Reading, UK | December 2nd, 2009
Microsoft Business Integration UK Road Show Event
Executive Summary
Tough economic times bring us back to focus on improving efficiencies, cutting cost and extracting more value from existing systems. These times also present excellent opportunities to streamline information-sharing among partners, customers, employees and suppliers, as well. This event is focused on the topic of how Business Integration can help organizations realize more value from their existing IT investments and integrate and connect their business applications and data and increase business value. The event includes lots of real-world case studies and examples of how customers are using the Microsoft BizTalk platform to integrate their business.
Target Audience
This conference is aimed at CTOs, IT Directors, enterprise architects, solution architects and key technology decision makers.
Agenda
Time
Title
Speaker
09:00-10:00
Breakfast and Registration
10:00-10:15
Welcome and Introduction the Microsoft Business Integration Vision
This session will provide a perspective on the current state of the Integration market including current and future trends in this domain.
Morris Novello – Microsoft BizTalk Server UK Product Manager
10:15-11:00
Opening Keynote: The Microsoft Application Platform: Connecting business applications, partners and devices
Hear the Microsoft vision for Business Integration and how Microsoft provides a holistic platform for data integration across applications, events, master-data and other scenarios. Customers are looking to drive costs out of their businesses and do more with less and Microsoft’s data integration technologies provide a comprehensive platform to streamline information-sharing among partners, customers, employees and suppliers, as well as automating sophisticated, high-value transactions, both inside and outside the organization. Hear how integration can do a lot for your organization during these challenging times.
Sriram Balasubramanian – Group Manager Microsoft BizTalk Engineering
11:00-11:45
Payments Processing on the Microsoft Platform
In this session we’ll cover how a mission critical payment processing platform was architected and delivered by Microsoft Services. The Payments Platform had many challenging functional and non-functional requirements including the ability to process both batch and real-time payment schemes on the Microsoft platform using Microsoft BizTalk Server, SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. In the session we’ll drill into some of the technical challenges overcome by the project, discuss the performance results and detail how Microsoft Services delivered the solution within a very compressed timeframe.
Darren Jefford –Solution Architect, Microsoft Consulting Services
11:45-12:00
BREAK
12:00-12:45
Transforming Local Government with Microsoft BizTalk
Hear how the Transformational Government Accelerator is helping local authorities face the challenges of transforming their IT delivery capability by building a service orientated based enterprise architecture delivered on a BizTalk Server platform. This session will discuss how by tackling head-on the barriers that local government face, cross department business processes can be automated, providing immediate efficiency gains, measurable cost savings whilst significantly contributing to the NI 14 (avoidable contact) initiative.
Skandia: a Case Study
Online banking and insurance provider Skandia was beginning a major program of application development to modernize the bank following service-oriented architecture principals using Microsoft BizTalk, IIS, and WCF as the core foundation. Hear how BizTalk Server and key partner, SOA Software deployed an integrated service registry/repository and lifecycle management as part of the solution. Skandia quickly saw the value in the operational governance capabilities of SOA Software’s solutions for BizTalk, IIS and WCF.
Andy James – Solidsoft, TGA Chief Architect
Ian Goldsmith – SOA Software, VP Product Management
12:45-13:30
LUNCH
13:30-14:15
ERP Business Integration
BizTalk is an enabling technology that customers can use to increase the reach of existing ERP and other line-of-business applications. This session looks at how BizTalk 2009 Enterprise Service Bus can be used to connect to major ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle e-business suite, Siebel etc to create compelling composite applications that blend on-premise and services from cloud platforms such as Windows Azure.
Jeff Johnson, Harsha Karunaratne – Microsoft Integration Specialists
14:15-15:00
Enterprise Services for the Energy Industry
Centrica Energy sources energy for Centrica Plc (British Gas in the UK) by Exploration and Production, Power Generation as well as through its Trading and Optimisation activities. Centrica Energy needed a fundamental shift in the way that information is captured and used across the organisation and Avanade was brought in as a key partner and integration specialist to help enable this.
This session covers:
Ian Bretherton, Avanade Solution Architect and Integration Practice Lead
Balaji Anbil – Centrica Plc, Enterprise Architect
15:00-15:15
15:15-16:00
Closing Keynote
16:00-16:30
Q&A, Prize Draw (X-Box) and Drinks
To RegisterClick here to register online (Windows Live ID is required) OR call 0870 166 6680 event ref: 0518. Space is limited so register today to ensure your attendance at this event.
Location
Microsoft UK
Thames Valley Park
Reading RG6 1WG, UK
Room: Chicago 1
Directions: click here
Biography
Morris Novello is Product Manager for BizTalk Server at Microsoft. His interests focus on Applications and Systems Integration, Event Driven Architecture and Business Intelligence. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Novello spent few years of tenure at Samsung Semiconductors as Flash Memory Product Manager. Prior to Samsung Semiconductors, Novello spent four years at Intel Corporation, most recently as Product Marketing Engineer for Core 2 Duo processors. He attended the University of Padua in Italy earning a BSc. and MSc. in Electrical Engineering and he was visiting scholar at M.I.T. Sloan School of Management during his MBA degree.
