Series 4 .NET live Taking business to the next level These case studies are for informational purposes only. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, in this summary. Microsoft, Windows, .NET, Windows NT and Visual Studio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital or mechanical, including scanning, photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without first obtaining permission in writing from the publisher.

© 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. CONTENTS .NET live

Introduction ...... 2

Financial Services JPMorgan Chase ...... 9 PayHound ...... 13 Willis Group Holdings ...... 17

Retail Services Benjys ...... 23 Dial-a-Phone ...... 27 Sainsbury’s ...... 31 Scottish and Southern Energy ...... 37

Industry Adecco ...... 43 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer ...... 47 Mercer ...... 51 StreamServe ...... 55

Entertainment and Media Ministry of Sound ...... 59

1 Getting started with .NET

Microsoft® .NET is making a real difference to working for some time thousands of enterprises all over the world. with companies asking Microsoft’s catalogue of hundreds of case exactly these kinds of studies, representing just the tip of the iceberg questions. The answers of .NET adoption, shows that this differ for different extraordinary technology is being adopted at a companies in different phenomenal rate. situations, but often The benefits of .NET are clear and proven: there are two key steps Lars Lindstedt Manager, Microsoft remarkable productivity and speed to market; in dealing with Technology Centre (UK) ability to scale to the largest enterprises and concerns and clearing most demanding workloads; built with Web away doubts: Agree a clear understanding of Services at its heart and with interoperability the business problem with buy-in from the in mind; and simply unrivalled in terms of highest level of the organisation; and build a return on investment (ROI). working prototype in a very short timeframe Some IT executives, however, are still that proves the technology delivers on the questioning how .NET can add value to their requirements, and demonstrates the solution business. Although .NET is used by the London to the project sponsors. Stock Exchange, will it scale for my application? Although Marks & Spencer A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING realised a first year 415% return on Gaining a clear understanding of the business investment, will it really be able to deliver the issues is a well-understood and accepted first productivity gains I’m looking for? And step in the development of any technology although the Bank of New York enjoyed a solution. And .NET is no different – Microsoft 30% faster time to market, will .NET provide and its partners have found that time-boxed me with a similar advantage? strategy and design sessions, involving key Microsoft and its partners have been stakeholders and technology experts, can be a

2 very effective way to deliver an approach for can provide a real boost to the team and can the development of an appropriate prototype, help the project to achieve the profile and which can then be turned into a complete backing it needs to move to the solution- business solution. building stage. A further factor is the environment: ensuring that this critical solution-definition BUILDING THE SOLUTION work is undertaken away from the day-to-day In working with customers and partners to workplace and with the appropriate facilities build prototypes using the approach described for sharing ideas and capturing output. above, Microsoft has found that the transition from prototype to business solution can BUILDING A PROTOTYPE sometimes be challenging for organisations, Although such design sessions will lay out a due mainly to: vision for the solution, there may be technical • losing momentum generated during the and business questions that need to be prototype stage answered before a full-scale implementation • difficulty in adapting the project’s processes can be started. These questions define the and culture to cope with an extended scope for the development of the prototype, development team and longer timescales Successful prototyping requires not just • lack of commitment and sponsoring from the clarity of vision and scope, but also very crisp executive team, leading to a lack of budget. execution. Because it forms an integral part of While not created specifically to address the decision-making process, the timescales these problems, the Microsoft Solutions need to be measured in weeks not months. Framework provides guidelines on how to The ideal is to put together a small, dedicated structure teams, how to adopt an iterative and committed team and put them into the development process, how to track and right environment with all the resources they manage risks, and guidance on many other need to be at their most productive. typical development processes. Developed from Developers often find this kind of the experiences of Microsoft field staff and environment to be massively motivating, industry best practice, the Microsoft Solutions largely because it plays to their sense of Framework can provide useful insights and creativity, fosters a powerful team working guidance to help ensure that the business experience, and delivers a real tangible result solution realises the potential demonstrated by in short timescales. The final presentation day, the prototype. It can be downloaded from where the results of the ‘Proof of Concept’ are http://www.microsoft.com/msf. played to the sponsors and executives, can Taking on these methods is by no means a often be extremely uplifting for all concerned, pre-requisite to running a successful .NET

3 project and any existing tried and trusted Lindstedt continues, “In the short time that development model can be used, but be the MTC has existed, we have seen an amazing prepared to compress your timescales when variety of innovative prototypes that are now the developer productivity liberated by .NET being turned into projects that will be catalysts and the Microsoft development platform starts for real business improvements once the full to make an impact! solutions are implemented.” Microsoft utilises a well-defined approach THE MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY CENTRE with MTC projects that builds on the key To help larger enterprises implement the kind principles mentioned earlier: Get clarity on the of approach described in this article in their business issues, then build a working .NET adoption projects, Microsoft has recently prototype in short timescales to demonstrate established a state-of-the-art Technology the capabilities of the solution and to clear Centre at Reading with support from partners away questions or concerns. The MTC Unisys, HP, Dell, Cisco, APC, CCC and Insight. approach has three stages: This centre provides customers, partners and • High-level Strategy Briefing to help clients ISVs with an optimal environment for learning, understand the capabilities of Microsoft .NET. designing, architecting and building connected This includes a brainstorming session to solutions on the Microsoft platform. establish a list of business benefits required. It has already proved invaluable to • Architecture Design Session, where customers such as House of Fraser, totaljobs Microsoft consultants work with clients and and other major enterprise customers. Lars partners for two to three days to establish Lindstedt, Microsoft Technology Centre (MTC) how Microsoft .NET can help them achieve manager in the UK, agrees: their business goals and provide guidance on “We created the MTC so that we can invite architectural best practice. developers from enterprise organisations to • Proof of Concept where Microsoft works experience the power of .NET in an with clients and partners for up to three weeks environment that is designed from the ground to build an operational prototype that will up with the needs of the developer in mind. demonstrate the ability of the solution to By working alongside consultants from address the business issues. Microsoft and our partners, the developers that spend time with us get a real boost from TOTALJOBS their new-found technical knowledge and For James Cahill, chief technology officer at usually leave with a real passion for what the leading online recruitment specialist totaljobs, technologies can do for their business.” the experience of working with a sound Referring to the success of the facility development approach at the MTC has been

4 invaluable. Initially, totaljobs was working with different aspects of job search functions, for systems that were coming to the end of their example, can now be exposed quickly and lifespan, and needed to plan for a scaleable easily as Web Services. totaljobs also opted to future. work with Visual Studio® .NET, a development “We didn’t just want to move to Microsoft tool that reduces the time required to create .NET for the sake of it,” says Cahill. “Instead, new applications. we wanted proof that any new technology Cahill says: “Working with Microsoft at the would help us build a fully integrated, future- MTC has helped us clarify our IT strategy. The proof, best-practice computing environment. experience has been a significant factor in We also needed to minimise the risk of new removing any doubts we had about this technology implementations.” technology’s ability to be critical to our Before implementing its new .NET-powered business going forward.” solution, totaljobs identified four key business requirements. These included: HOUSE OF FRASER • The ability to rapidly develop a range of job In 2002, House of Fraser, Britain’s leading boards across a number of customer websites; department store group, began work on a • A data loading Web Service to integrate data new customer ordering and point of sale in different formats and load it onto the system (COPOS), looking for a solution capable totaljobs site; of supporting multi-channel retailing. The POS • The use of Microsoft MapPoint to provide element was to be powered by Microsoft users with new location-based job searches; Windows® XP Embedded, Microsoft’s retail- • Investigation of Microsoft Notification hardened operating system. To develop the Services to send applicants and employers solution, House of Fraser’s IT team began messages instantly by email or SMS when their working with both Microsoft and the search criteria are matched. Microsoft partner, Unipower Solutions, to gain “After taking part in a proof of concept an understanding of developing with the exercise at the MTC, we were able to develop a Microsoft .NET Framework. .NET-based solution that brings us real business Mike Roberts, Store Application Support benefits,” says Cahill. “Our back-office systems manager, House of Fraser, says: “Previously, we can now integrate with all areas of the website had in-store servers to process and store sales via XML Web Services, reducing the need for information in each outlet. These servers had recoding. Web Services are also used to push become very difficult and expensive to content to a range of third-party job boards.” maintain. We wanted a new solution that The time taken to develop new job boards would remove this burden by taking servers out has also been reduced with .NET. All the of stores.

5 “With the old system, each store was an ability to trickle data from in-store tills to a island. For example, a product purchased in one central server cluster and to change product store could not be validated if it was returned descriptions and prices centrally and as often to any other store location. Each store’s tills as necessary. could only access their own in-store server.” Roberts says: “Various people had ideas on The new architecture, built using the how we might achieve parts of this project, but Microsoft .NET Framework, will enable each till our work at the MTC helped show us which to access a central server cluster via the approaches were correct and which were not Internet. This will ensure that store staff right for us. Developers from Unipower also always have access to the latest sales benefited enormously.” transaction information across all House of By taking part in a proof of concept exercise Fraser locations. at the MTC, Microsoft and Unipower Through working at the MTC, House of consultants demonstrated how elements of Fraser was able to identify key requirements the new solution could be developed quickly for the new solution. These included the using replicable code and XML Web Services.

Microsoft technologies explained

The Microsoft® .NET Framework is a component of the Windows productive environment for development and integration with virtual- operating system that provides the programming model for building, ly any data source, ranging from local SQL Server CE databases to deploying, and running web-based applications, smart client applica- enterprise back ends. The Compact Framework’s unified, hierarchical tions, and eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) Web Services. It pro- class library enables software developers to rapidly construct rich user vides a highly productive, standards-based, multi-language interfaces, access native operating system methods, and interoperate environment for integrating existing investments with next-genera- with assets on the device, such as the infrared data port and other tion applications and services, as well as the agility to solve the chal- hardware extensions. For more information, go to: lenges of deployment and operation of Internet-scale applications. http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework

The .NET Framework consists of two main parts: the Common Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET is the rapid application development

Language Runtime and a hierarchical set of unified class libraries that (RAD) tool for building next-generation web applications and XML includes a componentised version of ASP .NET, a loosely coupled Web Services. Visual Studio .NET empowers developers to rapidly data access subsystem (ADO .NET), and an environment for building design broad-reach web applications for any device and any plat- rich Windows-based applications (Windows Forms). form. In addition, Visual Studio .NET is fully integrated with the .NET

The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, a subset of the .NET Framework, providing support for multiple programming languages

Framework, extends the benefits of developer productivity and XML and automatically handling many common programming tasks, free-

Web Services integration to resource-constrained devices, such as ing developers to rapidly create web applications using their lan-

Pocket PC and other Windows CE-based systems. It provides a highly guage of choice. Visual Studio .NET includes a single IDE with RAD

6 built on the Microsoft .NET Framework. being used to integrate disparate systems and “We have a new concept ‘World of Food’ bring solutions to market rapidly. opening in our flagship Birmingham store at With a structured approach that proves the the beginning of September, so it was critical capability of the technology in short that we achieve a rapid time to market for the timescales, organisations can clear away any new solution. Our work at the MTC showed doubts that might be raised, significantly .NET to be a highly productive development reducing perceived risks. The very nature of environment and positioned us to create a .NET, with its rapid development capability, fully-operational enterprise-wide solution makes it ideal for this type of approach – an within this challenging timeframe.” approach that Microsoft and its partners have put to good effect in helping organisations to REAL VALUE get the most out of .NET Read on to discover The Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual how organisations from Adecco to to the Studio .NET are already delivering real value to Ministry of Sound have benefited from their businesses of all sizes. These technologies are own Microsoft .NET implementations. ■

features for building web applications and middle-tier business messaging infrastructure with value-added collaborative solutions.

logic, and RAD XML designers for working with data. For informa- Exchange 2000 is part of Microsoft’s .NET Enterprise Server family

tion, go to: http://www.visualstudio.net for building, deploying, and managing next-generation integrated

Microsoft Visual Studio is at the heart of MSDN® Subscriptions, a web experiences. For more information, go to:

premier software service that provides developers with the latest http://microsoft.com/exchange

development tools. To learn more about MSDN Subscriptions, go to: Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2000 is for orchestrating business

http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/prodinfo/overview.asp processes within and between organisations. It enables an organi-

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server™ provides rock-solid messaging sation to build dynamic business processes, easily integrate applica-

and collaboration 24 hours a day, seven days a week-with low total tions and business partners, and ensure interoperability using

cost of ownership. Designed with mission-critical performance in public standards. For more information, go to:

mind, Exchange enables access to the people and information you http://www.microsoft.com/uk/servers/biztalk

want, anytime and from anywhere. Combining industry-leading reli- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server is the server operating system

ability and scalability with unmatched ease of management, for line-of-business applications and e-commerce. It provides you

Exchange 2000 seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Windows® with the opportunity to Internet-enable your business, gain

2000 operating system and takes advantage of the full power of advanced manageability and take advantage of the best new

the Windows 2000 Microsoft Active Directory® service and security devices. For more information, go to:

features. With Exchange 2000, businesses can further leverage their http://www.microsoft.com/uk/servers

7 .NET live Financial Services Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

JPMorgan Chase Boosts Development Overview Productivity by Building FIX.NET Based Customer Profile JPMorgan Chase is a leading Automated Trading System global financial services firm prominent in investment JPMorgan Chase wanted to build an automated trading system for banking, asset management, private banking, retail the bank’s European equities traders as quickly as possible to financial services and e- increase the capabilities of the equity trading desk. Traditionally a finance. Java house, the bank chose to build the system using the Microsoft Business Challenge .NET Framework and base it on the FIX.NET solution from Microsoft The bank wanted an partner SolutionForge. The system was developed and delivered into automated trading system production in under four months, proving the agility of .NET for its European traders based in London that would development. increase the capabilities of the traders.

