This year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is a sell-out for the first time, with 16,000 registered to attend. We’re here to network with other partners, and to find out what innovations are on the horizon at Microsoft.
As a long-standing Gold Microsoft Partner, we’re heading to WPC to network with partners, share our knowledge, and learn about what new technologies are on the horizon. We’ll be sharing updates throughout the conference here on our blog, and across social media.
This year, we are sponsoring award-winning Scottish business journalist Bill Magee to report from WPC. Our own Business Development Manager, Brian Douglas, will be there too – if you’re at WPC and would like to network with us, please drop us a line.
By 1998, CompanyNet had gained a strong reputation as a Microsoft Partner in Scotland through its work with a number of very high-calibre clients, including Standard Life, the Bank of Scotland, and the Scottish Office. (You can read more about our work with our early customers in the previous post in this series.)
The biggest problem for an intranet is poor take-up of the new system. Even the best intranet is pointless if your staff fail to adopt it as their own. There isn’t one simple answer to the challenge of user adoption – but if you get a number of key factors right, then it will help the rest fall into place. Intranets can fall at the first hurdle because they fail to meet the needs of users and of your
business.
You need to start with a very clear picture of what you want. If you’re replacing your intranet with a more modern one, then you might already have a good idea of the features users are crying out for. Either way, it’s vital to define the requirements for your new intranet first. Don’t think in terms of features – your requirements should be the ‘questions’ to which the features of an intranet are the ‘answers’. You can learn how to define your business requirements in our earlier blog post on this topic.
An annual conference for infromation management professionals, AIIM Forum UK gave us a chance to share our new Client Information Management system, created in close collaboration with leading independent firm Hymans Robertson. You can read more about the event in our previous blog post.
As well as sponsoring and exhibiting at the event, we welcomed Barry Smart, IT Director and Partner at Hymans Robertson. Barry and our CEO, Andy Hamilton, appeared on stage to introduce and discuss the Client Information Management system we built together. You can now watch the full presentation here.
Held in London, the event brought together records managers, expert technologists and a range of suppliers through keynotes, break-out sessions and an exhibition space. We shared our insights and advice, and – with our customer Hymans Robertson – showcased our latest innovations in managing client information.
Our well-attended case study session featured Barry Smart, IT Director and Partner at leading financial consultancy Hymans Robertson, who took delegates through our new Client Information Management (CIM) system.
Widening access to careers in our sector is extremely important to CompanyNet. We’re proud to live by our slogan, ‘collective intelligence for better business’ – something that only works when it brings together the broadest range of talented people.
To that end, we’ve not only been attending more events about improving equality in the technology sector, but have been actively participating in them.
Last time, we travelled back through the mists of time to the founding of CompanyNet in 1996. We were one of the first Scottish companies to realise the incredible potential the web offered businesses. And, once we had found our feet, we quickly began to win contracts.
CompanyNet soon developed a reputation for helping organisations develop a presence on the web. In our first few years, this led to our gaining work with several key customers. In helping them expand their business online, we were helping our own business grow.
But that doesn’t have to be the case. While an intranet might never elicit deep joy or palpable excitement, you can still do your bit to make it significantly less boring.
You might see an interesting intranet as a ‘nice to have’, but it’s much more than that. If it’s your job to make sure everyone’s on board with the intranet, then filling it with boring is a great way to ensure you’ll never achieve good user take-up.
By making your intranet engaging and adding a dash of the unexpected, you will keep users coming back, and ultimately build a stronger community among your colleagues. So what can you do to make it happen?