Darren Jefford – Solution Architect, Microsoft Consulting Services
Darren Jefford is a Solution Architect working for Microsoft UK, Darren delivers Architectural consulting to a variety of organisations in the UK. Since joining Microsoft 8 years ago, Darren has worked across the whole spectrum of Microsoft products with a particular focus in recent years on BizTalk Server, Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Cloud Computing.
Andy combines his role of CTO with that of heading up key projects for Solidsoft. Most recently he has been working with the Cabinet Office in delivering a key piece of the transformational government programme. Besides providing Solidsoft with its technical guidance, Andy is a prominent member of the Microsoft Architect Council and he is a frequent presenter around SOA and BPM in the Microsoft space. Andy has been an active member of the Microsoft Partner Advisory Council for .NET, MD .NET and RFID and is a valued contributor to the Microsoft community.
Ian Goldsmith drives product and market strategy for the leading provider of Unified SOA Governance automation solutions. These award winning products include Repository Manager, Policy Manager, Service Manager and SOLA. Ian focuses his energies on technology adoption in large enterprises, having successfully completed several cryptography and secure messaging projects with US and international defense and intelligence agencies.
Jeff Johnson – Microsoft Integration Specialist
Jeff Johnson is a technical specialist focused on the area of Business Integration. Jeff helps customers understand and architect solutions based on the Microsoft Application Platform technologies, including BizTalk, SQL, .NET. Windows Azure. Prior to joining Microsoft 4 years ago, Jeff worked for BEA Systems in the Advanced Architecture consulting practice.
Harsha Karunaratne – Microsoft Integration Specialist
Harsha is a technical specialist focused on the area of Business Integration. Harsha helps customers understand and architect solutions based on the Microsoft Application Platform technologies, including BizTalk, SQL, .NET. Windows Azure. Prior to joining Microsoft 7 years ago, Harsha worked as an architect at SAP.
Ian Bretherton - Avanade Solution Architect and Integration Practice Lead
Ian Bretherton is a Solution Architect specializing in Microsoft integration technologies. Ian has been in the computing industry for more than 15 years and has spent the last 6 years developing enterprise Integration solutions primarily using BizTalk Server for various FTSE 100 clients and is currently leading Avanade UK’s Integration practice.
Balaji Anbil - Centrica, Enterprise Architect
Balaji Anbil is an Enterprise Architect at Centrica Energy. He is currently responsible for Centrica Energy’s trading and optimisation IT architecture and specialises on Global Energy Management MBA at Warwick Business School in part-time. Prior to this, Balaji has architected on Trading, HR and Workflow domains for more than 15 years. Part of these roles as an IT Consultant, he has worked in the Asia-Pacific, the US and in the UK for major financial service organisations focusing on Integration architectures and prides his implementations in all the versions of BizTalk platform.
Posted by Phil
Following on from my post about Saving Money with SharePoint in the Public Sector where I talked about the OEP and how SharePoint might help with cost efficiency, I thought you might be interested in hearing about an event one of our partners, PCubed is running in London on 17th December which looks at how we can improve project delivery capability in the public sector. Clearly even shaving a few percent off the cost of delivering projects running across a significant programme of work, reducing project failures and delivering more of those projects on time will add up to significant savings in a very short space of time for most organisations, so I expect this will be a very interesting session for many of you to attend.
Public Sector organisations are under pressure to improve their performance with regard to project delivery. Government Departments are now being specifically assessed as to their capability in this area; and the PPM Professionalism initiative is attempting to drive up standards across the public sector. These challenges are being addressed, of course, against a backdrop of increasing financial constraint.
The latest in Pcubed’s series of Breakfast Briefings explores three key aspects of the improvement process.
Rory Underwood MBE, ex-England and British Lions Rugby International and now Managing Director of Wingman, will talk about the importance of leadership in effective project delivery.
Marcus Wildsmith will provide insight into how to assess and improve the capability of an individual and the performance of the organisation.
Karl Williams will set out how software tools can add control and visibility, demonstrating the Pcubed DeliveryHub, our PPM solution (Built on SharePoint MOSS and Project Server).
Place: British Film Institute, South Bank, Waterloo SE1 8XT
Time: Tuesday 17th November 2009, 8.30am-10.30am
For more details go to the PCubed site
To book your place at this FREE event, please email rachel.compton@pcubed.com
Did you know that Microsoft published a paper on the five ways in which SharePoint can save you money with customer stories and evidence early in 2009? In May, the Treasury published the Operational Efficiency Programme report with recommendations about how to save money around IT and back office. I thought it might be interesting to have a look at both documents and see where public sector SharePoint investments might just dovetail with OEP and help Public sector organisations deliver cost savings with their IT assets, particularly if they already have SharePoint.