Solution BACKGROUND The NEAT trading system was Business agility is key to the investment banking business. The time built by JPMorgan with the Microsoft .NET Framework, pressure on software development teams servicing JPMorgan’s equity uses SolutionForge’s FIX.NET traders is extreme, and innovative solutions are required to meet the and runs on Microsoft business requirements. JPMorgan Chase needed to develop an Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Microsoft SQL automated trading system for its equities traders to increase the Server 2000. capabilities and productivity of its trading desk. Benefits Equity trades are an important source of income to JPMorgan Chase, a • Live in less than four leading global financial services firm prominent in investment banking, months asset management, and e-finance. Increasing its capabilities in equity • Better integration than competitor systems trading is key to improving JPMorgan’s client service. • Developer productivity As part of a wider project, the bank decided to build a new automated increased threefold trading system, New Equities Auto-Trader (NEAT), for its London-based • Improved customer service • Unprecedented scalability European equities traders. and manageability Rather than build the entire system from scratch, JPMorgan decided to • Extensible to other construct it around a vendor-supplied FIX engine. FIX is the dominant solutions messaging protocol used for pre-trade and trade communication between buy-side and sell-side firms. 9 Matthew Hampson, vice president, Software Development Equities, JPMorgan Chase, says: “The challenge for us was that we wanted NEAT to be up and running in under four months. We decided to use the Microsoft .NET Framework and to approach SolutionForge, which specialises in FIX technology for the financial community and is Microsoft’s preferred partner in the FIX space, to tackle this timescale challenge.” Traditionally, JPMorgan Chase has used Java for in-house development, and it already had a Java-based FIX engine for its external FIX connectivity. But SolutionForge and .NET technology was selected over the incumbent supplier to form the heart of the NEAT trading system because its flexibility, and rapid development and deployment capabilities, meant the bank could have the system up and running very quickly.

SOLUTION SolutionForge is the only FIX engine vendor that has globally partnered with Microsoft. The FIX.NET Server is the market leading FIX engine, connecting more participants than any other vendor to the Electronic Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

Message Exchange (EMX), which handles purchase, sales and valuations Software and Services for investment funds in the UK. EMX participants currently live on the Microsoft® Visual Studio® SolutionForge product include the London Stock Exchange and .Net companies such as M&G, Charles Schwab and INVESCO. Microsoft .NET Framework Microsoft Windows® 2000 NEAT and FIX.NET, which went live in January 2003 at JPMorgan Advanced Server Chase, was built using Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 Framework. JPMorgan Chase is running NEAT and FIX.NET on Microsoft FIX.NET Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Partners Hampson says: “I specifically selected a Microsoft .NET homogeneous SolutionForge environment, because Visual Studio .NET provides a development team with a complete end-to-end multi-language development tool. It offers a highly productive environment in which to develop a broad range of. NET- connected applications and technologies. In Java we would have had to unit test each component, which takes time and is very expensive. But this is unnecessary with .NET and the Microsoft development tools.” Steve Wilkinson, chief executive officer, SolutionForge, says: “Time to market was a major factor for JPMorgan Chase in going down the .NET route, but another key factor was that the Microsoft toolsets were better. “In fast-track projects such as this, the last thing you want to worry about is Java integration into the Windows world – mixing the two inevitably increases delivery time and risk. Microsoft support services for .NET and C# are excellent – issues are always quickly resolved. Our support staff find that FIX.NET integrates well with customers’ Microsoft- based systems without hassle. “We take the view that organisations that have standardised on the Microsoft Windows platform for their core infrastructure deserve something better than the current crop of cross-platform FIX solutions. FIX.NET technology has been built from the ground up as native Microsoft Windows code, taking full advantage of the platform. This offers enormous potential for introducing new applications in the future.” The ease of integration of FIX.NET with JPMorgan Chase’s internal For more information about systems also impressed Daniel Clayden, vice president and project SolutionForge, go to: manager of NEAT at JPMorgan Chase. http://www.solutionforge.com “I’d never heard of FIX.NET before September last year, but when we gave SolutionForge the go-ahead, they delivered the development kit, we plugged it in, and it just worked. I was impressed with both ease of use and how well FIX.NET integrated into our development environment,” says Clayden. 11 BENEFITS Fast time to market JPMorgan Chase found that SolutionForge with Microsoft .NET technology produced a three-fold increase in developers’ productivity, enabling the solution to be developed in less than four months. Its traders were not interested in the choice of technology, but needed a fast and reliable system that could be delivered in very tight timescales. While development cost considerations were important, the primary driver for choosing the Microsoft solution was how quickly it could be implemented. Says Hampson: “If it takes you two years to build a new trading system with Java or another vendor then you are losing two years of opportunity and that’s very tangible. To do a Microsoft server implementation at JPMorgan Chase was almost unheard of but there should be no religion “On fast-track in technology. “Our analysis of the problem showed that a more projects such as traditional solution would triple the development cycle. We concluded this, firms need the that .NET was best for the job and SolutionForge met the tight timetable most productive for delivery of the system.” environment available. In our view, that Customer Service Improved environment is JPMorgan Chase’s customers have also benefited from the new Microsoft Visual automated trading system by offering improved execution prices. Any Studio.NET, with trader that accepts an order from a customer owes a regulatory duty of the C# language fast, reliable execution and a duty of avoidance of market impact. providing development Says Hampson: “When clients send orders they expect to get a very good teams with price. Since the NEAT system has been implemented, customers have substantial benefited from superior execution of their orders.” productivity gains over alternatives. Scalable and Manageable JPMorgan’s experience The .NET Framework offers JPMorgan a technology that is easily managed certainly bears this and will grow with the business. The .NET Framework is now part of its out.” standard desktop build and is a strategic solution for delivering applications to traders. STEVE WILKINSON CEO Hampson says that JPMorgan Chase is now looking at other uses for SOLUTIONFORGE the .NET Framework based on the success of NEAT and FIX.NET and that it is possible the bank will also evaluate an upgrade to Microsoft Windows Server 2003. ■ 12 For more information about JPMorgan Chase, go to: http://www.jpmorgan.com Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

PayHound Upgrades Payment Services Overview Platform to Improve Security and Make Customer Profile PayHound is a leading Better use of Web Services provider of web-based payment services, whether Online payments provider PayHound has migrated its core solution person-to-person (P2P) transactions, ecommerce and to the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Windows Server auction capabilities, or 2003. Building on its experience with Microsoft technology and XML mobile payment solutions. It Web Services, it has benefited from fast and cost-effective provides both a branded and a ‘white-label’ service. development. PayHound also expects ongoing gains in ease of integration, processing performance, manageability and security. Business Challenge For the new version of its product PayHound wanted technology that would BACKGROUND enable rapid processing, ease of integration and robust In the online payments business, the ability to offer innovative services in a security, as well as the secure and efficient manner is crucial. A key enabler of success is the right flexibility to incorporate new technology platform, and this is something that online payments provider service offerings.

PayHound understands well. Solution PayHound offers a full suite of products aimed at the banking domain. PayHound used the .NET PayHound’s service is faster and easier than a cheque, and open to anyone Framework to develop the new version of its core with a credit/debit card or bank account. It enables account holders to solution, which was transfer money to merchants, banks or individuals through their online previously built using COM+ technology. The new PayHound account, with safety and security. The company offers services in solution, EPP3, also takes several European markets and has operated a live person-to-person (P2P) advantage of new features in payment service, based on its current solution Enterprise Payment Platform Windows Server 2003. 2 (EPP2), in the UK for over two years. The service is available from PayHound’s own website, and promoted through others such as Hotmail and Freeserve. PayHound also offers branded payment services in partnership with online merchants, such as Amazon. As well as providing branded web-based payments services for individuals and merchants, PayHound’s EPP2 is offered to banks as a ‘white-

13 label’ service under the banks’ own names. Its biggest white-label customer is Dutch bank ING, which launched its own P2P payment service, based on PayHound’s EPP2, on 6 May 2003, under the name Way2Pay. EPP2 was built using Microsoft COM+ technology and runs on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. It also follows the design philosophy of XML SOAP Web Services. While EPP2 has established the company as a leading e- payment provider, PayHound knew that for its next version of the solution it wanted to build on the work it had already done and further enhance its security, functionality and efficiency. PayHound is also extending its white-label payment service and developing a suite of mobile payment solutions. This meant that the company needed the ability to integrate with different platforms quickly and securely, maintaining the usual high standard of service while adapting to the processes and infrastructures of different merchants and banks. Along with cost-effective interoperability, a key concern for PayHound was security, particularly for its newer payment offerings. David Gill, technical “The specific director at PayHound, says: “The specific challenges of P2P web and mobile challenges of P2P payments are that we’re constantly under scrutiny for security, performance, web and mobile and resilience. We’re dealing with people’s money, so any problem relating to payments are that we’re constantly the system’s security or reliability is magnified, and reduces customers’ trust in under scrutiny for PayHound. With any system we build, we’re 110 per cent committed to security, ensuring that it’s secure and reliable, and that it performs.” performance, and PayHound has had a consistent technology strategy since launching its resilience. We’re service in 2001. “We were completely sold on the Microsoft .NET vision dealing with people’s money, so from the word go,” says Gill. “The .NET Framework has been in conception any problem for four years, and knowing this we built EPP2 using COM+, with the relating to the intention of upgrading to .NET for the next version.” system’s security or However, there had been obstacles. “Up until now, it’s not been reliability is possible,” he says. “Though we’ve longed for .NET for some time, our magnified, and reduces customers’ security auditors won’t allow anyone to migrate to a new technology until trust in it’s matured. We’ve now reached the point where they’re happy for that to PayHound.” happen.” As soon as .NET was given the seal of approval, the company began developing EPP3 using the .NET Framework. DAVID GILL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR PAYHOUND THE SOLUTION PayHound has over 100,000 users of its web payment service in the UK. They had been served by EPP2, hosted by PSI Net in London. The company 14 decided to migrate the UK users to EPP3, which has been built using the Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

.NET Framework, an integral component of the Windows operating system. Benefits • Increased developer The solution runs on Windows Server 2003, part of the Microsoft Windows productivity; Server System, integrated server software that reduces IT complexity, • Ease and speed of enabling business agility and greater success for IT. The UK service will integration with other platforms; continue to be hosted by PSI Net. • Cost-effective service for EPP3 continues to use Web Services in a similar way to the earlier version, clients and partners; but the .NET Framework has made it much simpler to expose new • In-built security features; • Increased performance and functionality as Web Services. For instance, payment requests come in as manageability. Web Service calls, which are processed by a Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise database and then transacted with client banks. This increased functionality Software and Services has also enabled PayHound to publish its credit and debit card system, Microsoft” .NET Framework branded CARD INTEGRA, as an independent .NET-connected Web Service. Microsoft Windows” Server CARD INTEGRA achieves online card authorisation in less than one second 2003 and can be scaled out to support many hundreds of concurrent transactions with no performance degradation. The EPP3 system was built using Microsoft Visual C#, Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, and Microsoft ASP.NET. The system’s complete migration to .NET took six developers six weeks to compete and test.

