March 2008 Newsletter

Service Delivery

Microsoft Gold Partner accreditation

We have recently renewed our Microsoft Gold Partner accreditation. This status represents the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies and gives us the closest working relationship with Microsoft.

Importantly, it provides us with access to resources and skills that enable us to give our customers the superior level of service and support that they have come to expect from Salford Software.

The new accreditation runs until January 2009 and covers the following competency specialisations:

• Advanced infrastructure - including: Active Directory, Exchange migration and deployment, systems management, hosting solutions, storage solutions and Windows desktop deployment
• Networking infrastructure - Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 based solutions

To support these competencies we now employ 9 Microsoft qualified staff - a significant investment in skills and expertise.

Service improvement

As a result of customer feedback and the many surveys we have been undertaking we are in the process of implementing a number of important service improvements.

One of these announcements will cover the Flexible Resource Plan (FRP) and the coverage of the remote monitoring service that this offers.

For further information on the Open Support or the FRP, please contact us on 0161 906 2233.

Technical Support

We have just successfully achieved re-accreditation for our Novell Platinum partner status. This prestigious accreditation (by invitation only) requires a great deal of work on our part in ensuring that our support and sales staff are thoroughly trained and are able to pass the rigorous exams that Novell sets.

As a result of this work we can now offer services in 4 areas of specialisation:

• Linux - Migrate and integrate Linux and related services into network environments. Solutions include SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, ZENworks Linux Management and other Linux-related products.
• Security and identity management - Build comprehensive security and management systems based on identity. Solutions include Novell Identity Manager, Novell Access Manager and other identity-based products.
• Systems and resource management - Manage heterogeneous networks using resources and devices of all types. Solutions include the complete ZENworks Suite or simply ZENworks Desktop Management and ZENworks Asset Management or other management products.
• Workgroup - Implement cross-platform networking services. Solutions include Open Enterprise Server, Novell Open Workgroup Suite and GroupWise.

As a platinum partner we have unrestricted access to Novell technical staff enabling us to quickly and easily escalate any unusual problems that we cannot directly solve ourselves.

Commenting on the accreditation, Salford Software managing director, James Doggart said,

This very select re-accreditation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to provide the highest level of service and support to all our customers. We have had to invest a great deal of time and money training and preparing our technical and sales staff to ensure that they have reached the high knowledge level that Novell require for organisations with this accreditation. All the hard work has paid off and our customers know that they will not be able to get better support and advice on Novell solutions and products from any other organisation in the UK.

Development

GPAS developments

We are continuing to make improvements and upgrades to GPAS. During the last quarter these have included:

• Admin interface - This has now been updated to version 4.21. One notable new feature is the ‘quicksearch’ which will greatly improve the user experience for both GPAS owners and account operators. Further information and screenshots can be seen by clicking here logging into our portal
• Kiosk - The latest version of kiosk is in final testing and will be released soon
• GPAS client for Windows - the latest version release is also imminent
• GPAS 'talkback' client - This will provide feedback to users to inform them of:
  • job completion notification
  • Threshold warning for large jobs
  • Account balances
  • Photocopying and printing history

Remote Services

We are continuing to work on rolling improvements to both Analyser and Monitor. In particular our Remote Monitor solution has been improved to allow for complex hierarchical dependencies and improved options for notifications.

This means that in the event of a failure of a core service that Salford Software does not directly support (for example an Internet connection), you can configure the system to ensure that you are informed immediately.

Professional services

Due to the increasing demand for our Oracle based IDM solutions we have dedicated one of our senior professional services consultants, Michael Barrow, to look after this area. Michael will be working closely with our customers and other Salford Software staff to ensure that the Oracle IDM solution is tightly integrated with all our solutions and enable us to maintain our leadership and expertise in the HE marketplace.

This important change has enabled us to further enhance our skills base by recruiting industry expert Dave Guest to head up the professional services team. Dave is very excited by the opportunity this presents “This is a really interesting time to be at Salford Software”, he said, "There is such a strong breadth and depth of skills within the organisation that within our market sectors, Salford Software is second to no one."