Five Ways SharePoint Can Save You Money
Operational Efficiency Programme: back office operations and IT
The five ways sharepoint can save you money are:
· Reduce IT costs and complexity, by consolidating multiple product investments into a single infrastructure, by reducing infrastructure and support costs, and by getting all your enterprise solutions under a single product license.
· Reduce development costs, by using comprehensive out-of-the-box components, by using built-in integration with the Microsoft Office 2007 suite, and by using the .NET Framework object models to reduce learning curves and development time.
· Simplify management and training, by providing a single, easy-to-use interface for end users and for IT administration and governance.
· Improve employee productivity, by implementing collaboration workspaces, self-service Web publishing, social computing features, and business process workflow and forms.
· Enhance the effectiveness of customer service and sales teams, by aggregating critical information from across the enterprise and by providing rapid, easy access to information.
The recommendations of the OEP for IT are:
· Take into account the estimated £3.2 billion annual IT savings when determining departmental settlements
· Strengthen management information and increase use of benchmarking to drive performance
· Strengthen the governance of IT-enabled change projects
· Strengthen Gateway assurance process to improve success of major IT-enabled change projects
· Implement portfolio management processes of projects within departments to reduce overlap and duplication
· Promote greater standardisation and simplification of IT systems, desktops, infrastructure and applications
· Develop internal IT Capability within the public sector and continue to professionalise IT enabled change
Let’s address these from the OEP side:
1) Strengthen Management information and increase benchmarking to drive performance: PerformancePoint services in SharePoint provide “BI for the masses” where every employee in government can have real-time access to scorecarding and performance management tools to facilitate performance visibility and to encourage better performance and productivity.
2) Strengthen the governance of IT-enabled change projects: SharePoint on its own has a limited capability to increase the visibility and governance around projects through collaboration, BI and workflow. However, with Project Server on top of SharePoint, government has a set of tools that can deliver real transformation in the way projects are governed and this gives great management visibility. Just think about how powerful it would be even to deliver projects across your programme at 5% lower cost and 5% less time (a conservative estimate)? The ROI would stack up very easily.
3) Strengthen gateway assurance process to improve success of major IT-enabled change projects : Clearly doing the right projects is more important really than doing projects efficiently. Both Portfolio and Project Server as well as SharePoint workflow and BI give organisations a way to implement rigorous gateway process around projects.
4) Implement portfolio management processes of projects within departments to reduce overlap and duplication : SharePoint is already licensed in many agencies; once implemented for something it is important to appreciate how many solutions could be built with this asset without having to create or buy another siloed application. What’s great is that SharePoint doesn’t have to be a one-stop solution, it integrates with almost anything, but it also does offer a lot of capability if you want to make the most of what you have already got.
5) Promote greater standardization and simplification of IT systems, desktops, infrastructure and applications : SharePoint provides a great platform for many organisations that already have it, to standardize at the application tier. Look at “Five ways…” and understand how consolidating on SharePoint can help you cut costs. On something like PS Flex? SharePoint is there to be exploited by your business as part of the service you have already signed up to.
Clearly SharePoint offers a lot to your organization, if you make the most of it. If you have it already, are you making the most of it? If using a bunch of loosely or non-integrated solutions, is there scope for consolidations on a single infrastructure? If you have some best of breed solutions, are you thinking about integration and usability? In 2010 SharePoint will support all these open standards: DOM 1.0, HTML, HTTP, HTTPS, MathML , ODBC. ODF (IS26300), Open XML (IS29500), OpenSearch, OpenType, PDF 1.7, PDF/A, RTF, RSS, ATOM, SOAP, SVG, REST, UDDI, Unicode, URI/URN, W3C XML Schema, WCAG 2.0, WebDAV, WSDL, WSRP, XHTML, XML, XML Web Services, XMLDsig, XPATH, XPS, XSLT. There isn’t much it won’t co-exist with so this could really be the glue that makes your infrastructure start to deliver added value to your business. Let us know if you want to know more.
Isn’t it ironic? One of the delights of Live Meetings is that you do not have to gather everyone in the same room and risk spreading coughs and sneezes. So far, our current series Public Sector Live Meetings (webinars) has been disrupted by presenters falling foul of bugs and viruses at the last minute.
We are now back on track and thought you would like to see the revised programme below for November and December. Simply click on the hyperlink for each Live Meeting and enter the invitation code when prompted to see more information and register to take part:
Friday November 6 12:00-12:45 Maximise the value of your Microsoft investment with Desktop Optimisation
Invitation Code: AFC352
Friday November 13 12:00-12:45 Identity and Access Management solutions for the Public Sector
Invitation Code: 62B6E3
Friday November 20 12:00-12:45 Simplifying Server Licensing for Virtual and non-Virtual Environments
Invitation Code: 59C3A4
Friday November 27 12:00-12:45 Improving the citizen experience of public services: Citizen Service Platform
Invitation Code: 1643C7
Friday December 11 12:00-12:45 Enabling secure document records management in the Public Sector
Invitation Code: 246F11
Friday December 18 10:00-10:45 Improving the citizen experience with effective relationship management
Invitation Code: 2F213B
Posted by Ian