamicsday for you to
peruse at your leisure. (And, of course, we
have a team of Dynamics experts on hand
year-round who will happily talk through your
questions at any stage.)
As the biggest event of its kind in New
Zealand – a business-focused event tailored
to ERP and CRM users – Dynamics Day has
proved to be a sell-out success (even though
the event is free) for three years running,
with delegate numbers well in excess of 200
this year.
Look out for Dynamics Day ’11 updates,
highlights and photos in the next edition of
SMARTS, due out later this year.
Members of Intergen’s Dynamics team, Steven Foster
and Derek Lamb, spreading the word about Microsoft
Dynamics at a recent New Zealand Institute of
Chartered Accountants’ event, held at Microsoft
New Zealand.
>>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 S I X >
8. >> C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C E S
We help our clients get maximum value from their improved (or new)
processes and systems by ensuring they are deployed properly. At the end
of the day it is usually people who are using the systems, and they need to
be supported through training, communications, and change management
to help them adopt improved ways of working. We help ensure change
initiatives are successful by managing the cultural, behavioural and
organisational changes required.
We help our clients ensure they will continue to get added value from their
systems and processes by defining effective governance structures so they
continue to gain additional value throughout the life of the system.
We help our clients by performing business and technology health checks
– of their technology plans and their alignment with their business goals;
of their current technology and how well it supports their business; of
specific business processes to identify quick-win improvements; and of their
information management and collaboration strategies.
If you would like to find out more about how we can help you unlock the
value in your business, contact our experienced business and technical
consultants in our Consulting and Architecture Services team.
paddy.payne@intergen.co.nz
Most of our clients are introducing new systems
and processes so they can operate at an increased
level of effectiveness and efficiency, or offer new
services to their markets. Simply put, they are in
the business of transforming their own business.
But sometimes we see decisions being made that
reduce the value an organisation will get from its
technology investments, such as:
• Parochial interests, where one business unit
focusses on their own needs and opportunities
are missed to work with other units to build
something that is greater than the sum of
the parts.
• Automating inefficient processes that should
really be redesigned or optimised before any
systems are built.
• Not bringing the users of the system along on
the ride, and the benefits of the investment
becoming diluted from low user uptake.
Unlocking the value in your business
We help our clients avoid these issues and help them unlock the value in
their business.
We achieve this by working with them at a strategic level to unlock value by
aligning their use of technology with their business objectives through the
development of strategies, roadmaps and transformation plans. We then work
with our clients at an operational level to help them translate their strategies
into effective and executable programmes of work and projects that will
unlock the value in their business.
We help our clients look at the big picture – looking across their business
from all angles such as strategy, technology, process and people. We have
business and technology architects and analysts that help develop an
enterprise-wide view. Think of the construction business. The architect gets
involved at the start of the project to help the client understand their needs,
conceptualise how those needs can be met, to design a solution that will
meet those needs and then to monitor and advise the builders and other
parties to ensure the original vision is achieved. And that’s what we do, both
from a business and technical perspective. We work with our clients at the
big picture level, looking across the organisation, helping them clarify their
high level requirements and then defining and framing them so that all
participants have a clear, shared understanding.
We help our clients prioritise their projects to give them the best bang for
their buck, to identify the key benefits and to gain early success by picking
low hanging fruit.
Although many people think of Intergen as a “technology company,” that is actually far from the
whole truth. Yes, we’re passionate about technology, but we are equally passionate about helping
organisations become more successful and delivering more value for their customers and staff.
In fact our vision statement doesn’t even mention technology – “Everyone, every day, is touched
positively by the things we do.” We are driven by making the world a better place!
Paddy Payne is Intergen's Director, Consulting and Architecture Services.
>>8 < 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 S I X >
9. >> O F F I C E 3 6 5
Microsoft’s latest cloud offering brings together online
versions of its best communications and collaboration tools.
With a range of packages catering for all business scenarios – from small
business to enterprise level solutions – and with pricing plans starting at less
than $10 per person per month, there are a number of reasons to sit up and
take notice of Office 365.
Why consider Office 365?
Work from anywhere, at any time, on virtually any device.
Gone are the traditional ‘four walls’ of the office. Work how you want,
where you want.
