GTC's Best Solutions Awards recognize those exhibitors who have partnered with a customer, either public or private, to create a specific solution. These solutions have resulted in significant benefits - saved time, money or headaches - and are worthy of recognition.
You'll be able to check them out during GTC on the exhibit floor.
Delegata
Booth 1036
Customer: CalPERS
Solution: eGovernment Technology Transformation
Documentum
Booth 404
Customer: U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine
Solution: CIO Today
Hummingbird Ltd.
Booth 422
Customer: The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
Solution: Integrated Web-based GIS/Document Management Solution
InfoPros
Booth 1426
Customer: Caltrans
Solution: Caltrans Web-based Training
Intermec Technologies Corp.
Booth 1321
Customer: City of Long Beach, CA
Solution: Pine Avenue HotZone
Kiefer Consulting, Inc.
Booth 800
Customer: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Solution: Street Cutting and Resurfacing System
Lexmark
Booth 1107
Customer: Louisiana Department of Social Services
Solution: Doing More with Less - Lexmark Workflow/Forms Automation
Madentec Limited
Booth 1828
Customer: Quadriplegic Golfers
Solution: Real Abilities Golf Tournament
Unify Corporation
Booth 436
Customer: Corporate Express
Solution: Process-Automation Application
Venturi Technology Partners
Booth 416
Customer: California State Teachers' Retirement System
Solution: CalSTRS Project Management Review START Project
Webb Consulting, Inc.
Booth 517
Customer: 3Com Corporation
Solution: Partner Access
XIOtech Corporation
Booth 527
Customer: Steinbach Credit Union
Solution: Steinbach Credit Union's Wireless SAN
Descriptions
Delegata
Booth 1036
Customer: CalPERS
Solution: eGovernment Technology Transformation
CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the nation providing retirement and health benefits to more than 1.3 million members and over 2,400 employers. To improve customer service, reduce costs, ensure accuracy and improve operational efficiencies, CalPERS, in partnership with Delegata, leveraged the power of the Internet to provide a true eGovernment platform to its members and partners. The Automated Communication Exchange System (ACES) portal was developed to provide the people, process, and technology linkages for CalPERS' new "Government-to-Government /Business-to-Business" (G2G/B2B) platform. The ACES portal features online forms, file transfer, inquiry and billing capabilities for business-critical operations between CalPERS and its partners.
While the initial ACES Proof of Concept provided a quick return on investment, the full rollout of the system to 2,400 employers and providers with additional functionality could not be supported with the system's original underlying proprietary technology infrastructure. The ACES system was migrated to Oracle's 9iAS "integrated stack" platform and J2EE/Java tools, which successfully transformed CalPERS' legacy ACES system infrastructure. This new scalable infrastructure allowed CalPERS to go from 50,000 to 350,000 transactions without an increase in staff and provided substantial IT cost reductions and operational efficiencies. The technology transformation provided a robust high performance infrastructure for all future enterprise-wide eBusiness services.
Documentum
Booth 404
Customer: U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine
Solution: CIO Today
The CIOs in the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine (BUMED) needed a better way to gather input and make decisions, create and share passive knowledge, trade experiences, mentor their workforce, as well as access external expertise and resources. As a result, BUMED developed "CIO Today," based on Documentum eRoom, which supports a wide range of organizational and end user needs, including:
- Security - Offers a globally secure workplace that is easily managed by team participants.
- Rapid Deployment - More than 100 CIOs located all over the world have the ability to access Documentum eRoom through industry-standard Web browsers.
- Ease of Administration and Management - Provides the CIOs with the flexibility they desire to create and manage their own forums. New processes and applications can be deployed, quickly and easily, without external technical resource involvement.
- Easy, Centralized Access - Navy Medicine CIOs - from Bethesda, MD, to Asia to aircraft carriers and beyond - all have access to a centralized source of information through a Web browser that supports ongoing discussions and dialog.
CIO Today is boasting faster decision-making and project execution, rapid team-building features and the secure environment demanded in a military environment.
Hummingbird Ltd.
Booth 422
Customer: The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District
Solution: Integrated Web-based GIS/Document Management Solution
The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), a public agency that provides water for agricultural, municipal, domestic and industrial uses in northeastern Colorado, has deployed an integrated solution consisting of Hummingbird DM?, an integral component of Hummingbird Enterprise?, and ESRI's ArcIMS. The solution links records and documents to NCWCD's geographical information system (GIS) allowing employees to access and manage geographic data records from a Web-based mapping interface, improving service to residents.
