YEAR ZERO

Topic 1

Smarter Business for Tougher Times

Technology: Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Business Intelligence

Become more agile and better able to respond to market changes using an ecosystem of Microsoft products which facilitate collaboration and Business Intelligence (BI). Because many organistions already own SharePoint and are running a Microsoft stack, benefits are realised with minimal extra investment.

In SharePoint, applications and processes that were once the sole preserve of large enterprises become everyday tools. BI becomes another workflow solution and search service, extended to every corner of the enterprise, empowering employees to access and share information more easily.

Learn how to enable your HR team to automate processes, finance team to scan and index seamlessly, marketing team to manage multiple projects and sales team to source key information with BI.

Gartner on Microsoft BI

“A compelling cost value proposition for organisations that want to deploy BI to a wider range of users”

Presented by Derek Kehoe, Software Solutions Sales Director, Ergo and Patrick Herlihy Technical Specialist, Microsoft

Topic 2

Heading for the Cloud

Technology: Microsoft Windows Azure and SQL Azure, Microsoft Office 365, Ergo Data Services

Expanding and exploring new market opportunities used to be high risk and dependent on substantial capital investment with no guarantee of a return. Not anymore. Find out how Microsoft Office 365 and Windows Azure fundamentally change the way IT is delivered and consumed, turning software and services into an operational cost.

With Office 365, Microsoft transforms its market-leading Office suite into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering, adding functionality that’s only possible with the cloud. Windows Azure is a cloud platform for building and hosting new applications or accessing virtual machines and storage that can be ‘flexed’ up and down as needed.

Learn how Ergo’s Data Services offers completely customisable cloud-based solutions to meet our customers’ needs, where public cloud services may not fill the gap for certain aspects of a solution.

Gartner on Windows Azure

“It adds a ‘new continent’ to Microsoft's world map of business application platforms”

Presented by Mark Bate, Chief Technical Officer, Ergo; Steve Blanche, Network Services Operations Manager, Ergo and Wilbour Craddock Architect Evangelist, Microsoft

Topic 3

Building Better Relationships

Technology: Microsoft CRM, Microsoft xRM

Maintaining strong ties with customers has never been more important which is why Microsoft Dynamics CRM has become business critical for more and more organisations. Closely integrated with Outlook, this seminar shows how it offers the most accessible and effective route into client relationship management.

Not just confined to customer relationships, xRM uses the same underlying components of Microsoft Dynamic CRM, to focus on managing all relationships, not just those with customers. ‘X’ in xRM stands for ‘Any’ relationship that needs to be managed, whether it’s managing vendors, employees, prospects, dealers, or other types of business relationships such as properties, assets, projects, grants or legislation.

Gartner on Dynamics CRM

“Any size company that has a Microsoft technology stack should consider it”

Presented by Neil Young, Solutions Architect, Ergo and Karl O’Leary Business Manager Dynamics, Microsoft

Topic 4

More for Less with Virtual Client Services (VCS)

Technology: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Citrix and more

The most important office tool, the PC/laptop, is undergoing massive change. This Seminar explains how Ergo’s Virtual Client Services (VCS) is a dynamic, innovative and cost effective alternative for the deployment and on-going management of the desktop environment. It enables enterprises to truly realise the benefits associated with the implementation of desktop, user and application virtualisation and is a pioneering alternative solution to a full Windows 7 traditional rollout.

Introduce true business agility to almost any organisation and enable your IT investment to start directly contributing to your bottom line using this innovative package. Find out how the partnership between Ergo, Microsoft and Citrix ensures best-of-breed components for this virtual client services solution.

Gartner on Hosted Virtual Desktops

“Hosted virtual desktops are part of a bigger shift in client computing from traditional thick-client distributed PCs, toward more manageable, secure and centralised client computing environments among many large and midsize companies”

Presented by George Dowling, Solutions Architect, Ergo and Patrick Ward Business Group Lead – Client, Microsoft

Topic 5

Automating IT Operations

Technology: Microsoft System Center Suite

The cost of and complexity of managing information systems means most organisations treat IT as a cost centre where 75 per cent of the time is spent trouble shooting rather than adding value. Find out how Microsoft System Center helps organisations to turn the tables, ensuring that valuable resources are used for more than just keeping the lights on.

By monitoring and managing infrastructure from a single window, events are tackled proactively before they become a problem, freeing up IT staff to concentrate on more strategic tasks.

Gartner on System Center Operations Manager

“An event correlation and analysis product for the enterprise that supplies capabilities (including scalability and performance) provided by more-established and expensive tools”

Presented by Kevin Greene, Subject Matter Expert – Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, Ergo and Gavin McShera Datacentre Technology Specialist, Microsoft

Topic 6

Breaking Down Office Walls

Technology: Microsoft Lync

Organisations that used the first wave of converged voice and data networks to save money are now harnessing the infrastructure to change the way they communicate and go about their business. Find out why Microsoft Lync represents a revolution in telephony, turning voice into an application that can be managed more effectively with none of the overheads associated with traditional PBX systems.

With the suite of Microsoft Unified Communications tools, office walls come tumbling down as employees are empowered to work anywhere, anytime. Seamless connectivity means remote workers are always just a click away from meetings and sharing information, improving productivity with features such as Instant Messenger and presence.

Gartner on Lync 2010

“Microsoft offers a visionary approach for addressing enterprise communication and collaboration requirements”

Presented by Rob Davies, Subject Matter Expert – Microsoft Lync, Ergo and David Keddy, Lync Technical Solution Professional, Microsoft