This year, its QC MOSS solution created for Ibex Technologies Inc.’s quality control (QC) department took home the top honours.
Elisabeth Vanderveldt, vice-president of business development at Conamex, a Microsoft-centric company that provides consulting, deployment and technology management services, said the solution it created is scaleable because it can also be duplicated in any environment and/or industry where a QC department is present.
In the case of Ibex, Vanderveldt said previously a lot of documentation was paper-based and was being processed manually, which was not only time-consuming but also created unnecessary workflow. Ibex therefore went to Conamex to create a solution that would help save time and would be both scalable and secure.
“The result was a solution that was based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) that also incorporated Groove technology,” Vanderveldt said. “Groove is a desktop application that is part of the Microsoft Office 2007 platform and we synched it with this solution to help [Ibex] better manage their IT assets.”
One of the most common mistakes most IT administrators make, Vanderveldt says, is that they often think about their company’s visible physical possessions and not enough about their invisible assets.
“Companies always think about how many desks or cabinets they have and they forget that their most precious asset is information, such as their
licensing technology,” she said. “The key with our solution is that in the event of a disaster, data including warranties, licensing, insurance information, emergency phone numbers and so forth, always can be available to the IT administrator.”
Because the application is based on MOSS and Groove, Vanderveldt says if disaster were to strike, companies can be up and running in just a matter of hours instead of days or weeks. This, she says, is because the software asset management is copied both in-house and out-house.
“Groove allows for the remote collaboration of data without having to go through the server,” Vanderveldt said. “Now, [Ibex] has a back-up system with our solution. It was well worth it for them as a small business to go this route.”
Vanderveldt is also eager to offer advice to other MOSS solution providers by saying Groove is a key technology that when synched with MOSS, works incredibly and unbelievably well.
“It’s like the golden nugget that no one knows is sitting there,” she said. “It’s really useful and makes work life so much better. MOSS needs to be looked at by anyone in the industry, whether it’s internal IT or outsourcing companies. These collaboration tools are having a huge impact on the productivity for both big and small companies alike.”
In short, Vanderveldt is thrilled with the win in this category.
“It’s all the more gratifying when you actually come out on top,” she adds.
The second gold award in this category went to Insite Computer Group Inc. and the bronze award went to Plus Computer Solutions Ltd. There was no silver winner in this category.