BENEFITS From the design stage onwards, PayHound saw savings in development resource and timescales. “The main things we have gained are dramatic improvements in development, security, performance and manageability,” says Gill. The migration itself went smoothly, as the existing service had been designed with the .NET Framework upgrade in mind. And PayHound is already seeing dramatic benefits across the board. The native support for XML Web Services in the .NET Framework has improved PayHound’s performance: “Running the SOAP services on the old platform was more of a challenge,” says Gill. “Moving to the .NET Framework helped us to get the full functionality we needed.” Independent benchmarking tests undertaken by Microsoft Services Consulting, show that the system is now able to support 18,000 concurrent users making up to 360,000 average transactions per hour. These figures were generated by a single server-per-tier architecture which is capable and ready for horizontal scale-out. The .NET Framework has also freed PayHound from programming language constraints, as well as providing extensive class libraries and 15 powerful tools for systems integration. This enabled EPP3 to be developed quickly and efficiently, without compromising on quality. Says Gill: “All those productivity gains that everyone talks about have actually come through in reality. We’re stripping out thousands of lines of code, and we’re still providing all the functionality and security that we need.” This is partly thanks to the in-built security capabilities of the .NET Framework and the Windows Server 2003 platform. “Windows Server 2003 is a completely new beast, and it’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for from an operating system,” says Gill. “With previous operating systems, you needed the specific skills to make it secure. Of course, it can be done – it’s a case of diligence rather than rocket science. But Windows Server 2003 takes that headache away. Instead of hand-building the necessary security features, we’re now able to take advantage of that level of security out of the box.” Integration with other banks’ and merchants’ platforms is also easier with the new platform. The .NET Framework has enabled PayHound to deliver its ‘white label’ payment services far more quickly. “Content management, browser-based compatibility, language support, it’s all there,” says Gill. It is also true at the back-end: “It has really speeded our integration and processing. What might have taken us man-years before, the .NET Framework can give us in weeks. It’s given us tremendous advantages,” he says. “It has really Meanwhile, XML Web Services will make it easier for PayHound to roll speeded our out its new mobile offering, an important element of its future strategy. integration and processing. What PayHound has relationships in the UK and the Netherlands with Short might have taken Message Service (SMS) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) providers, on a us man-years variety of different platforms. Gill says: “Using the .NET Framework makes before, the .NET it simpler for us to build a brand-new interface for any of them.” Framework can The Microsoft .NET-connected EPP3 will be rolled out across PayHound’s give us in weeks. It’s given us other target countries as demand grows – and with mobile, web, white- tremendous label services and new partnerships, PayHound is confident about the advantages.” future. “Every time we meet a new bank, we integrate with its global gateway, which continuously offers more and more customers the ability to DAVID GILL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR make payments in different domestic markets.” This has enabled PayHound PAYHOUND to take advantage of its clients’ and partners’ payment connections, for example SWIFTNet capabilities. “We’re now able to make payments in over 60 different countries, and we’re continuously expanding.” ■ 16 For more information about Payhound, go to: http://www.payhound.com Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

Insurance Broker Reduces Risk with Overview Policy to Project Single Corporate Customer Profile The leading broker Willis Image Group Holdings delivers professional insurance, risk Leading global insurance broker Willis wants to be seen as a single management and consultancy from 300 offices company that offers a consistent service throughout its global worldwide. operation. But this was made difficult by the organisation’s patchwork quilt of legacy systems and applications inherited Business Challenge The broker operated on a through acquisitions. Willis is now revolutionising its infrastructure patchwork of legacy systems based on the Microsoft .NET Framework. This is enabling the and was unable to deliver a integration of disparate systems across the organisation, resulting in consistent corporate image to its customers, high more efficient client services, improved internal communications customer service, or reliable and a consistent corporate image across the globe. management information.

Solution Standardising technologies BACKGROUND built on Microsoft .NET Framework enabling Risk management is a growing sector for the insurance industry with centrally managed and leading brokers helping clients to comply with corporate governance shared information requirements, embedding risk management into business planning, and throughout the organisation. developing risk implementation processes and systems. Willis Group Holdings is one of the leading organisations in this sector delivering professional insurance, risk management and consulting around the world. But with 300 offices in more than 100 countries, the delivery of consistent customer service and seamless internal communications is a constant challenge. The situation is complicated by the legacy systems and applications, inherited following a series of acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, Willis gained a new chief executive officer, Joe Plumeri who was determined to transform the business, and overcome these strategic and technological obstacles. He announced three core objectives: Improving customer service – Charles Stewart, chief architect, Willis, says: “Our disparate systems inhibited a single approach to servicing our 17 clients, resulting in higher costs and lower quality service. Data produced from the separate databases was inconsistent, which made it difficult to generate reliable management information.” Also, client processes relied on expensive and error-prone paperwork. “Paper was used for most of the insurance business process, from the client contract through to claims. It was difficult to manage volume, consistency and accuracy, and the process was costly and time-consuming -particularly as data had to be re-keyed a number of times,” says Stewart. Better internal communications – Plumeri wanted to communicate with all employees across Willis regardless of location and felt they should also be kept informed of company news and information as it occurred. Mike Wright, group IT director, Willis, says: “So many separate systems meant we suffered from a legacy of poor communications between our 12,000 global employees.” Consistent global image – Plumeri wanted to portray a single global image across the industry and to customers. To do this Willis required a consistent global servicing platform as a basis on which the organisation could build new applications for years to come. Says Wright: “It was clear that for all the business objectives, there was one main barrier – the disparate technologies and legacy systems across the organisation. The answer was to revolutionise the IT agenda within Willis and replace all these technologies, some of which were up to 25- years old. At the same time, we needed to adopt a technology environment that would enable us to develop and integrate new applications in direct response to new business challenges.” “We are well on the way to fulfiling the CEO’s SOLUTION requirement for a Willis began looking for an architecture that would be suitable for an consistent global extended implementation period. “We wanted to break the project into communications bite-size chunks so we needed a solution that could withstand facility throughout development and deployment over a long period of time,” says Wright. the company.” After investigating its options, Willis chose to standardise its systems on MIKE WRIGHT the Microsoft .NET Framework, providing Web Services-based GROUP IT DIRECTOR connectivity for Windows-based applications. WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS “We looked at other technologies, such as IBM, Sun and Java. But we wanted a suite of tools that made integration simple, and Microsoft .NET delivers that,” says Wright. 18 “We already had an established Microsoft skills base so it offered the Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

easiest migration path from our existing systems,” says Wright. “An Benefits • Single global image additional benefit of .NET is that it enables Willis’s patchwork of legacy • Consistent processing systems to talk to one another”. platform via globally Willis has already developed an internal intranet that delivers a wealth integrated IT infrastructure • Improved internal of useful information to all employees within the company via a communications consistent interface. Information is published in Spanish, German and • Better, more efficient Italian as well as English so is highly accessible to Willis’ large international customer service • Reduced costs by multicultural user-base. “It displays information such as our share price, eliminating manual processes news stories, information about latest company wins and messages from • Faster and more efficient the chief executive,” says Wright. completion of projects • Scalable platform for Willis has massively reduced the need for copious amounts of future development of paperwork that was required to carry out business with clients. “We use applications collaboration software Microsoft SharePoint Team Services to host client- Software and facing extranet sites,” says Stewart. SharePoint enables account Services managers and clients to share information and collaborate on documents Microsoft® Visual Studio® over the Internet. “Our account managers can easily populate the site .NET Microsoft .NET Framework with transactional materials. The client can then update and reference Microsoft SQL Server™ these materials conveniently over the web.” Microsoft Visual Basic® Microsoft Active Directory® The implementation is paving the way for the wider adoption of Web Microsoft SharePoint Team Services and at present uses a Web Service to communicate between Services™ Microsoft Office and a .NET application to exchange data.

BENEFITS Efficient Single Operation Willis can now demonstrate to clients a single view of the company and a consistent brand identity. Also, internal communications have improved significantly thanks to the intranet system, enabling employees to be fully aware of events or information within the organisation regardless of where they are located. Says Wright: “Our ‘Willis Awares’ company updates and messages go into everybody’s inbox. “Using .NET is transforming our business at every level. We are well on the way to fulfiling the CEO’s requirement for a consistent global communications facility throughout the company.” Also, Willis as a business is stronger than ever. “We floated on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time in June 2001, with a share price of $13.50. As of June 2003 it is over $32, an appreciation of 140 per cent. Given the generally declining stock market conditions, this is a pretty impressive result,” says Wright. 19 Better Customer Services Since the solution was implemented, Willis has seen an improvement in its external communications, better client collaboration and integration, and a faster and more efficient completion of projects. “Our job as risk managers is to reduce our clients’ exposure to risk. SharePoint helps us communicate best practice and research to our clients quickly and cheaply,” says Stewart. Wright believes that the overall transformation is working on all levels to deliver a better client service. “We now use SharePoint to give clients a secure, shared website, which supports and enables the use of best practices.” The company is now on the way to fulfiling its CEO’s vision of Willis as a client advocate in terms of risk related-operations. Says Wright:” We are now able to serve our clients as a single company across the globe with one consistent approach instead of many different organisations.” Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Financial Services

Reduced Costs with Scalable Technology Willis is reaping the benefits of standardising on highly scalable Microsoft technologies, which will grow with the company’s changing business needs. Management information is becoming more consistent and easier to produce. Costs have also been reduced throughout the enterprise through faster, more efficient methods and higher employee productivity. Developing one set of skills has simplified training requirements, keeping costs down. “The total cost of implementation has been split into easy to digest chunks and we are achieving return on investment on a project-by-project basis,” says Wright.

Fewer Paper Processes Automated communications reduces the need for paper-based processes, ensuring fewer errors and a more secure, reliable service. In the past the sheer volume of paper increased the risk of files being lost or costly delays in processing. Clients can access all the documents they need via the extranet sites. Staff who were previously dealing with huge quantities of paperwork are also freed up to concentrate on delivering customer service. Says Stewart: “By standardising on a single processing system we scan paper in only once. Previously, we suffered from the excessive costs of keying in the same data many times.”

Keeping the Company Connected On completion of the programme, Willis will have a globally integrated infrastructure for all its users. “We feel we are in a very exciting place,” says Wright. “We are moving into a .NET compliant world. The real value is that it facilitates delivery of our services to clients quicker and easier. Our goal is for all the systems to be browser enabled.” Stewart says: “Using SharePoint Team Services, non-technical people can set up a client-facing extranet and expose it on a public site within a couple of days.” “Microsoft will be around for many years,” says Wright. “The .NET architecture will grow with the company and it minimises a major risk by gluing together all our disparate systems.” ■ For more information about Willis Group Holdings, go to: http://www.willis.com 21 .NET live Retail Services Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Benjys Implements Mobile Overview Replenishment Solution for Less Bread Customer Profile Benjys is London’s leading value sandwich chain. It Value sandwich retailer Benjys needed an effective way to replenish offers over 350 different 380 fast selling product lines across its 50 London stores on a daily freshly filled traditional and speciality bread sandwiches basis. With the help of solution provider Information Systems from over 50 stores Associates, the company has implemented a new, wireless solution throughout London. built on the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework. This helps the Business Challenge company capture orders using information about stock levels and To replenish stock in its predicted sales. The result is fast, accurate replenishment ordering stores, Benjys faxed paper and a wealth of sales information to help with strategic decisions. orders to a central kitchen. This process was inefficient and prone to human error. The company needed a way to capture orders BACKGROUND electronically and transmit For all fast moving consumer goods stores, replenishment and inventory them quickly to its back-end management present significant challenges. Where products have a short systems. shelf-life, reducing out of stock items and minimising inventory is even more Solution difficult. These were critical issues for Benjys, London’s leading value When a product is down to sandwich chain. The store offers freshly filled traditional and speciality bread just two remaining, managers use simple sandwiches from 50 stores. The maximum shelf-life for its products is one electronic forms on Microsoft to two weeks and many items last just one day. Pocket PC devices to enter that information into the With high volume sales, it is difficult for Benjys to accurately predict the system. A bespoke number of products required for each store on a daily basis. Previously, store application, including an managers checked shelves and estimated the number of goods required for ordering algorithm, then queries the database, works the next day across all 380 product lines. These orders were then recorded out how many additional on long paper forms and faxed to a central kitchen. products are required for the When these faxes arrived at the central kitchen from each of the 50 next day and transmits the order to the central ERP Benjys stores, they were keyed into a DOS system. This was connected to a system via a GPRS. Microsoft-based ERP system that handles order processing. Security was an issue with the DOS system that was also prone to excessive downtime, jeopardising the integrity of replenishment orders. Emma Rickwood, commercial director, Benjys, says: “The process of 23 filling in paper order forms and faxing them to the central kitchen was inefficient and prone to errors. Initially, we wanted a solution to capture orders electronically and transmit them more effectively. Then, we thought it would be better to simply record the number of products remaining in each store. From this, we could easily work out how much more stock would be required for the next day.” In addition, Benjys wanted to record and manage its wastage more effectively. It also wanted greater visibility of credits – discrepancies between orders placed and goods taken in – across each of its 50 stores. To achieve these benefits, retailers typically have to implement an electronic point of sale (EPOS) system. But this option would be too expensive for Benjys. As a chain-wide initiative, it would cost up to £1 million. Instead, it wanted to work with an alternative solution that would be equally effective, conceptually simple, secure, reliable, cost-effective, easy to implement and straight-forward to operate.

SOLUTION “Using the Pocket Solution provider Information Systems Associates (ISA) specialises in PCs to gather sales creating mobile solutions that link to central systems. The company information on the contacted Benjys to see if the sandwich chain would benefit from such a SQL Server solution. Together, the companies developed a vision for a new stock database enables us to understand control and order replenishment system based on Pocket PC devices with trading patterns wireless connectivity to the central order processing system. more effectively. The new system includes a customised database for each store, which We can now has information on the optimum numbers of products and predicted sales. visualise and query When a product is down to just two remaining, managers use simple this information using Microsoft electronic forms on Pocket PCs to enter that information into the system. A Analysis Services, bespoke application, including an ordering algorithm, then queries the an integral database and works out how many additional products are required for the component of next day. This order is then transmitted to the central ERP system in real time Microsoft SQL via a GPRS call. The solution also uses sales information to calculate the Server 2000.” wastage and credits for each store. The first challenge was to make the electronic form work. ISA developers EMMA RICKWOOD achieved this in just half a day using the Microsoft .NET Compact COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR BENJYS Framework, a subset of the .NET Framework that extends the benefits of developer productivity and XML Web Services to devices such as Pocket PCs. The .NET Compact Framework makes it easy to develop applications that 24 work on a host of mobile devices, such as Pocket PC devices and phones. Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Thomas Payne, managing director, Information Systems Associates, says: Benefits • Rapid development using “We then created a prototype to validate the user interface and ensure that Microsoft .NET Framework the solution functioned correctly on the chosen device – o2 XDAs. These and .NET Compact had certain important restrictions like the absence of a numeric keypad and Framework • Turning sales information that had an impact on the way we developed the solution.” into competitive advantage The solution’s target platform is a Microsoft Pocket PC phone with in- • Accurate ordering built GPRS connectivity. This means there is no requirement for building • Reduced human error • High availability for network infrastructure in Benjys stores. The communication between the leading products Pocket PCs and the database, Microsoft SQL Server, is driven by a simple Web Service for logging in. Meanwhile, Microsoft SQL Server CE – which Software and Services resides on the Pocket PC devices-synchronises order data with the central Microsoft® Windows® 2000 system via GPRS in real time. The central SQL Server database is connected Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 to the ERP system by a virtual private network (VPN). Microsoft Internet Information Server 6.0 Microsoft Windows Pocket PC BENEFITS Edition Rapid Development Microsoft ASP .NET Microsoft .NET Compact By using Microsoft .NET to create the Benjys solution, Information Systems Framework Associates achieved a raft of development benefits. Payne says: “It is simple Partners to build applications on handheld devices using the .NET Compact Information Systems Framework emulator and central device de-bugging features. It is also Associates fantastically easy to use GPRS as a transport mechanism for applications developed using .NET.” The base class libraries that come with the .NET Framework enable developers to avoid low level coding for applications and Web Services and makes them much more productive. Code can also be shared between the Pocket PC and desktop applications. Microsoft Visual Studio .NET offers the ability to easily build and debug .NET Compact Framework applications both on an emulator and on physical devices, greatly increasing developer productivity for building mobile applications.

