Regional Director Case Studies

Microsoft Regional Directors work on projects around the world helping companies and individuals get the most out of Microsoft developer tools. Find recent case studies of their work here, and contact an RD if you want to learn more.

 

Case Studies

MSN India Delivers Online Content Across Diverse Mobile Devices Using the .NET Framework
MSN India, the Indian division of msn.com, is one of the leading information and entertainment portals in India with over one million regular visitors. MSN India has been constantly upgrading its content delivery channels. The strategy focus was to incorporate mobile devices in their content delivery channel mix. MSN India assigned the project to Vishwak Solutions Pvt.Ltd. Vishwak developed a solution using the Microsoft .NET Framework that ensured content delivery across devices with different properties.
Croatian Forests Improves Field Productivity with Windows CE .NET Mobile Application
Croatian Forests (Hrvatske sume) uses handheld computers in the field to collect data about the trees being harvested. A complete re-implementation of its homegrown HSPROnt application, on new Psion Teklogix NetPad devices running the Microsoft Windows CE .NET operating system, is dramatically reducing the number of workers required to collect data, and it allows this data to be sent in electronically, for productivity improvements of an estimated $1,000,000 per year. Project was led by Croatian Microsoft Regional Director Tomislav Bronzin from CITUS group and MSAN group.
HP Quickly Builds Scalable World-wide .NET Connected Service Framework
How does a company of 140,000 employees implement a centralized world-wide user information repository? How does it provide other services to its employees world-wide? HP accomplished this, in part, by implementing a service management framework. The first version of the framework didn't scale or perform as well as desired. HP’s Management and Infrastructure and Tools team, with assistance from Juval Lowy of IDesign, Inc., designed and implemented a new service management framework, Carbon, using C#, the .NET Framework, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and SQL Server 2000, to leverage the new capabilities of these tools and technologies. The new framework was implemented in five months by five developers, requires significantly less code than the old framework, and more than meets its performance specifications.
CGEY Migration Strategy Will Help TheTrainline to Reduce Maintenance by 25 Percent
To meet increased demand for its services, TheTrainline (UK largest online train ticket retailer - https://www.thetrainline.com) needed to refresh its IT infrastructure, which was based on older technology and lacked the structure needed to meet the company's long-term business needs. The Trainline's development partner CGEY has created a strategy based on the Microsoft .NET Framework running on Windows Server 2003. It will be underpinned by a ‘Services Architecture', enabling changes to be made to sub-components without affecting the rest of the system and increasing the re-use of major subcomponents throughout.
CGEY Help Government Department Pioneers Technology Enhancement for Better Flexibility and Choice
The U.K. Department for Education and Skills (DfES) is developing communication and information services for schools that offer users flexibility and choice. A key goal is to develop new forms of communication that put schools in charge of the information they receive so there is less paper and better use of technology, more up-to-date information and ideas, and better support for high standards of teaching and learning. Working with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, the Department for Education and Skills deployed a Microsoft Windows–based integration solution that uses Web services to provide the links between an online ordering system and a third-party fulfillment company. The solution provides greater choice to schools by allowing users to order just the documents they need.
CGEY Web Services Enable TheTrainline to Deliver Timetable Information to Mobile Phones and Obtain New Revenue Streams
When Virgin Trains won the contract to run the UK's West Coast main line it decided to rebrand its existing Web site as TheTrainline.com. This site was fully independent, offering timetable and ticketing information. When TheTrainline won a contract to provide timetable information for National Rail Enquiries it was obliged to make that information available to mobile phone users. To do this its development partner CGEY created a Microsoft .NET-connected Web service. Users can now access timetable information from their mobile phones using a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser. TheTrainline has established itself as a leader in its field and is poised to take advantage of future developments in mobile phone technology. These include new services such as buying tickets while on the move. Additionally it can now use Web services to make its information available to other partners and has plans to move into new markets such as interactive TV.