The District staff, including engineers, Right of Way specialists and O&M crews, produces and manages a large number of electronic documents, such as legal contracts, financial records and engineering documents. Previously, the geographic data associated with information in the GIS was manually stored in filing systems, making it difficult, if not impossible, to access records that corresponded with information in the GIS. With Hummingbird's integrated solution, employees as well as residents and other members of the public, can locate records and documents in the document management system and then display corresponding maps by clicking on a Web-based geographic feature.
Integration companies, 5280 Solutions and Farragut Systems, Inc., installed the Hummingbird solution. 5280 Solutions installed Hummingbird DM and Farragut Systems integrated the document management software with the agency's GIS, ArcIMS.
InfoPros
Booth 1426
Customer: Caltrans
Solution: Caltrans Web-based Training
Caltrans needed a solution to reduce the time and cost of training 20,000 statewide employees on complex regulations and guidelines, and they wanted the mandatory training be as interactive and entertaining as possible.
InfoPros took Caltrans' existing instructor-led content and reworked it into a fun and interactive multimedia Web-based training (WBT) solution that users can access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. InfoPros' solution is based on instructional design principles, which ensure that the training successfully meets all learning objectives. Because the goal was to be fun as well as informative, the course follows a TV metaphor where animated cartoon characters present the instructional content through action-oriented shows depicting real-life situations. Interactive quizzes and exercises follow. More doing and less reading is a sure recipe for active participation and improved retention. To achieve accessibility, InfoPros developed an HTML-based, printable version.
The WBT uses solid instructional design principles to deliver a quality solution that is meeting the needs of over 20,000 statewide employees ? while reducing student travel time, travel budgets, and instructor costs. The initial client-base reaction was especially positive. Comments received so far include: "I found myself laughing and learning at the same time," "It's not anything like what I expected, I really enjoyed it!"
Intermec Technologies Corp.
Booth 1321
Customer: City of Long Beach, CA
Solution: Pine Avenue HotZone
The City of Long Beach is proud to be one of the first cities in the United States to offer free public Internet access. This program is part of the City's commitment to provide cutting-edge technology access for residents, visitors and businesses. The wireless HotZone district affords the city an opportunity to promote itself to visitors via the portal site, which is designed to give local businesses and organizations an opportunity to reach an audience that is already in the area. The network is the first step in a plan to develop wireless districts in selected business areas throughout the city.
The network uses Intermec access points based on the 802.11b standard to allow almost anyone with a laptop computer equipped with a standard 802.11b wireless card to lunch or dine on the sidewalk patio of their favorite Pine Avenue restaurant and browse the Internet or answer email.
The system connects to the Internet at the offices of Color Broadband in Long Beach. Using sophisticated radio technology provided by Color Broadband the signal is sent out to Intermec MobileLAN 2100 access points located along Pine Avenue. Access is controlled through Vernier Network's IS 6000 Integrated System?. The end user is greeted with an easy to use interface and Web Portal developed by G-site Web Design and hosted at Long Beach's own MMInternet. The portal is accessible by any computer through the Internet at: www.LongBeachPortals.com.
Kiefer Consulting, Inc.
Booth 800
Customer: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Solution: Street Cutting and Resurfacing System
Kiefer Consulting, Inc. was selected to design and develop a Web-based solution that allows the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) to estimate service related jobs and reconcile invoices from vendors: SCARS - Street Cutting and Resurfacing System. For DWP, this marks the first time vendors and external agencies can conduct business over the Web. The solution has interfaces including Job/Ticket Estimator, Vendor Invoice Tracking/Reconciliation, Citywide Utility Permits, Contract Terms/Conditions, Vendor Information, Accounts Payable, Work Orders and Management/User Reports. Using our Keystone Architecture for .NET, we integrated these features into a single functional application, which allows the Department to conduct e-commerce with vendors and City agencies. By strict management of security, we were able to include vendor and external agency portals with ad hoc reporting capabilities over the Web. Kiefer Consulting created interfaces with five departments and established application development standards to apply to other departments based upon the Keystone Architecture. This project is being considered as a nominee for the City of Los Angeles Productivity Improvement Award for the decrease in redundant data entry, improvement in functionality and the significant reduction of paper being exchanged between agencies and internal departments. Kiefer Consulting is the prime vendor of this ongoing project, estimated total of $1.7 million.