The Best Development Tools For more information about “The whole .NET toolset is great,” says Payne. “The Visual Studio .NET Information Systems Associates, development tool enabled us to rapidly develop the handheld application, go to: http://www.isa.co.uk/ desktop application and Web Services within a single environment. We have done Java applications in the past, but there is little architectural guidance on how to build business applications and that means there is never a simple solution. Also, we feel that J2ME, the development environment for creating mobile applications using Java, is not mature,” 25 says Payne. “It doesn’t have communications functionality, such as GPRS connectivity, built in. And it also lacks its own neat database like SQL CE. Having all this under one roof makes our life very simple and helps us to deliver successful solutions faster, passing productivity benefits onto our customers. It also means we can quickly develop business-focused solutions that maximise the value of existing legacy technologies.”

Turning Sales Data into Competitive Advantage For the first time, Benjys knows exactly what stock each of its 50 stores has at the beginning of each day. It also knows how much of each product line has been sold, which lines are performing best, and which are slow to sell. Rickwood says: “Using the Pocket PCs to gather sales information on the SQL Server database enables us to understand trading patterns more effectively. We can now visualise and query this information using Microsoft Analysis Services, an integral component of Microsoft SQL Server 2000. The only other way we could have gained access to such valuable information is by implementing EPOS. This would have required us to spend “Because the £1 million – a massive investment that would be difficult to justify.” solution uses simple electronic Accurate Ordering – High Availability forms, orders are The new .NET-connected system does not necessarily make the ordering much clearer and more accurate than process faster because managers must now visit the shop floor and enter all when they were the required stock lines. Previously, many simply filled in estimated orders written out by without even visiting the shop floor. As a result of this change, Benjys hand. The managers can now place orders more accurately, ensuring the best- technology also performing lines are never out of stock. Rickwood says: “Because the solution offers us the fast, accurate transfer of uses simple electronic forms, orders are much clearer and more accurate than data direct to our when they were written out by hand. The technology also offers us the fast, central systems, accurate transfer of data direct to our central systems, resulting in a further resulting in a reduction of human error.” further reduction This improved accuracy increases the availability of high-selling items and of human error.” reduces wastage. It enables the store to maximise sales opportunities and generate rapid return on investment. EMMA RICKWOOD Most importantly, it ensures that all the most popular sandwiches are COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR BENJYS always available, improving brand perception as well as customer satisfaction and loyalty. The high service levels the new solution enables positions Benjys as one of London’s premier sandwich retailers. ■ 26 For more information about Benjys, go to: http://www.benjys-sandwiches.com Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Rubus Delivers Quick Dial Solution for Overview Dial-a-Phone Customer Profile Dial-a-Phone is the number one direct supplier of mobile Dial-a-Phone sells mobile phones direct to consumers. It has no handsets in the UK. It was physical outlets, which means that its website is crucial to its established in 1995 and business. The company wanted to introduce a new system to operates without any physical outlets. replace its Linux-based web infrastructure to reduce costs and increase manageability and performance. It worked with Rubus, a Business Challenge leading interactive design company, to create an ecommerce The company’s existing web site ran on Linux and was platform built on the Microsoft .NET Framework to support and hosted by a third-party. Dial- enhance Dial-a-Phone’s business. a-Phone needed to reduce costs and increase manageability. It also required better performance and scope for increased web BACKGROUND site traffic. When Dial-a-Phone was established in 1995, it successfully capitalised on the growing popularity of mobile technology among consumers. The Solution Interactive design company company was also quick to realise the potential of the web as an Rubus has built a Microsoft important customer channel. This pioneering attitude has seen the .NET-based solution using company grow to become the UK’s number one specialist supplier of Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Microsoft ASP.NET. The mobile phones direct to the consumer. infrastructure has been Dial-a-Phone has no physical outlets, so conducts its business entirely brought in house, increasing manageability and reducing through call centres and the web. Inevitably, this makes Dial-a-Phone’s costs. website all the more crucial to its overall business performance. The website ran on Linux and was built on a bespoke system. This was managed by a third-party company and was costing Dial-a-Phone a considerable amount of money each month. To increase manageability and to reduce costs, Dial-a-Phone decided to move to industry standard technology and to manage the website in-house. Mark Newlands, systems project manager for Dial-a-Phone, says: “The website accounts for 30 per cent of Dial-a-Phone’s business, so it is a critical sales tool. In order to increase the amount of business transacted online, we needed to act quickly to ensure the technology underpinning 27 this vital channel was capable of supporting such a fast-growing area of the business.”

SOLUTION To keep ahead in a highly competitive industry, Dial-a-Phone wished to make the underlying systems supporting the website more efficient, scalable and reliable, as well as ensuring they could be managed and supported internally. For this task it called on Rubus, a leading interactive design company, to redevelop and upgrade the website. Rubus selected the Microsoft .NET Framework, which provides Web Services-based connectivity for Microsoft Windows-based applications, as the ideal platform for Dial-a- Phone’s new web architecture. The company selected Rubus for the project because of its knowledge of Microsoft technologies and its understanding of the mobile marketplace. Newlands says: “We found that Rubus had the most relevant experience, understood our requirements best and thought on the same wavelength as us. It could deliver the transformation we wanted.” Paul Taylor, senior Microsoft developer for Rubus, says: “We’d been looking at .NET for two years and it was clearly the best fit for Dial-a- “The Microsoft Phone’s needs. We primarily wanted something that was scalable and .NET Framework offered us the Microsoft will be there to offer support as business demands grow.” benefits of rapid This choice is crucial to the overall success of the project. Newlands application says: “The Microsoft .NET Framework offers us the benefits of rapid development (RAD) application development (RAD) and integrated functionality. This is and integrated because so much of the code is written for you and a lot of the functionality. Even though it was a components come pre-built, in the .NET package. Even though it’s a new new development development approach, it promises far superior performance and approach, it functionality than the previous set-up.” promised far Rubus successfully reworked the website between August and superior December 2002 using just four developers and integrating it with Dial-a- performance.” Phone’s existing back-office systems. Following performance and stress MARK NEWLANDS testing, the system went live in February 2003. “The advantage of SYSTEMS PROJECT Microsoft’s approach is clear – less development time and less cost to the MANAGER DIAL-A-PHONE business,” says Taylor. Rubus was able to switch the website over to the new set-up without Dial-a-Phone’s website users being aware of any behind the scenes 28 changes. The old system was kept in place as a backup but the new Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

system ran flawlessly from the start and there has been no need to switch Benefits • Removes expensive hosting back to the old system. costs As part of the project, Rubus designed and implemented two Web • Increases manageability Services using Microsoft ASP.NET. ASP.NET is the latest generation of • Permits use of existing skills Microsoft Active Server Page (ASP) technology that can be used on a • Greatly increases web site server to build powerful web applications. Among the many benefits that performance ASP.NET offers over previous versions is its robust architecture, • Brings speedy return on investment (ROI) demonstrated by its ability to automatically detect and recover from • Improves customer memory leaks. This high reliability is an important consideration for a experience web-reliant business such as Dial-a-Phone. Software and Services The first Web Service automatically submits orders from the customer- Microsoft® Visual Studio.NET facing front end of the website to the back-end system database. The 2003 other web service retrieves customer delivery dates automatically from the Microsoft® ASP.NET™ Microsoft .NET Framework same database.

BENEFITS Partners Rubus Faster System Provides Superior Customer Service With the new .NET system in place Dial-a-Phone now has a clearer idea of how its business is performing. Previously, orders received from the website were queued and sent over to Dial-a-Phone for processing in batches. The company wanted these sent over once a minute but the system only had the capacity to deliver them once every five minutes. This meant that if a customer rang immediately after placing their order online, Dial-a-Phone would often not be aware of the transaction, potentially creating a poor impression of customer service. With the new system, orders are sent over in near real-time, which means Dial-a-Phone can begin processing orders promptly. “Previously there were gaps in the system which created problems for Dial-a-Phone. Essentially we’ve closed the loop,” says Taylor. Dial-a-Phone now has a clearer picture of how its website is performing and can deliver a better service to its customers. For more information about Rubus, go to: Increased Control, Reduced Costs http://www.rubus.com By bringing Dial-a-Phone’s website system in house and using the .NET Framework, Rubus has removed the need for expensive and inconvenient third-party management. This gives Dial-a-Phone much more control over its own systems enabling it to more easily update the site and lower costs. Above all, the speed with which Rubus was able to put together the 29 ecommerce platform was a significant factor, enabling Dial-a-Phone to quickly realise the benefits of lowered costs and superior customer satisfaction.

Scalable Architecture Provides Room for Growth In addition to providing a scalable, well-architected platform to support the growth of its website, Rubus’ work has enabled Dial-a-Phone to upgrade its capacity to handle higher volumes of transactions. “The new system is much faster than the old one and the new boxes have hardly been touched, leaving Dial-a-Phone in an excellent position to grow its business,” says Taylor.

Using Existing Developer Skill Sets One of the key benefits of the .NET Framework is that it offers developers the choice of programming languages allowing them to choose the best language for the task at hand and also leveraging existing skill sets. Rubus opted for the latter approach. “We decided to use Microsoft Visual Basic .NET 2003 as the jump from Visual Basic 6 is much less than the jump to Microsoft Visual C#,” says Taylor. Visual Basic .NET provides the easiest, most productive languages and tools for rapidly building applications on “From a the Microsoft Windows platform and the web. development point of view the entire Says Taylor: “The .NET Framework offers a clear and flexible roadmap for experience of using developers who can use existing skills or quickly learn new techniques the .NET based on their existing knowledge. There is also a far greater opportunity environment and to leverage existing code, which means that development time and cost the support are dramatically reduced.” infrastructure was a real breath of fresh air. It was A Breath of Fresh Air quick to get Looking ahead, the adoption of .NET will also enable Dial-a-Phone to link working and was a its back-office systems with its call centre and online channels to provide real pleasure to superior customer service. As Dial-a-Phone’s experience of working with work with.” .NET demonstrates, businesses seeking to improve their IT frameworks PAUL TAYLOR should investigate the potential of Microsoft technologies. SENIOR MICROSOFT “From a development point of view the entire experience of using the DEVELOPER RUBUS .NET environment and the support infrastructure was a real breath of fresh air. It was quick to get working and was a real pleasure to work with,” says Taylor. ■ 30 For more information about Dial-a-Phone, go to: http://www.dialaphone.co.uk Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Sainsbury’s Links ARMs With Suppliers Overview Through Microsoft .NET-based Customer Profile Sainsbury’s Supermarkets was Collaboration System established in 1869. The company employs more than Sainsbury’s Supermarkets wanted to be more proactive in managing 145,000 people, has 535 stores and serves over 11 its supply chain and help suppliers resolve problems before they million customers each week. became issues to the business, and ultimately, to customers. By working with Microsoft partner Eqos and technology experts Business Challenge Sainsbury’s wanted to Accenture, the supermarket chain has built a web-based alerts establish even closer links system using the Microsoft .NET Framework. This enables with suppliers and be more Sainsbury’s to build on previous success and ensure it is on top of proactive rather than reactive. It wanted to build any issues that may arise, enhancing working relationships and on the success of its existing maximising supply chain efficiency. systems to improve supply chain efficiency.