Spend less on IT, and know exactly what you’re spending.
Save your IT budget for the big projects. With Office 365 you pay only for the
services you need.
Take organisational collaboration to new heights.
Conduct online meetings with colleagues and customers, making the most of
the latest audio, video and screen sharing technologies. Share your calendar;
important business information and documents; create sites for collaboration.
Free up your IT resources.
Office 365 fully manages and supports its offerings, providing 24/7 IT-level
phone support.
Stay online and stay protected.
99.9% uptime guaranteed, the latest virus and spam protection, and
geographically-distributed data centres with backup and disaster recovery.
What does Office 365 include?
It’s not one size fits all – there are multiple plans available to fit different
company needs, including: Microsoft Office Web Apps or Microsoft Office
Professional Plus, Microsoft Lync Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and
Microsoft SharePoint Online.
Big business benefits on a small business budget with Office 365
Why MedRecruit leapt at the chance to get on board with Office 365
Queenstown-based medical recruitment company MedRecruit is all
about offering doctors work-life balance and the chance to see the world
while working. With 20 staff spread across Australasia, and a network of
international contacts, MedRecruit needs low-maintenance and highly
flexible IT systems that “just work”. As a company in growth mode, first-
rate international collaboration was becoming increasingly important. For
MedRecruit, no matter where in the world a MedRecruit staff member or
customer happens to be, the smooth running of business processes and
uninterrupted communications are a must. And as a small business with huge
reach and big aspirations, Office 365 perfectly fitted MedRecruit’s brief.
As very early adopters of Office 365, MedRecruit founder, Sam Hazeldine, is
already counting the benefits Office 365 is bringing.
“We needed a platform that didn’t require us to run our own servers, something
low maintenance and 100% reliable that we didn’t have to think about. Our
email is critical to the operation of our business. If it goes down, business stops,
we can’t access our records and there are all sorts of things that can’t proceed.
Before Office 365, these downtimes were time-consuming for us, and an
inefficient use of our resources. We wanted to get rid of the overhead and time
wastage that was causing strain on our processes,” he says.
Having the latest communication and collaboration technologies on hand is
proving a boon for business, too.
“We’re already fully utilising our solution amongst our Australasian operation,”
Sam continues, “and we’re looking at various other international opportunities,
so having a robust communication platform is critical for us; it’s a support
mechanism for our international expansion plans. Communication amongst our
team is super important and now we can support our team no matter where
they are. Through Office 365 we’re able to talk to and message each other,
which allows us to stay in touch with what’s happening in both countries. This
improved communication definitely gives us a competitive advantage.”
Office 365’s benefits lie in the numerous simple
things that make working life easier, Sam points
out. “There are so many little things that help
improve efficiencies and are absolutely useful,
like instead of walking down the hall – or calling
someone overseas – to see if someone is free, you
can check their calendar online, and see their
availability via ‘presence',” he says.
MedRecruit's founder, Dr Sam Hazledine, shows how work-life
balance can be achieved.
>>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 S I X >
10. 8 reasons Mango tastes so good
5. Social Integration. Windows Live, Facebook, Twitter
and LinkedIn are seamlessly linked to your contacts and
updates in Windows Phone Mango. Viewing a contact
with linked social information will show you their
Facebook updates, photo uploads, and phone history
(calls, text messages, emails and everything else in
one list). If that’s not enough, when communicating
with a friend, it’s super-simple to switch between
communication modes on the fly.
6. Contact Groups. Take the social networking features mentioned above,
add in calls and text messages, then link them all together with contact
groups. Click on your “Family” group tile, and you’ll see recent status
updates, photos, and communications from that group. Hit one button
to send a group email or text message to all the group members.
7. Bing Audio and Bing Vision. Hold your phone up to a music source
and Bing Audio will identify it for you. Likewise, show Bing Vision some
text or a bar code using the integrated camera on your Windows Phone,
and Bing Vision will recognise the text (or bar code, or QR code).
8. Xbox Live Updates. With the Mango update, Windows Phone
cements its place as the phone to have for gamers. The Xbox hub is
completely redesigned, bringing your Xbox avatar, friends, games and
achievements to the fore.