Lexmark
Booth 1107
Customer: Louisiana Department of Social Services
Solution: Doing More with Less - Lexmark Workflow/Forms Automation
"We need to do more with less." Does this sound like a familiar theme? This phrase has become such a common mantra in both public and private sector businesses that it has become cliché. However in a climate of budget constraints and staff reductions, for the Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS), doing more with less is a new reality. The latest project at DSS is called the Print-on-Demand Forms project. This project offers a means of transitioning from expensive preprinted forms used by the field office caseworkers to forms printed locally at the point of need. When examining this process, Lexmark had to take into account that the purpose of the forms is to collect and process client information and also had to consider the processes associated with those forms including creation, production, warehousing, distribution and management.
Lexmark's solution consists of a network attached Forms Kiosk. Forms stored in an intranet repository are accessed through an intuitive touchscreen, and then sent to the printer that has Web printing and finishing capabilities. This distributed solution to forms printing offers DSS the following benefits:
- Eliminates the cost of preprinted forms -- nearly $3M savings
- Allows for quick revisions to forms: weeks to minutes
- Reduced obsolescence of forms - from 30% to near zero
- Frees up valuable office space previously used to store forms
- Eliminates need for a central printing center
- Eliminates the need for a warehouse to store the forms
- Improves caseworker satisfaction
In the interest of addressing DSS issues and meeting their business objectives, Lexmark has tailored solutions that support the work process instead of forcing the work process to bend to technology. The basic pieces of this solution are building blocks that will allow for continued innovations and future growth as the Louisiana Department of Social Services migrates to electronic case folders. Don Moore, Program Manager for DSS explains, "Lexmark has proven to be a strategic business partner by working with us to solve business problems that were significantly impacting the productivity of our people."
Madentec Limited
Booth 1828
Customer: Quadriplegic Golfers
Solution: Real Abilities Golf Tournament
Madentec Limited and Microsoft Corporation co-sponsored a historic event where people without the use of their arms used technology to go golfing for the first time ever. The Real Abilities Charity Golf Tournament brought together people with quadriplegia and able-bodied golfers on August 18th, 2000 at the Pelican Hill Golf Course in Newport Beach, California.
Using the latest assistive computer technology from Madentec, people with quadriplegia drove on and golfed right beside their able-bodied counterparts on an actual golf course. People with disabilities golfed virtually, using the Microsoft's Links LS 2000 golf software which contained a replica of the Pelican Hill golf course in every detail.
Madentec President, Randy Marsden, explains how the idea came about: "I was in a golf tournament last summer when the organizers suggested we put on a tournament for our company's clients, people with quadriplegia. I suggested that was a bad idea, since they can't golf. The next day I was playing golf on the Links LS software on my computer at home when it dawned on me that our clients could use our head pointer, Tracker, to control it. From there, the whole idea blossomed into one of the most exciting events we've ever been a part of."
Unify Corporation
Booth 436
Customer: Corporate Express
Solution: Process-Automation Application
Corporate Express prepares hundreds of orders and dispatches thousands of parcels daily including office supplies, furniture, computer imaging supplies, software, document management and promotional products. Because their customers depend heavily on their goods and services, Corporate Express is chiefly concerned with complex, time-sensitive and data driven processes such as fulfillment and delivery, supply chain management and transportation scheduling. The absence of a highly sophisticated process-automation application will surely prohibit Corporate Express in effectively satisfying their demanding customers. Therefore, Corporate Express selected Unify NXJ to address these needs, as well as provide for the ability to automatically initiate real-time tasks in case of failure or changes. This will significantly reduce costs and delays, giving Corporate Express a quantifiable competitive advantage in their industry.
With a two-pronged solution to these mission-critical business challenges, Corporate Express used Unify NXJ to quickly develop a help-desk application. This application provides support personnel with real-time data on order processing issues such as product codes, special process, contract details, contact information, workflow status, as well as facts on previous orders, products, quantities and dates. This application compliments their extranet e-commerce site by offering the human touch of a support representative with real-time, data intensive information provided by the robust application. Second, Corporate Express will continue to use Unify NXJ to revolutionize the way in which their supply chain processes are managed; particularly, in relation to fulfillment and delivery in the field.