Solution BACKGROUND Sainsbury’s worked with Microsoft partner Eqos to Communication is the key to supply chain efficiency. Through the years, build a solution called ARM retailers have tried many ways to achieve this and reduce overheads, on top of its existing maximise sales and enhance supplier relationships, and in turn, customer infrastructure. The new solution is based on Eqos’ relationships. Collaborator platform and Customer relationship management (CRM) has, for a long time, been the built using the Microsoft .NET Framework retail buzzword. But retailers are increasingly realising that to boost consumer satisfaction, drive sales, and manage customer loyalty by having the right products available at the right time, they need to enhance relationships with suppliers. This is known in the industry as supplier relationship management (SRM). Sainsbury’s Supermarkets has been aware of the need of SRM since its inception, and has been actively working on SRM initiatives since 1998. Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, part of J Sainsbury plc, was established in 1869 and strives to fulfil its original mission to be the first choice for food shopping for consumers by providing value for money, excellent service and quality that customers have come to expect. The company employs roughly 145,000 31 people, has 535 stores and serves over 11 million customers each week. Diane Carter, supply chain operations director at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, says: “We have made a range of performance data available to suppliers since 1998 to help us jointly manage our business. Availability of product to the customer is a vital key performance indicator (KPI) for us, and we see our suppliers as important partners in delivering excellence in this field. We need an important means of enabling suppliers to become even more proactive and productive supporters without the need to spend even more time analysing our data.” The company had previously created Sainsbury’s Information Direct (SID) to collaborate with suppliers more effectively. This system had two elements. The first was a Performance Data Site (PDS), which made sales and availability data accessible to suppliers. The second was called the Collaborative Planning System (CPS), which managed the lifecycles of “Working closely promotions. This system was created in 1998 and improves stock availability with suppliers is a by better managing promotions. business imperative. We Promotion management previously involved many staff and business believe this new processes, and took many weeks of planning. CPS provides a consistent investment will view of promotional information to all involved in advance of the help us work with promotion. It was built using a Web-based collaborative solution, called them more Collaborator, from Microsoft partner Eqos. CPS runs on Microsoft Windows effectively, irrespective of their NT Server and is hosted by Microsoft Internet Information Server. size. It will enable Promotional sales represent roughly 30 per cent of Sainsbury’s overall us to be more sales, and the use of CPS proved very successful. Around 600 suppliers are responsive to connected to CPS and it delivers millions of pounds savings by improving customer demand sales and reducing costs like wastage. Sales of promotional lines have through jointly identifying increased by up to 10 per cent since CPS went live. problems earlier But the company wanted to build on this and extend the same service to and proactively all products, not just those on promotion. So together with partner Eqos and managing issues an in-house team Sainsbury’s started looking for a solution that would enable through to it to complement and build on existing systems. resolution.” It also wanted to equip the supermarket and its suppliers with the DIANE CARTER necessary tools to be more proactive. SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATIONS DIRECTOR SAINSBURY’S SOLUTION As a big name retailer with millions of customers and thousands of suppliers in a fast-moving and competitive market, Sainsbury’s has to plan any IT 32 investment carefully. Aware that the business will not stand still for Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

technology, it needed a solution that would enhance existing systems and Benefits • Closer links with suppliers prove a solid investment for the foreseeable future. • Less out of stock and Availability is a key business driver for the company, and that means overstocked items having the right products on the shelves and avoiding overstocking. • Faster resolution of problems Sainsbury’s CPS is based on Eqos’ Collaborator, a web-based platform for • Prevention of bigger issues building and deploying business-to-business (B2B) collaborative rather than cure applications. It is secure, with authentication and levels of access, and • Ease of use • Increased revenue enables business rules, reporting, process management analysis, alerts and • Better data analysis exceptions and Web Services. • Foundation for the future Collaborator supports a many-to-many, peer-to-peer architecture. It uses Software and the Microsoft .NET Framework as its foundation and sits on Microsoft Services Windows 2000, Microsoft BizTalk Server and the Microsoft Windows Server Microsoft® .NET Framework System. The Eqos Collaborator Server sits in the middle as the data Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Microsoft Windows® 2000 repository, with the applications such as ERP systems and databases on top. Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 The applications data is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database. Microsoft Application Centre The Alerts and Resolution Management System (ARM), was created by 2000 Microsoft Internet Eqos in collaboration with Sainsbury’s. Eqos built ARM on top of PDS using Information Server Eqos Collaborator and the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework is the Partners foundation of the next generation of Windows-based applications that are Eqos easier to build, deploy, and integrate with other networked systems. It uses Accenture the Common Language Runtime and standard class libraries, which means that code used for common tasks can be quickly and easily reused to speed up development. The project started in early 2002 and a pilot was conducted that summer. The system is now live and being rolled out to more suppliers. ARM is based on Eqos modular Workbenches, which are integrated solutions that manage the performance and progress of all products, creating an intelligent, proactive system that flags up problems via email alerts. A team of four developers worked on the project. They created ARM in just eight weeks using the rapid application development (RAD) features of Eqos Collaborator.

BENEFITS ARM integrates product performance data with exception reports and alerts, which then manages the problems by sending either informational or collaborative alerts to Sainsbury’s and its suppliers by email. Informational alerts contact individuals who have requested to be informed when certain things happen such as when stocks of a particular product fall below a 33 certain level, for example. Collaborative alerts send joint prompts that create a resolution management cycle so that recipients can work together to solve problems. Suppliers can also download performance data such as sales, stock levels and more. Mike Quinn, CEO of Eqos, says: “If availability, for example, falls below a certain level, the Sainsbury’s buyer and the Supplier are informed why there’s a problem and where it stems from. So if there’s a problem Sainsbury’s can work through that problem with the supplier with all having the same base information.”

Wide Audience Around 200 suppliers are already connected to the system, which will eventually be rolled out to Sainsbury’s 2,000-strong supplier base. This equates to more than 5,000 users. It does not cost suppliers anything to join the system, and Carter says that suppliers are crying out to come on board. “ARM is a further contribution by Sainsbury’s to suppliers’ understanding of our data and systems. An intelligent alerting system, tuned by well- informed suppliers who are experts in their field, permits even greater collaboration with far less effort,” says Carter.

Easy to Use ARM is incredibly easy to use. In fact, all users are concerned with are the emails that they receive on their desktops. Business analysts who Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

understand the underpinning business processes without a need for technical knowledge can easily update the system. New users can easily be added to ARM, or existing user information changed or updated by an administrator using w. Administrators can also easily remove user access when an employee leaves a supplier or Sainsbury’s. This is important in the retail and manufacturing industries as people move on frequently to work for competitors.

Availability Having disgruntled customers because their chosen product is not in stock or having too much of another product is retailers’ kryptonite. But ARM gives Sainsbury’s the confidence, the tools and the processes to ensure such scenarios are a distant memory.

REDUCED COSTS ARM is already delivering strong business benefits and is expected to deliver a significant return on investment (ROI) within 12 months. Sainsbury’s has reduced costs by building on top of its existing Microsoft and Eqos-based CPS system, rather than ripping and replacing, which would have been costly, resource intensive and disruptive to the business. Ensuring product availability and reducing wastage equate to strong bottom line benefits.

For more information about Accenture, go to: http://www.accenture.com

For more information about Eqos, go to: http://www.eqos.com

35 “Working closely with suppliers is a business imperative. We believe this new investment will help us work with them more effectively, irrespective of their size. It will also enable us to be more responsive to customer demand through jointly identifying problems earlier and proactively managing issues through to resolution,” says Carter. “Eqos is a long standing partner that has developed a strategic relationship with our IT provider, Accenture. Eqos was able to build ARM for us quickly and inexpensively.” Increased Sales through Innovation Sainsbury’s and its suppliers now work together more closely and are proactive rather than reactive. This means the company can better server customer needs and retain existing customers as well as attracting new ones. This is a powerful competitive advantage. Neville Roberts, partner at the Accenture retail industry practice, says: “The breakdown in processes between retailers and suppliers may lead to up to 20 per cent of products being unavailable at point-of-sale, while more than $1trillion is held worldwide in surplus stock. “Sainsbury’s is one of the few companies that has not only recognised this situation but is among the first retailers worldwide to include supplier collaboration as part of an overall business strategy.”

Armed with Information for the Future Sainsbury’s already had a strong relationship with Eqos, thanks to previous “As the collaborative projects and the way in which Eqos has worked to get to grips with the supply chain complex and ever-changing nature of the supermarket’s business. As ARM becomes the new has illustrated, the two will continue to work together to evolve the battleground for platform further and maximise benefits for all parties. competitive Quinn says: “As the collaborative supply chain becomes the new advantage, Sainsbury’s has a battleground for competitive advantage, Sainsbury’s has a distinct lead. We distinct lead.” are pleased to help the company keep innovating by providing the tools and solutions to support continuously improving customer service, profitability MIKE QUINN and supplier relationships.” ■ CEO EQOS For more information about Sainsbury’s, go to: http://sainsburys.co.uk

36 Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Scottish and Southern Energy Powers Overview Up for Increased Electrical Goods Sales Customer Profile Scottish and Southern Energy With Retail Order Management System (SSE) is one of the largest energy supply businesses in Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has initiated a more automated the UK, serving almost 5 million customers through its retail order management system for selling electrical goods, built Southern Electric, SWALEC using a powerful combination of Microsoft .NET Framework and and Scottish Hydro-Electric Microsoft BizTalk Server. It enables the sales team to process more brands. orders, while still accepting cheques for payment. Working with Business Challenge Microsoft Gold Partner, Solidsoft, SSE now has many more satisfied SSE’s retail website for electrical appliances needed customers, increased revenue and unified sales channels. upgrading to reduce manual processes, improve customer service and increase the potential for sales of white BACKGROUND and brown goods. Utility companies pride themselves on customer service as a key differentiator in a competitive market, especially for selling ‘white’ and Solution Solidsoft recommended the ‘brown’ goods, such as washing machines and television. With multiple Microsoft .NET Framework sales channels, from high street shops to call centres and the Internet, and Microsoft Visual Studio pricing and stock control needs consistent monitoring if orders are to .NET to develop a new environment for the reach the customer without delay, whatever the method of payment, processing of web orders. whether by cash, credit card or cheque. Microsoft BizTalk Server was used to integrate SSE’s This was the business challenge facing Scottish and Southern Energy diverse legacy back-end (SSE), which targets the whole UK retail market. systems. It finds that in Scotland customers are more used to paying by cheque Benefits than with credit or debit cards. SSE, formed through a merger of • Reduced business costs Southern Electric and Scottish Hydro-Electric in 1998, is one of the largest • Enhanced customer energy supply businesses in the UK, serving almost 5 million customers satisfaction and retention • Quicker order fulfilment through its Southern Electric, SWALEC and Scottish Hydro-Electric brands. • Consistent quality of SSE also has a commitment to its marketplace. service Says Stephen Jeffers, Head of e-commerce and technology at SSE: “We pride ourselves on giving value for money and getting the product there on time.” 37 But, with its legacy system, orders were printed out from the SSE’s ‘hienergyshop’ website and dealt with manually, leading to increased risk of human error and delay. The system also limited the number of orders that could be processed in a day and in some cases lead to customer dissatisfaction. Says Andy James, head of consultancy at Microsoft Gold Partner Solidsoft: “A sales executive used to go through the orders with a ruler and say, ‘Hey, this order requires a cheque,’ and put it in a tray on a shelf. When the cheques arrived they used to match the two and type the details into the order system. As you could imagine, they were exposed to the dangers of human error.” SSE had separate stock control systems for white and brown goods, which also involved manual intervention. These were not easy candidates for automation, because of the buying policy used by SSE. Says James: “If I asked how many washing machines do we have of a particular brand and what’s the price, I would be likely to get the answer, two at this price, four at another and one at a third. For an automated system it would become very difficult to decide which of those prices to sell at.” What SSE needed was new technology that would provide greater “The .NET automation, while still allowing for some manual intervention in cheque Framework works, it gives us faster handling and stock control. time to market and a unified SOLUTION development SSE opted for a live system connecting its existing website with its legacy environment across back-end system. It is based on a powerful combination of the Microsoft multiple projects. We would not .NET Framework and the application integration capabilities of Microsoft have attempted to BizTalk Server 2002. do this project Says James: “We needed to put in some manual intervention and some using legacy interesting control processes as well. That’s when we realised that we had solutions.” a joint .NET Framework and BizTalk project.” BizTalk messaging is used for the orders from the website. Each new STEPHEN JEFFERS HEAD OF E-COMMERCE order starts a new business process that connects to the Microsoft SQL AND TECHNOLOGY SCOTTISH AND Server database. It also integrates the order management system with the SOUTHERN ENERGY PLC stock control back-end on UNIX boxes. BizTalk enables SSE’s sales team to handle cheque controls by stopping the process until cheques have cleared and then restart it with manual 38 intervention. Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Says James: “The nice part is using .NET technologies. It was very easy Software and Services to produce something that allows us to do that.” Microsoft® .NET Framework Having stopped the business process to wait for a cheque, a sales Microsoft Visual Studio® executive checks the post each day and when it arrives updates the status .NET Microsoft BizTalk Server to say ‘cheque received.’ After cheque clearance, the status is amended Microsoft SQL Server™ to say ‘funds available for purchase.’ At that point the fulfilment of the order becomes automated again. Partners Solidsoft The .NET Framework was used to build the graphical user interface (GUI) for both cheque clearance and stock control. By choosing Microsoft Visual Studio .NET developer tools and C# programming language, Solidsoft, an organisation focused around .NET integration, was able to speed up both processes. SSE has automatic notification systems that prompt the manual process with escalation routes if orders have not been actioned, and warns its sales team if a cheque’s proceeds fail to arrive in 10 working days. Says James: “To the people managing the orders it’s nothing different. They have a cheque clearance part, a tab that gives them stock control and another tab that gives them orders outstanding and their status.” The company’s stock control systems are at present set on UNIX boxes and one of the challenges Solidsoft faced was how to input data without altering the legacy system. The solution was a straightforward file transfer process (FTP) architecture to drop files in and pick files up. Says James:” We go across from a Windows-based system to a UNIX- based system without any hassle. A good analogy is with translation. It’s as if we’ve converted English into Esperanto, added data, and then converted it back into English.” The common data transport between the website, the back end and the GUI is XML. Says James: “The .NET Framework ensures that any new application is XML compliant, while BizTalk Server enables legacy technologies to exchange data in the same way. The fact that we are moving information using a single protocol at almost every stage of the business process makes a huge difference to ease and cost of integration, and overall business efficiency.”