CGEY Innovative Self-Service Administration Delivers Savings for DfES
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has implemented an innovative solution to centralize and streamline its booking and logistical activities through a single application. The intranet-based project, dubbed Services Zone, was implemented by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY) and was built using Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Server. Since implementation, Services Zone has reduced administrative costs, improved transparency and accountability, and ensured invoicing accuracy.
(.NET Momentum) Job Search Portal Offers More Accurate Results with Web Service
A leader in online job placement on the German-language Internet, JobScout24 GmbH is adding location-based features to improve the quality of its service offerings. Regionally limited search queries will increase the number of accurate results in the future. The Microsoft MapPoint Web service, which is seamlessly integrated into a Microsoft .NET–based application provided by Axinom GmbH, is providing the geo-coding functions. This solution also enables JobScout24 to offer business customers extremely cost-effective integration of location-based features into their own Web sites.
German RD Christian Weyer helps accelerating Web Site Development with ASP.NET-based Content Management System contentXXL
The components of Nuremberg media agency portamundi's Web sites were not as reusable as the company would have liked, because of the limitations of classic ASP. After considering J2EE and ruling it out because of J2EE's high complexity and slow performance, portamundi designed and implemented its contentXXL system with Microsoft ASP.NET, Visual Basic .NET, and SQL Server 2000. The ambitious new system came to market in under two years and has been designed and implemented with the help of Microsoft Regional Director Christian Weyer of eYesoft, Germany.
AMS Services Reduces Costs and Development Time, Increases Scalability with Smart Client Technology
AMS Services, a leading provider of software and services for independent insurance agents, is improving ease of use while simplifying deployment and administration of its AMS 360 customer lifecycle management software by using Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 for its new implementation. Smart client application components running on users’ systems improve the user experience over the previous approach, which was more server-dependent. The no-touch deployment technology of the Framework helps to make the .NET-connected AMS 360 easy to deploy and update. In addition to eliminating administrative overhead, this distributed computing approach will help AMS to reduce the number of servers in its data centers from more than 100 to 6.
Sunkist Growers Creates New Fruit Accounting System with Visual Basic .NET, .NET Framework
To track and pay its grower members accurately for each bulk shipment of citrus fruit delivered to its processing plants, marketing cooperative Sunkist Growers needed to update its Fruit Accounting and Fruit Tracking system. Rather than revise the original system, Sunkist turned to the Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET, plus .NET productivity tools and services from PDSA Inc., to create a new, more flexible and maintainable system.
Retirement Services Web Site Revitalized with ASP.NET, Visual Basic .NET, and SQL Server
When top-ten retirement services provider Transamerica Retirement Services needed to redesign its Web sites to be easier to maintain and enhance, TRS turned to partner PDSA. PDSA combined multiple sites into a single portal site using Microsoft ASP.NET, Visual Basic .NET, and SQL Server 2000. The site was developed quickly, and is much easier to maintain than the old site.
Bear Stearns Extends Stock-Order Functionality to Its Developers and Beyond
Through his firm, Clarity Consulting, RD Jon Rauschenberger, helped Bear Stearns extend its stock-order functionality using Visual Studio .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Bear Stearns exceeded its performance goals, increased developer productivity, and built a solution that adheres to Internet protocols and standards. The company saved an estimated $250,000 over alternative solutions.
.NET Enterprise Servers Solution Built by Quilogy Accelerates 800% Business Growth

When BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp. and Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Quilogy designed and built the Gas Order Trading System (GOTS) on Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers, BP Canada acquired a solution agile enough to turn the accelerating pace of change in the natural gas market to its advantage. GOTS connects the company's trading partners at Web speed so it can respond to daily fluctuations in the marketplace faster than competitors. The resulting $1.8 billion in gross sales last year significantly reduced operating costs.

Increases Efficiency by 75% with LeaveWeb
When two enlisted members suggested to the Comptroller of the Air Mobility Command that they automate the military leave request, approval, and tracking process, the LeaveWeb program was born. The AMC/FM partnered with Quilogy, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Quilogy designed and developed a Web-enabled government-to-employee application that replaced a labor-intensive, paper-driven process. The application, LeaveWeb, establishes a highly automated, paperless workflow that reduces staff processing hours by an estimated 75%, with a cost avoidance of $34 million annually for the Air Force.
RD Scott Stanfield, Vertigo, Revolutionizes Rentvillas.com
A leader in the European property rental industry, Rentvillas.com has offered complete Web-based booking services since 1999. In 2003, it expanded its business in a new direction: Using Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1, the company delivered a scalable, integrated Web solution that consolidates the inventories of its European partner companies into a centralized global distribution point, and gives each company online tools to manage, market, and sell their inventory. This complex undertaking was accomplished on time and on budget because of the robust Microsoft Visual Studio .NET development environment, which enabled a 50 percent increase in developer productivity.
RD Patrick Hynds of CriticalSites, Inc. Develops Graphical, Flexible and Secure RFP Web Application
When ServiceTune was founded in July of 2000, its vision was to improve relationships between companies and their service providers. To do this, ServiceTune employees designed a Web application to implement the new method for strategic services procurement, but ran into difficulty making Active Server Pages (ASP) technology meet their goals. Thew worked with Microsoft partner CriticalSites to redesign and implement the application using Microsoft ASP.NET in only 10 months, for about 1/2 the expected ASP cost, and about 1/3 the expected J2EE cost.
Yellow and White Pages Brought to Pocket PC Phones with the .NET Compact Framework by Regional Director Meinrad Weiss from TRIVADIS AG
As a first step toward a vision of a Pocket PC Phone-based concierge service, Swisscom Directories contracted with Trivadis AG to design and build a Pocket PC Phone Directory application. Using Microsoft Visual C# and the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, Trivadis built a mobile client that accesses Swisscom Directories' ETV.XML Web service to provide both White Page and Yellow Page look-up to a connected Pocket PC. Once an entry has been found, the user can copy the information into Pocket Outlook and/or view a map of the address.
BM&F Implements Leading-Edge Foreign Exchange Clearinghouse on Microsoft Platform; Processes $5 Billion US Per Day.
The Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange (BM&F) was selected by the Central Bank of Brazil to build the country's first foreign exchange clearinghouse—a critical new component of the country's economy that would elevate Brazil's standing in the international banking community. To ensure the success of the project, BM&F; decided to base its new solution on the Microsoft platform. Doing so enabled the company to bring the solution to market in just six months and achieve a mission-critical level of availability that was paramount to the project's success.
Using the Microsoft® .NET Compact Framework, Mobile Productivity developed SmartCalc, a sophisticated financial calculator, largely using existing C# code from desktop applications.
Using the Microsoft® .NET Compact Framework, Mobile Productivity developed SmartCalc, a sophisticated financial calculator, largely using existing C# code from desktop applications. Then, by using XML Web services, remote access to back-office data in Microsoft SQL Server was provided across GRPS networks.
Corzen Inc. Builds New B2B Information Service Faster and Under Budget with Visual Studio.NET
To develop a new Web-based business-to-business information service that included financial services companies, newspapers, and online job sites, to help these companies make more informed decisions (such as in purchasing ads in broadcast, print and online media, or identifying sales opportunities as quickly and inexpensively as possible), Corzen Inc. turned to the Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET development system.
Using Microsoft Windows Server 2002 Remote Administration to reduce IT maintenance costs by at least 20 percent.
Hilton Photography is using Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Remote Administration to reduce its IT maintenance costs by at least 20 percent. When Hilton upgraded from Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, it enabled Terminal Services on all servers at its three locations so its IT partner, CriticalSites, can perform software upgrades, and respond to troubleshooting calls without making site visits. Hilton is also using Windows Server 2003 Volume Shadow Copy service to provide an additional layer of protection against losing the digital images it stores for customers.