Dave has previously worked at Novell and SHL Systemhouse where he was responsible for managing nearly 100 technical consultants across the UK. This level of experience will ensure that he will be able to manage our professional services staff to deliver the best level of service possible to our customers in the identity management and Microsoft arenas.

Dave has been busy in his first few months setting up our new demonstration facilities in Manchester. We now have fully functional demonstrations for:

• ID management
• ZENworks configuration management
• Novell Sentinel

Novell Sentinel is particularly interesting as it provides a real-time, holistic view of security and compliance activities across the IT environment. Sentinel replaces labour-intensive manual processes for gathering, responding to and reporting on security and compliance events - enabling risk to be managed more effectively, costs cut and the more efficient use of existing resources.

According to Novell, we are currently the only partner in the UK with both the skills and demonstration facilities for this new solution.

If you would like to find out more, please contact us on 0161 906 2233

Sales

Over the last few months we have greatly increased the amount of business won from both the NHS and Local Government organisations. This increase reflects the effort and resources we have placed in raising our profile in these market sectors and demonstrates that our skills and solutions can be of benefit outside the HE arena, where we are clear market leaders.

A few of these recent wins that are worthy of note include:

Bracknell Forest BC - Here we were in a competitive tender situation with other leading Novell partners for an ID management and single sign on solution for over a thousand users at the council. We were successful due to the impressive track record we have built up over the years in delivering this type of solution to other public bodies.

Greater Manchester West Mental Health Trust - We were contacted by the Trust just before Xmas last year regarding a technical issue which was causing problems for users. After an initial visit on Xmas eve, our staff worked over the Xmas holidays to successfully rectify the problem. The technical issue made the Trust realise that they needed a professional support contract to ensure the same situation never arose in the future and signed up to a Salford Software Premium Support Contract early in 2008. This provides them with unlimited e-mail and telephone support for all their Microsoft and Novell products. In addition they have signed up to our Flexible Resource Plan (FRP). The FRP enables the Trust to specify which systems they want us to continuously monitor and proactively fix, ensuring maximum uptime and minimum disruption to essential applications, such as email. It also gives them the flexibility to call in Salford Software specialists to advise and provide on-site support as and when required.

South Devon NHS Trust - Based at Torbay hospital, Torquay, this is a pilot site for the nationwide NHS Connecting for health identity management beacons of excellence project. It deals with an Active Directory connection for the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Salford Software has previously been heavily involved with the initial testing of the solution and we are now working on the actual implementation. Due to go live in May/June 2008, this site will provide an identity management template that can be adopted across the entire NHS.

Marketing

Exhibitions and Conferences

Salford Software will be exhibiting at the UCISA Conference from 12th – 14th March at the Glasgow Exhibition Centre. The Salford Software stand will be located at number 58 in the main exhibition area. We look forward to seeing you there.

Salford Software is also one of the sponsors at the BUFDG Conference at Southampton Solent University. We’ll be talking about ePayments and how universities and colleges can overcome the challenges and costs associated with administering cash payments for services. Join us on Tuesday 18th March to find out more.

Survey Feedback

To all those customers who took part in the Salford Software survey, many thanks. The winner of the £200 of vouchers in the prize draw was Alistair Gibbins from University of Lampeter. Alistair was delighted to receive his prize!

The results of the survey showed that you as customers were on average very pleased with the quality of the service received from Salford Software.

According to your responses, you are very satisfied with the consistent quality advice and speedy responses you receive from Salford Software. You also find our staff very helpful. You are also very satisfied with the knowledge that your account managers have and the professional way that they represent Salford Software.

When it comes to technical support you are quite satisfied with the communication method used and the escalation process. You are very satisfied with the level of expertise of the engineers.

Our customers are also very satisfied with the solutions which we implement, the delivery of the solution and the management of the project.

In general our customers like to receive the newsletter and find the content interesting and the frequency just right.

We were really pleased with the responses received. The next survey will be announced in the next edition of the newsletter.

Events

Salford Software is running an event in conjunction with Microsoft on April 2nd. We will be talking about Live @ edu, part of Collaborative Campus. Come and find out how orgnanisations are using this to enhance the students learning environment by using collaborative workspaces, blogs and email.

Book your place now