BENEFITS Handling More Orders The upgrade has enabled SSE to handle more orders for white and brown goods and the system enables sales staff to use .NET and Web Services to 39 manage credit card clearance. Whereas previously, there was a physical limit to how many transactions can be handled in a day, this ceiling has now disappeared. Says Jeffers: “We are experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of orders being processed and we can now handle more of them with less staff, freeing up our people to concentrate on other customer facing “We needed to put tasks.” in some manual intervention and some interesting Automation With the Human Touch control processes The challenge offered by SSE to Solidsoft and Microsoft was far from as well. That’s conventional. The solution used a combination of BizTalk and the .NET when we realised Framework to integrate legacy and diverse back-end retail systems. The that we had a joint .NET Framework business gained a single interface to its IT systems, but retained the and BizTalk human touch in key areas. project.” “We chose not to fully automate the processes as there are occasions where trained users must make a decision on the returned results,” says ANDY JAMES HEAD OF CONSULTANCY Jeffers. “But, the vast majority of transactions are automated. Business SOLIDSOFT productivity has greatly improved.” Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Retail

Better Customer Service The business process remains familiar to the customer at the front end when logging onto the website. It still enables customers to pay by cheque, but the response time has been made quicker and the potential for processing errors with the former ‘print out and ruler system’ has been dramatically reduced. There is a now new facility to place orders for multiple items. Says James: “One of the issues they had was that somebody might order a television, which is brown goods, and a washing machine which is white goods, and then take on warranties for both.” The new system can handle this level of complexity and deliver to different timetables.

Unified Sales Channels Since going live in February 2002, SSE has been able to work on pulling together its various sales including Internet, direct sales and potentially its 50-plus physical retail outlets. A major ingredient in this success was the combination of the .NET Framework and BizTalk Server. Says Jeffers:” The .NET Framework works, it gave us faster time to market and a unified development environment across multiple projects. We would not have attempted to do this project using legacy solutions. BizTalk is a real winner.”

Scalable for New Developments If SSE wanted, within reason, any other database or back-end system this could simply be plugged in with minor modifications. Says James: “That’s the really wonderful aspect of the project, it is abundantly scalable for future developments and data has become much easier to handle.” By moving to Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework SSE has ensured that its development process is much more controllable and rewarding. Adds James: “It also means we can produce something that is object oriented, componentised and reusable.” For more information about To SSE’s Jeffers, the success of the project can be measured in the Solidsoft, go to: improved customer experience. http://www.solidsoft.com “Quality of service and consistency is important to us,” he says, “and this is what we have delivered by using the MIcrosoft.NET Framework and BizTalk.” ■ For more information about Scottish and Southern Energy, go to: www.scottish- southern.co.uk 41 .NET live Industry Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

Adecco Finds Microsoft .NET Just the Overview Job for Repurposing Job Seekers Customer Profile Adecco UK is the UK’s Website leading employment services company with 300 offices The UK’s leading employment services company, Adecco UK, nationwide. It places over 30,000 people in work every wanted its website to tap into a bigger pool of on-line job seekers. single day and services over The site was originally built with a combination of Macromedia 32,000 clients a year. Adecco UK is part of Adecco SA, the Technology and static HTML, but Adecco UK realised it was largest recruitment company becoming increasingly slow and cumbersome to update. The in the world, placing over problems with the site were preventing the company from 700,000 people a day in work across 62 countries. increasing its market share in a competitive business arena. Adecco UK has gone live with a rebuilt website and has already seen a vast Business Challenge improvement in the time taken to update its content. The company’s website was difficult to maintain and support. It needed to become content driven to enable internal users to manage their own updates and to BACKGROUND improve turnaround time. The online market for job seekers has become increasingly important for recruitment companies but information has to be constantly refreshed. As Solution Developers implemented the world’s leading employment services company, Adecco UK needs to Microsoft Visual Studio .NET keep ahead of market trends to serve its customers in the UK and Ireland in the Microsoft .NET Framework, running on with the latest situations vacant. The company has over 300 locations Microsoft Windows 2000 serving 32,000 clients in all sectors of commerce and industry. Server, to repurpose the Originally built using a combination of Macromedia Technology and company’s website. static HTML pages, www.adecco.co.uk was difficult to maintain, improve and support for Adecco UK’s centralised web development team, which meant that Adecco UK’s online presence did not match its business strategy or focus. Edward Burt, commercial manager, E-Commerce at Adecco UK, says: “The recruitment industry is constantly evolving, but the static nature of our site caused most pages to become out-of-date very quickly, offering no business benefit as well as incorrect content and information.” 43 The company required a dynamic, powerful website that was content driven and user friendly enough for staff in all Adecco’s branch offices to change the content themselves. Each office needed four or five pages on the website. Says Burt: “We were also looking for the flexibility to quickly customise sections of the site to serve the needs of a particular client or a specialist employment market.”

SOLUTION Before making a decision on the technology to use for the website, Adecco invited a number of agencies to submit designs that would “challenge the status quo” and help to relaunch the site. Says Burt, “This process took nearly three months to complete and we must have gone through nearly 70 designs. At the end of it we took the designs to our IT team and told them “This is what we want it to look like, this is the functionality we require and it must be easily and quickly updated by the business.” Based on this, the company adopted Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework, an integral part of the Windows operating system to rebuild the website. It runs on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server hosted at Tiscali. “We came to the conclusion that Microsoft technology would deliver the functionality we required, and it proved to have everything we wanted,” says Kunal Pandya, IS Solutions Delivery team leader at Adecco “With the .NET UK. “Using native XML support in the Microsoft .NET Framework enabled Framework we no our developers to build the application so as to dynamically present the longer have broken links on the user interface, as well as test and deploy the application within desired Website. When a timescales.” page is updated The company is now using the application server features of the .NET the links are Framework, including Microsoft ASP.NET, for its website. changed Says Pandya: “Our in-house developers were able to utilise the rich automatically.” hierarchical set of unified class libraries and work strictly within budget. KUNAL PANDYA, IS We found that with ASP.NET it was almost painless to migrate to SOLUTIONS DELIVERY Microsoft .NET.” TEAM LEADER, ADECCO UK With the .NET Framework, Adecco UK gained a stable development platform, improved the performance of its application, and acquired the scalability to consider the future use of new mobile and speech 44 technologies and XML Web Services for expansion of its business. Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

BENEFITS Benefits • Rapid updates of web Faster Website Updates pages by non IS departments Migrating from Macromedia to Microsoft technology was quick and easy • Customised solutions for and has resulted in major commercial advantages for Adecco UK, large customers • Increased customer including the ability to project a single branded image to its customers. satisfaction The most significant benefit involves the ease and speed with which • Greater developer website content can be changed. productivity • Scalable for Web Services, Says Burt: “Previously, requests for changes in content from our plus mobile and speech branches would take four to six weeks to implement. With the .NET technologies Framework we can update a branch site in four to six minutes. Images as Software and well as text are easy to manipulate – inserting a web page is now as easy Services as dragging and dropping a text file.” Microsoft® Visual Studio® After completing the project in just five months from design through .NET Microsoft .NET Framework to going live, Adecco UK is delighted that the new website has been Microsoft Windows® 2000 delivered on time and to budget. Server Says Burt: “We had to be very mindful of the costs and the overall XML Web Services competitiveness of the Microsoft solution was important. We did get quotes from other vendors that were six or seven times the actual cost to us of the Microsoft solution. We now have a large part of our original budget that can be used to keep the site up to date rather than having blown everything on the launch.” Developing with the .NET Framework is allowing Adecco UK’s branches to quickly produce and add information of interest to job seekers. The company also offers customised solutions for major customers interested in tapping the online pool of job applicants.

An Efficient Platform The .NET Framework has given Adecco UK a stable single development platform and eliminated the integration and maintenance issues that beset the company with its former website. “Our development environment was static and any update was laborious and time consuming and had to be done by the developers themselves,” says Pandya. “We were spending far too much time maintaining our development process when we should have been spending those hours bringing new content and features to market.” The .NET Framework Software Development Kit contains a huge range of resources that enable developers to build web-based applications and services. It offers companies such as Adecco UK a single framework for 45 developing new applications. Says Pandya: “A big consideration for us was the incredibly rich class library that handled every kind of application plumbing you could think of. The class library saved us time as well as money.” The .NET Framework class library is a comprehensive, object-oriented collection of reusable classes that can be used to develop applications ranging from traditional command-line or graphical user interface (GUI) applications to those based on ASP.NET and XML Web Services. In choosing the .NET Framework as its preferred technology, Adecco was also making the correct choice given its severe time pressures and budgetary constraints. Says Pandya: “Time to market was a major consideration for us and given the tight margins we operate on we had a minimum budget on which to deliver the project. The speed with which we developed and deployed the website have meant we are able to work on other projects ahead of schedule.” “With the .NET Framework we can update a branch Future Proof Technology site in four to six Having completed the project in Visual Studio .NET and the .NET minutes.” Framework, Adecco UK will now handle its future development in that environment. “Moving forward we will have very few projects that will EDWARD BURT COMMERCIAL not be built completely on the Windows platform using Visual Studio MANAGER, .NET and the .NET Framework,” says Pandya. ■ E-COMMERCE ADECCO UK For more information about Adecco UK, go to: http://www.adecco.co.uk Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

New Document Disclosure Solution Overview Helps Freshfields Lawyers To Cut Customer Profile Freshfields Bruckhaus Through Litigation Paperwork Deringer is one of the world’s leading law firms with 2,500 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a leading international law firm, has lawyers in 28 offices internationally. It provides a implemented a new document disclosure solution, which enables comprehensive service to lawyers to quickly search and retrieve information related to national and multinational litigation trials. Using the Microsoft .NET Framework, the firm’s in- corporations, financial institutions and the public house IT team built the application in just three months. Rather than sector. using expensive, additional resources, lawyers are now accessing the system themselves to retrieve documents. This dramatically reduces Business Challenge Freshfields’ existing the time and cost associated with this step in the legal process, and document disclosure greatly improves the overall service to clients. application was far from easy to use. In many cases, lawyers needed additional resources to conduct searches and BACKGROUND retrieve scanned documents.

As anyone who has read Dickens’ Bleak House knows, litigation cases are Solution notorious for the amount of paperwork that they generate. Today, most Using the Microsoft .NET cases are far shorter than Jarndyce versus Jarndyce, but managing the Framework, Freshfields designed and developed a sheer number of documents associated with litigation trials is still an browser-based application enormous challenge. based on layouts and search tools familiar to anyone who Many law firms have implemented electronic document management has used Internet search (EDM) systems where printed papers are scanned into a searchable engines or popular database. But in most examples, these document disclosure systems are transactional websites. unwieldy, slow and require lawyers and paralegals to work with bespoke desktop applications that are difficult to use, even after many hours’ training. This was the challenge facing the London office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, one of the world’s leading law firms with more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Says Simon Niven, program manager, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: “Collecting and then searching relevant documents is one of the most time consuming aspects of any trial.” 47 A witness interview is just one example of where this lengthy process is necessary. “Whenever our lawyers need to interview a witness they must compile a dossier with all the information relevant to the meeting and then extract critical documents that must be discussed,” says Niven. Several years ago, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer implemented a searchable database of scanned documents. But it simply wasn’t user friendly enough to win widespread support from the firm’s lawyers. “In most cases they asked a paralegal to do the work for them or got support from a specialist support department,” he says. Freshfields objective was simple. “We wanted to develop a document disclosure application, which was easy and intuitive to use so that lawyers could conduct searches themselves.”