Overall, Microsoft has added in the order of 500 new features and 1,500
new developer APIs to Mango, so whichever way you look at it, it’s one heck
of a juicy update.
ben.gracewood@intergen.co.nz
>> M O B I L I T Y
Microsoft is about to release a major update to its
new Windows Phone platform. Codenamed “Mango,"
this new update will include a swathe of new features
designed to catch up with, and surpass, competitors in
the smartphone market.
Why does Mango taste so good? Let me count the ways…
1. Live Tiles. Windows Phone uses a unique tile-based layout on the home
screen. Tiles provide you with “glance and go” information, showing you
everything from unread message counts to Facebook updates. Developers
can now create additional tiles for applications which take you straight to
the information you need.
2. Advanced Multi-tasking. Microsoft has worked hard to combine
the functionality of background processing with the battery life and
performance we expect from our phones. The result in Mango is a rich
background processing framework which allows developers to offload tasks
like large downloads and status updates to the operating system.
3. New Hardware Features. The new Mango hardware specification adds
faster processors, better 3D graphics, and a sensitive gyroscope to the
Windows Phone hardware. With new phones coming from Nokia, Samsung,
HTC and others, there’ll be plenty of sexy hardware available by the end
of 2011. But wait: if you already have a Windows Phone, Mango will work
perfectly on your device too. Microsoft has promised the software update
will be available for all existing hardware.
4. Internet Explorer 9. Using the same underlying engine as Microsoft’s
flagship desktop web browser, Internet Explorer 9 on Windows Phone
brings HTML5 compatibility and blazing-fast Javascript performance to
the phone.
Ben Gracewood
What do you do?
I’m a Solutions Architect in Intergen’s
Auckland office. I make ideas into reality,
whether that’s by crystallising ideas into
concrete plans, or actually building software.
How do you make a difference?
My background in banking, operational
IT and management has taught me that
pragmatism and solid code are the roots of
great solutions. I help ensure that we don’t
over-engineer solutions, while at the same
time focusing on the bits that truly matter:
security, stability and solution-fit.
What do you love about your job?
I call myself a recovering manager. Having
successfully led teams of developers and
watched them deliver great software, I’ve
come to the realisation that I truly love
building software. I love that this role lets
me get my hands dirty!
A bit about yourself…
I’m a geek, and I’m proud of it. My Lego
space shuttle has pride of place on my desk,
I change phones more often than most
people change shoes, and I blog about
gadgets and software. I’m married to my
high-school sweetheart, and we have two
gorgeous kids.
>> INTERGENITE
>>10 < 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 S I X >
11. >> POST PC COMPUTING
Computing is changing. For the best part of three
decades, information workers have been accustomed to
creating and consuming data and information through
desktop personal computers. Hardware and software
makers have benefitted from this trend, and now the
PC is entrenched in our daily lives – both business and
personal.
Leading analyst firms are now predicting that shipments of smartphone
devices will soon surpass personal computers for the first time. Tablet devices
are also selling in the tens of millions of units, adding fuel to the argument
that the industry is entering a phase where the personal computer is no
longer the dominant computing device. Does this mean the PC is dead?
Reports of the PC's death are exaggerated
Borrowing from Mark Twain, the rise of smartphone and tablet devices will
not kill but will rather complement the desktop PC and laptop form factors for
many years to come.
Whilst Microsoft has long been a proponent of slate, or tablet, devices, it’s
been the smart design and polished execution of the Apple iPhone and iPad
that have triggered a new wave of innovation within the computing industry
and have largely been responsible for the “post PC” discussion.
Despite the impact of these devices, and the waves of devices that will come
into the market, the PC is by no means dead.
Forrester Research forecasts that, even in the US where this change is
occurring most rapidly and the PC is a mature market, consumer laptop sales
will still grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8% between 2010 and
2015, while desktop PC sales will only slightly decline. By 2015 though, while
Forrester estimates 140 million US consumers will possess laptops, 82 million
consumers will own a tablet or slate device.
In other words, there’s room for all kinds of devices. Microsoft has always
talked of the proverbial “three screens”: the phone, the PC and the television.
Inevitably, this story has evolved to include tablets as well – as it must, as this
is what the market wants. There is a significant groundswell towards tablet
devices and Microsoft is evolving its story to counter its increasingly popular
and influential competitors.