With the Unify NXJ-based application in place, each delivery person will be provided with a wireless device, such as PDA/GSM/GPRS, to track and verify deliveries while at customer sites. The system will allow for management of bar code scanning and order/contract detail verification, but more importantly, will initiate, real-time corrections to inaccurate orders, thereby avoiding costly delays due to delivery and fulfillment errors.
Venturi Technology Partners
Booth 416
Customer: California State Teachers' Retirement System
Solution: CalSTRS Project Management Review START Project
After completing a large enterprise project that reengineered the agency's core application, the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) wanted to institutionalize the lessons learned and create management processes that can be improved with each successive project. In addition, CalSTRS wanted a review of the organizational processes to identify areas for improvement. Venturi Technology Partners was selected to help.
Venturi began by reviewing project artifacts created over the five-year span of the START project. They also conducted cross-organizational interviews to document the lessons learned over the life of the project. The findings were organized into categories and analyzed with a focus on improving organizational processes. The results were presented to the executive team with specific short- and long-range recommendations for improving the organizational processes.
Results:
1. The study provided an independent view of the success of the project, supported with quantitative and qualitative data.
2. The study confirmed many of CalSTRS assumptions and provided new insights that the team hadn't considered.
3. Most importantly, the study allowed the executive team to see a clear picture of where CalSTRS has been and where they need to go. With this common map, they can come to agreement on the issues that face the organization and set priorities to address them.
Webb Consulting, Inc.
Booth 517
Customer: 3Com Corporation
Solution: Partner Access
Webb Consulting is an IBM Business Partner and has recently won the prestigious IBM Lotus Beacon Award for providing an outstanding total Web solution for 3Com Corporation. This Web solution includes 17 secured extranet sites, support for four servers, provides easy to use Web publishing tools, has direct marketing email capabilities and a built in content review process and includes an out-sourced global helpdesk.
The Partner Access system is a highly customized Lotus Domino-based solution for 3Com's customers, worldwide sales and distribution channels comprising of more than 100,000 users in 100 countries. In addition Partner Access provides customized out-of-the-box training for 3Com's partners. This solution resulted in tremendous ROI for 3Com and high satisfaction among their partners. In essence, Webb Consulting was able to solve any issues in a responsive and reliable manner and, in this case, maintain that consistency over a five-year period with this project. You can read more about the Partner Access solution and the 2003 IBM Beacon Awards on our Web site at: http://www.webb-consult.com/news.html.
XIOtech Corporation
Booth 527
Customer: Steinbach Credit Union
Solution: Steinbach Credit Union's Wireless SAN
With more than 47,000 customers and assets in excess of a billion dollars, Steinbach Credit Union, a credit firm based in the frozen flatlands of Manitoba, Canada, found its backup and recovery operations were getting out of control. The decided that the best way to satisfy its disaster-recovery requirements was to build a wireless SAN.
"The growth of the organization has been explosive, and it was too expensive to keep expanding servers, so we turned to a SAN solution from XIOtech Corporation," says Denis Van Dale, LAN administrator at Steinbach. In conjunction with this, the company built a second site in Winnipeg, 40 miles away from its headquarters in Steinbach, for disaster-recovery purposes.
The next question was how to link the two sites together. After considering several options, Steinbach came up with the unusual idea of building its own wireless SAN, instead of incurring ongoing carrier costs.
By building its own radio transmission towers and installing Proxim Corp. wireless Ethernet bridge products, Steinbach found they could run IP network traffic directly between its facilities in Steinbach and Winnipeg without third-party carriers or expensive last-mile services. "It was a eureka! moment," says Van Dale.
XIOtech's MAGNITUDE storage arrays and REDI SAN Links replication software provide synchronized copies of data at both sites, while Nishan Systems Inc.'s IP storage switches provide the Fibre Channel-to-iFCP protocol conversion required to send the SAN traffic over the wireless Ethernet/IP network.
The SAN/WAN link provides 100-Mbit/s (200-Mbit/s full-duplex) wireless Ethernet transmission between Steinbach and Winnipeg. Of the 100 Mbit/s available bandwidth, 65 Mbit/s (approximately 8 Mbyte/s) is reserved for data replication enabled by XIOtech's replicator software. For DR purposes, 500 Gbytes of Microsoft Corp. SQL Server data, including loans and other banking data as well as email, are replicated between Steinbach and Winnipeg.
With costs of the installation expected to be recovered within two years, this creative DR network appears to be an affordable alternative to traditional approaches.