SOLUTION Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is an established Microsoft house and its developers were keen to take advantage of the Microsoft .NET Framework to build a new document disclosure application. At the same time, Niven wanted developers to focus on the “Lawyers will be functionality of the solution as well as ease of use. “One of our main able to use their objectives was to ensure that people actually used this application. It had time as effectively to be as user-friendly as possible, so that lawyers could get the most out as possible. And because they can of the solution from day one.” conduct searches The firm’s approach was simple. Working closely with the end-users, themselves, they the interface team used HTML to design screens complete with menus, can bring their buttons and other key browser features. The developers then took the expertise to bear HTML code and converted it to XSL so that this front end could be when picking out the right integrated with the middle tier and ultimately the legacy document information and databases. ensure the The ultimate goal was to take the data already stored in the SQL Server accuracy of this 2000 document database and present it to the end users as an easy to step in the understand and view web application; XSL served as the bridge between process.” the legacy data and modern HTML user interfaces. SIMON NIVEN As part of this process and the overall solution build, Freshfields PROGRAM MANAGER developers used Microsoft Visual C# .NET, the C# flavour of Microsoft FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER Visual Studio .NET. “Two of our developers had used .NET Framework briefly in the past while one was completely new to the environment. But they all got up to 48 speed very quickly. And although development tools such as Microsoft Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

Visual Basic V6.0 have served us well in the past, the Microsoft .NET Benefits • Faster, more accurate Framework is a lot faster and even more stable,” says Niven. service to clients About 400 lawyers worldwide will use the system, a figure that • Easy to use by lawyers who represents a sizeable percentage of fee earners in the firm. And thanks to retrieve case information • Speed of development – their involvement from the earliest stages of design, the front-end just three months from application is extremely easy to use. “We’ve made sure that the initiation to live pilot presentation is very clean. There’s lots of white space, and all the words • Reduced cost of development – the Microsoft are in plain English with no IT jargon,” says Niven. .NET Framework is easy to Conducting a search is simplicity itself. “The application includes pull use for most developers and down boxes and free text entry. This makes it easy to conduct searches increases their productivity • Reusability – new for documents that reference an individual, or that have been authored application code can be by a specific person or entity,” says Niven. adapted for similar desktop The Freshfields application also borrows the ‘shopping basket’ solutions while additional back-end systems can be metaphor from the world of ecommerce. As relevant documents are integrated easily identified, they are stored in a basket until the research is complete. And in much the same way you can break off mid-way through shopping for Software and Services books or CDs, it is possible for legal staff to save their search and return Microsoft® .NET Framework when convenient.” Microsoft SQL Server™ 2000 Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET BENEFITS Microsoft Visual C#™ .NET Better Client Service The application makes it easier to identify critical documents in the litigation process. “You can run pinpoint searches that pull up everything you need at different stages in the case. Above all, it makes it quicker and easier to find the ‘smoking gun’ in a litigation case,” says Niven. It also means that the firm can deliver a more efficient, cost-effective service to clients. “Lawyers will be able to use their time as effectively as possible. And because they can conduct searches themselves, they can bring their expertise to bear when picking out the right information and ensure the accuracy of this step in the process,” says Niven.

Reduced Cost and Speed of Development The .NET Framework enabled Freshfields to launch an application pilot in just three months, a remarkably fast development cycle. Says Niven: “The developers moved quickly and easily into the new environment and were soon at home with Visual Studio .NET. Development time was also reduced because we separated the user 49 interface from functionality at a very early stage. The development team was able to convert HTML interface designs into XSL and concentrate on the architectural functionality of the solution.” Following a three-month pilot when the application will be used to assist a key litigation case, it will be rolled out across the entire organisation.

Minimal Training Required Another key strength of Freshfields’ application is that it is extremely easy to use. Because user interface specialists were working with end-users from the start, it was possible to incorporate lawyer and paralegal feedback into the HTML interface design. This means that there are few or no surprises in the finished application. For new users, only a couple of hours training are required. Says Niven: “There is no point building an application quickly and then spending weeks getting users up to speed. With our solution, anyone who has conducted searches on the web is immediately at home with the interface. This also means that we don’t have to train every single user. Instead we can train key people within a team who can pass on this knowledge to their colleagues. The cost of workshops, and sending people on courses is eliminated.”

Reusability The solution architecture has been designed for reuse in future applications. Says Niven: “We are looking at several other areas where a solution of this type could make the lives of lawyers and other legal staff easier. Thanks to the .NET Framework we can take a modular approach “The developers moved quickly and to future application development and reuse code and objects where easily into the new possible.” environment and Reusability also applies to integration with back-end databases. At the were soon at home moment, the interface is integrated via the middle-tier that houses all the with Visual Studio application logic with the application database and the document .NET.” database. SIMON NIVEN “If we decide to change the method by which we store documents, or PROGRAM MANAGER extend integration with other databases, the .NET Framework means that FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER we only have to smooth over the data layer. There is no need to rewrite the application itself,” says Niven. ■ For more information about Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, go to: 50 http://www.freshfields.com Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

Human Resources Consultancy Overview Shows How to Cut the Cost of Customer Profile Mercer helps clients develop Sickness Absence and implement effective human resource strategies, Mercer wanted to develop an innovative new solution to help clients plans and policies. manage employee absenteeism. As a leader in Integrated Health Business Challenge Management, Mercer realised that the reasons for not addressing Mercer wanted to minimise the problem often stem from the inability to engage the right health-related costs and risks impacting on businesses’ people, with the right data, at the right time. Microsoft partner performance and Avanade delivered the absence management solution, profitability, in particularly Healthconnect, on time and to budget. Mercer now offers its clients sickness absence. a fully managed application that helps reduce absence and health Solution risks within the workplace. Healthconnect, an absence management solution built on Microsoft .NET-connected software, Avanade BACKGROUND Connected Architectures (ACA) Absenteeism is a major problem for most businesses, impacting on their overall performance and profitability. Benefits In addition, the causes of ill health, and particularly work-related ill • Enables proactive management of absence health, have changed dramatically, with stress and musculo-skeletal throughout organisation. problems accounting for a majority of long-term disabilities. • Enables short-term absence reduction through better According to a survey by the CBI magazine1 and medical insurer AXA absence management PPP healthcare, short-term absence accounts for 95% of all absences, but processes. long-term sickness makes up 31% of all working time lost. • Reduces incidents of long- term absence through early Even though absence and ill health represent one of an organisation’s assessment and rapid largest costs, they are often low on the business agenda. Typically this is intervention. because there is no company-wide view of absence as it is often managed • Reduces risk of litigation from work related conditions poorly or in isolation, making it difficult to get an accurate understanding and accidents. of its impact on the business. As a result, management tends to be reactive, not proactive in its approach to employee health issues. Mercer’s Integrated Health Management consultancy is the leader in 51 understanding this issue, and in putting in place the structures and best practice policies to address the business health risks. Through greater alignment of the company’s health supply chain, line managers can more effectively begin to manage both short and long-term absence. “Absence is a real problem for businesses, but better management is the key to addressing rising costs of healthcare provision and increasing the current yield on that investment,” says Mindy Daeschner, health consultant, Mercer. Healthconnect makes it much easier for managers to actively manage sickness absence as best practice processes are enabled by Healthconnect, making it easier to manage, track and analyse absence. “It enables our clients to drive absence costs down, drive health costs down and provide a more integrated, faster approach, so that the employer/employee relationship around health improves,” says Daeschner. Mercer wanted to develop a solution that enabled clients to overcome the real difficulties that make managing absence and reducing the consequent costs, hard to do. The solution needed to have the resilience to support a global audience, but be flexible enough to evolve as the market grows. Healthconnect is a sophisticated, fully supported application, for managing, measuring and minimising absence and ill health risks. Using “It enables our it in support of best practice processes and an appropriate infrastructure, clients to drive companies can make significant savings whilst moving to a proactive, absence costs preventative working environment that promotes good health. down, drive health costs down and provide a more SOLUTION integrated, faster Mercer was already familiar with the Microsoft .NET Framework – an approach so that integral component of the Microsoft Windows operating system – when the employer it approached Microsoft partner and solutions provider, Avanade. /employee relationship around “There were a number of reasons why we wanted to build our solution health improves.” on the Microsoft .NET Framework. We wanted a solution that would eventually integrate with other client applications, such as their payroll MINDY DAESCHNER systems,” says Daeschner. “We knew it was the best technology on the HEALTH CONSULTANT MERCER market for integration.” Mercer also approached Avanade knowing that many companies were still testing the water with .NET technologies. 52 “We were looking for partners with experience with .NET. Because of Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

its partnership with Microsoft, Avanade had the hands-on experience we Software and Services were looking for.” Microsoft® Visual Studio® George Thaw, sales and marketing director, Avanade, says: “Mercer .NET was aware of the technical advantages of .NET, most importantly around Microsoft® .NET Framework Microsoft® Windows® 2000 security, performance and developer productivity. They wanted to see Advanced Server these benefits in their solution.” Microsoft® SQL Server™ With Mercer’s clear specifications in mind, Avanade built the 2000 Healthconnect solution, based on its own Microsoft .NET-connected Partner software, Avanade Connected Architectures (ACA). Avanade ACA is built using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, a comprehensive suite of tools for rapidly building Microsoft .NET-connected applications for Microsoft Windows and the web. Applications can be created in any language, leveraging existing developer skill sets and dramatically increasing their productivity. Thaw says: “Mercer wanted to minimise the risk associated with new technology. ACA was the only .NET-based solution that combined the precision of custom code with the predictability of a proven application architecture.” Within a very short time-span, Avanade delivered Healthconnect, a solution that is fully managed and maintained by Mercer. Microsoft Windows 2000 Server is functioning as Healthconnect’s application and web server. With Microsoft Message Queuing being used for all asynchronous messaging. All the information is stored in a back- end Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database that will allow Healthconnect to be scalable both upwards and outwards. Since early 2003 Mercer has been rolling out Healthconnect to its clients.

BENEFITS Enabling a Revolutionary Tool Building the solution on .NET-connected software has enabled Mercer to deliver a rapid and unique business offering to its customers. For more information about “We knew that .NET would be the right direction to go in. With its Avanade Technologies, go to: integration capabilities, it forms a basis for further development of the http://www.avanade.com. solution as it evolves over time,” says Daeschner. Thaw agrees: “In the current economic climate, companies demand much more value from their information technology investments. Competing systems such as J2EE simply would not have been able to deliver a solution within the budget and timeframe required.” 53 Fast but Secure Rollout Mercer selected ACA because of its ability to shorten the development time. “Our clients wanted Healthconnect implemented, so speed to market was key in the decision making process,” says Daeschner. “The .NET Framework and Visual Studio.NET enabled our team to be far more productive than we would have been with other technologies,” says Thaw. “Healthconnect uses a variety of pre-built ACA and .NET application services that shortened the development time by 20 per cent.” The managed code architecture of the .NET Framework and special authorisation features built on to ACA dramatically reduce the security risks associated with Internet-based software applications. .NET also empowers developers to quickly and easily create Web Services and applications with their existing skill sets using their chosen programming language.

Increased Company Visibility Mercer is now positioned with a unique solution for customers. “It enables us to broaden our Integrated Health Management consultancy within our clients. It enables them to better manage their health supply chain and their absence problems,” says Daeschner. Mercer was able to build the solution cost effectively, yet ACA and .NET “In the current will enable them to easily increase their user base with relatively modest economic climate, companies demand hardware requirements. “Scalability testing verified support for a large much more value number of users with the added ability to scale horizontally,” says Thaw. from their IT In the months since launch, Mercer has received positive feedback from investments. existing and prospective clients and has been delighted with the technical Competing systems stability of the application. such as J2EE simply would not have Daeschner says: “.NET has provided us with a platform to move been able to forward in a cost-effective way. It enables us to continue to develop, deliver a solution support and integrate more closely with our clients. Already there is work within the budget in progress for the future.” ■ and timeframe For more information about Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s Healthconnect required.” service, go to: http://www.mercerhr.co.uk GEORGE THAW SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR AVANADE 1 For more information see www.cbi.org.uk

54 Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

Epicor Delivers Business Advantage to Overview StreamServe Customer Profile StreamServe is a leader in the StreamServe Inc, a leading business communications provider, has fast-growing enterprise business communication implemented a new solution from innovative software provider Epicor market. It helps organisations Software Corporation. The suite of web-based applications, Epicor for reduce the cost and complexity of exchanging Service Enterprises, uses more than 60 Web Services to manage information with customers, essential business processes more effectively – from resource and suppliers and employees. project planning to travel, expenses and invoicing. The offering was Business Challenge built in just 24 months using the Microsoft .NET Framework. StreamServe wanted to improve operational efficiency across its BACKGROUND consulting operations by For many years, organisations have been striving to reduce their costs by implementing a central mechanism for resource and streamlining business processes. One of the largest areas of costs yet to be project planning, logging of tackled is that of communication with customers, suppliers and employees. consultants’ time and StreamServe, a leader in enterprise business communications, has pioneered a generating customer invoices. solution to reduce that cost and complexity. It helps organisations achieve these cost reductions and other benefits by operating an independent business Solution communication platform. The solution is capable of receiving and distributing Epicor for Service Enterprises, a suite of applications data in the most appropriate format and channel for each customer or trading comprising more than 60 partner. It also allows businesses to offer better services or more personalised Web Services built on the Microsoft .NET Framework. communications without massive changes in the underlying IT infrastructure. The solution is designed for As a growing organisation, StreamServe understood the need to establish services companies that want efficient business processes in all parts of the company. In particular, it had a to manage and streamline enterprise business processes need to improve the efficiency of the processes in its professional services from recording expenses to organisation, particularly those such as resource and project planning, reporting on management logging of consultants’ time and expenses, and customer invoicing. information. Rod Kilgour, vice president of Services, StreamServe, says: “Previously, we had 11 service managers double keying in the same information for resource planning and invoicing expenses manually. Not only was this approach very inefficient in terms of people’s time. It was also prone to human error.” StreamServe selected a suite of enterprise service automation (ESA) 55 applications from leading enterprise software solutions provider Epicor to address these issues across its Nordic consulting division. The offering, Epicor for Service Enterprises, was built using the Microsoft .NET Framework.