Head in the sand strategy?
But while the PC still has years of life left in it, the next release of Windows
– Windows 8 – will be carefully monitored to see if it embraces the change
towards mobile computing or tries to ignore it. Early previews of Windows 8
have shown that Microsoft is fully aware of the market desire to adopt tablet
devices and is building an OS that can be used in multiple form factors. More
will be revealed at Microsoft’s Build conference in September.
Critics of Microsoft believe it has to think radically differently in order
to maintain its pivotal role in the computing ecosystem. By religiously
maintaining its focus on Windows, Microsoft has been accused of being
hell-bent on protecting its Windows franchise, risking it all by adopting the
proverbial “head in the sand” strategy. Putting aside the financial implications
of weakening its Windows franchise (which are significant), is Microsoft
wanting to protect the short-term while ignoring the long-term? Should it
rethink its dependencies and pursue a strategy less dependent on Windows?
Whatever Microsoft does, it’s being closely watched. With 400 million PCs
now running Windows 7, there is a significant user base that will deliver value
for the company for many years to come – and that’s ignoring the earlier
versions of the operating system out there.
Enterprises are a proven market for Microsoft and its offerings. Enterprises
rely on a familiar, stable and – importantly – manageable operating system,
something that other OS vendors can’t currently rival. While consumers may
be attracted by the hardware and software of other vendors, priorities are
different in the enterprise, where productivity and stability remain topmost
in enterprise CIOs’ minds. Enterprises have also invested significant sums in
Is the personal computer dead?
management tools and employee training, so any
purchasing decision needs to take a broad cross-
section of considerations into account. In other
words, in the enterprise where the real money is
for Microsoft and where Windows 8 could quickly
build up some serious momentum.
Hardware makers are also going to support
Microsoft. While the likes of HP and Dell will
produce non-Microsoft-based devices, for true
mass adoption – particularly in the enterprise –
Microsoft will never not be in the mix, and these
manufacturers will create new hardware designs to
differentiate in the market, creating more choice
for purchasers.
It’s about the users
Ultimately, the success of any technology offering
is dependent on the marketplace and what the
users want. The reality is we’re all going to create
and consume information in different ways, at
different times and in different places – and we’re
going to use a range of devices in the process.
Tablet devices are going to make their way into
organisations either by design or accident, and the
next few years will be critical for Microsoft to show
it has the vision and smarts to pivot itself and
adapt to a marketplace that’s rapidly evolving.
tim.howell@intergen.co.nz
Tim Howell is Intergen's Marketing Manager.
>>11< 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 S I X >
12. Intergen turns 10 and
celebrates in style
Intergen’s recent decade {1.0} milestone was
celebrated by the team on both sides of the
Tasman. We reflected on the years gone by,
noting the milestones and the changes that have
taken place over a decade, charging our glasses
to 10 years of making a difference and painting
the IT scene yellow.
Suffice to say, Intergen 2001 and Intergen 2011
are markedly different, and yet much has stayed
the same. Over the past 10 years there have been
significant changes in technology, and Intergen
has experienced huge growth and change.
10 years on, our staff numbers are approaching
the 300 mark (with more than 800 staff having
passed through the ranks over the course of a
decade); our Big Hairy Audacious Goal (that
everyone, every day is touched positively by the
things we do) lives on; we seem have always sat
naturally at a 1:3 female/male ratio; we’ve put
more than $108 million in salaries back into the
economy; we’ve completed thousands of projects
and have provided careers for more than 72
graduates starting to make their way in the IT
world. Who knows what decade 2.0 will hold?
>> I N T E R G E N ' S D E C A D E { 1. 0 }>>12 < 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 S I X >
< AUCKLAND +64 9 966 3070 > < WELLINGTON +64 4 472 2021 < SYDNEY +61 2 9241 6616 >
< CHRISTCHURCH +64 3 964 0017 > < DUNEDIN +64 3 477 5648 > < PERTH +61 8 9228 9990 >
< info@intergen.co.nz – www.intergen.co.nz – www.intergen.com.au – info@intergen.com.au >FIND OUT MORE ABOUT INTERGEN