SOLUTION The implementation of Epicor for Service Enterprises began in February 2003 and went live just 12 weeks later. Neil McLachlan, director of Product Management, Epicor, says: “Epicor for Service Enterprises is a good fit for any organisation that depends on booking and recording people’s time, running projects, and billing effectively. It supports the full range of business processes, from bidding for engagements, planning resources and project management, to delivering materials and real-time performance management.” The Epicor solution is unique because it is not built on extensive custom coding like other enterprise applications. Instead, it uses web applications to call Web Services that invoke functionality such as opportunity management, project planning, resource management and financial analysis. Because of the way the solution is architected, a full range of functionality can be delivered on a thin-client basis. “We wanted to re-architect our application to deliver a pure, web-based approach,” says McLachlan. “After visiting Microsoft in Redmond, we developed granular functionality in the form of Web Services in the middle tier of our architecture. Instead of using Web “It took 24 months to develop the Services to ‘wrap’ existing applications, we re-wrote the entire solution from solution from the CRM, through projects to ecommerce. This enables StreamServe to select ground up. When and use enterprise-wide functionality invoked by over 60 Web Services on you consider that a repetitive, granular basis via a standard web browser.” we were new to This model reflected StreamServe’s own approach of taking business both Visual Studio .NET and the logic out of back-end systems to improve flexibility. This means the Microsoft .NET company’s business management layer is entirely separate from its Framework when underlying IT infrastructure. Both hardware and software can be upgraded we started, that is quickly and easily with no impact on day-to-day operations. a massive The open nature of Web Services also enabled StreamServe to integrate the achievement.” Epicor for Service Enterprises solution with its existing systems. The company NEIL MCLACHLAN connected its CRM platform, Navision accounting system and Epicor for DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT Service Enterprises using the StreamServe® Business Communication MANAGEMENT EPICOR Platform (BCP). StreamServe also uses its own software to deliver invoices via the format and channel its customers prefer. One week after going live, the first information on StreamServe consultants’ time and expenses was entered 56 into the Epicor application and customer invoices were generated successfully. Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Industry

BENEFITS Benefits • Rapid application Rapid Application Development development Two years ago, Epicor became an early adopter of the Microsoft .NET • Better integration of Framework and began to explore the development benefits of an entirely systems and applications • Future proof solution web-based model. McLachlan says: “Using the Microsoft C# programming • Access to timely language, .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET development tools, we management information can generate self-describing Web Services very efficiently. For example, we Software and can now build a thin-client form, plug it into a Web Service and develop the Services appropriate business logic in just two days. Previously, this could have taken Microsoft® .NET Framework as long as two weeks. It took 24 months to develop the solution from the Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET ground up. When you consider that we were new to both Visual Studio .NET Microsoft Windows® Server and the .NET Framework when we started, that is a massive achievement.” 2003 Microsoft Internet Information Server 6.0 Better Integration of Systems and Applications Because Microsoft .NET-connected software is built on Web Services Partners standards, it enables both new and existing applications to integrate with Epicor Software Corporation software and services across platforms, applications, and programming languages. Kilgour says: “Now, we can extract data from Epicor for Service Enterprises into our own StreamServe solution using XML. Using our StreamServe product, we then transform it into the right format for Navision and distribute it to our customers in the channel they prefer. This brings an enormous reduction in manual administrative processes.” The granular nature of Epicor’s application enables StreamServe to customise the solution and add new functionality quickly and easily. By simply collecting the appropriate Web Services, the organisation can gain access to applications that support specific business needs via an Internet browser.

Access to Timely Management Information As a result of the Microsoft .NET-powered solution, StreamServe can access timely management information from across its services enterprise. For more information about Previously, reports had to be produced by professional services managers and Epicor, go to: were often not available until 10 to 15 days after information was collected. http://www.epicor.co.uk Kilgour says: “Reporting has been transformed from a burden into a quick and efficient process. We can now access up to date information to act on. This is a key differentiator in a market that is more competitive than ever before. The goal now is to extend these capabilities by rolling out the solution across the entire professional services organisation.” ■ For more information about StreamServe, go to: http://www.streamserve.com 57 .NET live Entertainment and Media Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Entertainment and Media

Ministry of Sound Dances to the Tune of Overview New Website Bringing Clubbers Closer Customer Profile The Ministry of Sound was Together established more than 10 years ago. It is a leading The Ministry of Sound is home to clubbers from around the world. name in the world of club music. Its website, central to The popularity of its UK operation has gone from strength to its brand, has 750,000 unique strength in recent years and its website is central to the brand users every month. image, supporting the company’s growth. It is also a vital Business Challenge communication channel for all clubbers about Ministry of Sound The company wanted to releases and events. The company wanted to provide a richer user make its website easier to maintain and manage and experience and ensure the site was easier to support and maintain provide a richer user going forward. It worked with Microsoft partner Domino Systems to experience. Its previous site rebuild the site using the Microsoft .NET Framework, and ensured was not as reliable as Ministry of Sound wanted it much improved control of content by implementing Microsoft to be. It also wanted to Content Management Server. create a foundation that it could build on.

Solution BACKGROUND To build on its previous IT Music is big business. Billions of pounds are spent each year on singles, investments in Microsoft technology, the company has albums, videos, concerts, merchandise, and more. In recent years, the worked with partner Domino music scene, in particular club music, has become even more popular. Systems to rewrite the website using Microsoft ASP And with the constant arrival of new artistes, and new and fresh .NET and the Microsoft .NET approaches to video and audio offerings, the music industry has never Framework. It has also been so lucrative. implemented Microsoft Content Management Server. Ministry of Sound is a leading club name around the world with operations from the UK to Australia. The company has built up a strong reputation by promoting big hit names, such as DJ Sammy, Divine Inspiration and Tomcraft, and sells a range of chart-topping CD singles and compilations such as The Annual and Clubber’s Guide series. Its clubbing venues, which deliver an eclectic mix of music from house, trance, techno, and hip hop to garage and R&B, have become a social must for music enthusiasts everywhere. 59 Created in the early 90s at the height of the music scene, the Ministry of Sound has gone from strength to strength. From its humble beginnings as a South London nightclub, the company has grown into a club music monolith. In addition to its record label and club venue activities, Ministry of Sound also licenses the brand to audio equipment manufacturers and sells luxury holidays to the clubbing capital of the world, Ibiza. But with opportunities come challenges. The Ministry of Sound’s website is at the heart of the clubbing empire. It is where DJs, club owners and clubbers go to purchase their favourite “This is the most music and find out what’s happening when and where. significant .NET It also provides ecommerce facilities, digital downloads, and streaming project we’ve done video and media so visitors can listen to music before making a purchase. so far and it is That’s why the site needs to be fast, reliable, and up to date. If the delivering great company is too slow posting details, or users cannot access a certain benefits already.” page, there is a danger visitors will go elsewhere, either to shop or as an JAMES BACCHUS alternative clubbing venue. CHIEF TECHNOLOGY www.ministryofsound.com has 750,000 unique users each month. A OFFICER MINISTRY OF SOUND team of three developers was spending a great deal of time carrying out Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Entertainment and Media

maintenance and supporting the site. Updating content was also too time Benefits • Flexibility consuming. • Speed of development The Ministry of Sound wanted to carry out more value added projects • Control of content and reduce the number of tools needed to maintain the site. James • Reduced costs • Increased revenue Bacchus, chief technology officer at Ministry of Sound, says: “There is opportunities more recognition in the organisation of the value IT can bring.” • Richer user experience • Pages take just 10 minutes to create rather than half a SOLUTION day To deliver the kind of quality user experience expected of the brand, • Solid foundation for the Ministry of Sound needed a quality IT backbone to support its website. future

The company’s existing infrastructure is made up mainly of Microsoft Software and technology, and its data is held in a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database, Services so it wanted a solution that would fit into this environment. Microsoft® .NET Framework Microsoft Visual Studio® In January 2003, Ministry of Sound decided to work collaboratively .NET with Microsoft partner Domino Systems to rebuild Microsoft Content www.ministryofsound.com using the Microsoft .NET Framework, and Management Server gain greater control of content by implementing Microsoft Content Management Server. Partners Domino Systems

61 Bacchus says: “We chose Content Management Server because it was easy to work with and would be easier to maintain going forward. I was also looking for a solution that could fulfil our needs and potentially be used for other Ministry of Sound online activities such as artists and labels sites.” The .NET Framework is the foundation of the next generation of Windows-based applications. They are easier to build, deploy and integrate. New applications can be developed much more quickly as the Framework uses the Common Language Runtime and standard class libraries, which means that code used for common tasks can be quickly and easily reused. Microsoft ASP .NET was selected to create the pages and application logic for the new website. ASP.NET enables developers to build web pages dynamically by querying a relational database from within the page’s “It shows that you presentation logic. ASP .NET and Internet Information Server has server can meet the control features that separate code from content and can automatically requirements we had without detect and recover unplanned memory leaks before they degrade site increasing costs for performance and become a business issue. each site you want Microsoft Visual Studio .NET was selected as the development the solution to environment for the site and the programming language used was touch. We have not Microsoft® Visual C#. ripped and replaced – we have “The old site was written using ASP and static HTML and the web team complemented our was interested in making use of these skills for ASP .NET. We have used existing .NET APIs rather than COM as we wanted the site to be as current as infrastructure and possible. We also wanted to ensure that we were creating something that enhanced and we could build on – that would not need replacing in a short period of streamlined processes that time. It was initially a learning curve, but we found it extremely easy to deliver benefits use. Most of the functional development used fewer than 10 objects,” both internally to says Bacchus. Ministry of Sound Content Management Server provides a manageable way of delivering and our content from the authors to the Web audience quickly and easily. It is customers.“ quick and simple to use to streamline the web publishing process so that JAMES BACCHUS information bottlenecks are eliminated to deliver maximum benefits. CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER MINISTRY OF SOUND BENEFITS Cache on Delivery The new site was created in under three months, by just one developer, 62 and went live at the end of April 2003. The speed of development was Microsoft. NET Customer Solution Entertainment and Media

possible thanks to the use of the .NET Framework and code reuse for similar areas and templates on the site. Bacchus says: “This is the most significant .NET project we’ve done so far and it is delivering great benefits already. By using the utility classes we have been able to reuse ‘black box’ code so that developers can get on with doing more exciting work and adding value to the brand for users.” Reliability The previous Ministry of Sound site was not as reliable as the company wanted. “We had some problems previously with reliability and were concerned that there was the potential for memory leaks. It never became a problem, but with ASP .NET we are confident that it will never become one. We have a much more reliable site and have had no downtime since it went live. We have also been able to reduce the number of servers so that the whole site runs off just one server.” ASP .NET enables dynamic page creation, helping to keep the site current, which is particularly important for updating events. Bacchus says: “The time that it takes to create a standard web page has reduced from around half a day to just 10 minutes.” This is important to a business with fickle consumer demand – if clubbers cannot find the required information easily and when they want to, they are likely to go elsewhere.

Increased Web Traffic In the week after the launch of the new site, the number of pages viewed per visit doubled. There have also been seven million page impressions, two million streams per month (one million of which are from the Ministry of Sound radio) and 450,000 aggregate tuning hours. “Ministry of Sound is able to provide a better user experience as we can put so much more and richer content on the site,” says Bacchus.

Reducing Costs For more information about By building a platform that fits in with its existing IT infrastructure and Domino Systems, got to: developing the new requirements quickly to realise strong benefits, the www.domino.com company has inevitably reduced costs and increased revenue opportunities as the site now has more potential. Bacchus says: “It shows that you can meet the requirements we had without increasing costs for each site you want the solution to touch. We have not ripped and replaced – we have complemented our existing 63 infrastructure and enhanced and streamlined processes that deliver benefits both internally to Ministry of Sound and our customers.”

Ministry of Control The company now has greater control over its brand image and the way in which information about the Ministry of Sound is published and portrayed. The website now makes much more impact thanks to the changes made. Managers who are not necessarily IT-savvy have been empowered to create and publish content, giving Ministry of Sound more scope and flexibility with how the site looks. The benefits are being passed on to visitors, who see richer and more up-to-date content, including new videos and tracks that can be viewed and listened to using Windows Media Player, and information about their favourite DJs or club nights.

Spread a Little Success Thanks to the success of this project, Ministry of Sound plans to extend “One thing we the use of Content Management Server to provide the infrastructure would like to do is behind other Ministry of Sound artist and record label sites. The website syndicate content for Eat Sleep Records, Ministry of Sound’s new guitar rock label, for out to content partners by example, will be live at the end of June 2003 after just one week of creating an online development. portal. We would The Ministry of Sound brand is licensed differently from territory to then distribute territory, so it won’t necessarily be used for all Web sites, but it will be content to mobile used for any new territory deals signed going forward. operators using XML Web Services. This is something I Web Services would like to start Ministry of Sound’s plans do not end with this project. The knowledge working on this in gained and success achieved with this project has given the company a the next six taste for more and it has many plans, many of which were limited by the months.” previous technology. JAMES BACCHUS Bacchus says: “One thing we would like to do is syndicate content out CHIEF TECHNOLOGY to content partners by creating an online portal. We would then distribute OFFICER MINISTRY OF SOUND content to mobile operators using XML Web Services. This is something I would like to start working on this in the next six months.” ■ For more information about The Ministry of Sound, go to: 64 www.ministryofsound.com More information

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