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Vorsite Team
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Dates Added for Microsoft Online Services Workshop
Vorsite is hosting a hands-on workshop for organizations of 20 or more to get up and running on the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. This suite features Hosted Exchange, SharePoint, LiveMeeting, and Communicator Services. For full details see the event registration page.
Where: Vorsite Offices in Downtown Seattle
When: May 21, 2009 (More Information) , June 4, 2009 (More Information)
This workshop is still a beta and is available at no-charge.
Where: Vorsite Offices in Downtown Seattle
When: May 21, 2009 (More Information) , June 4, 2009 (More Information)
This workshop is still a beta and is available at no-charge.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Ready. Set. Move Your Organization into the Clouds: A Hands-On Workshop for Microsoft Online Services
UPDATED
To register or get more information go to: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=138318
When: May 21, 2009
Where: Seattle
Cost: No Charge, this is a beta version of the course ($550 value)
Congratulations! You have taken the first step to organizational agility, increased productivity, and just plain saving your organization a lot of money.
We understand your decision to move key infrastructure operations to the cloud should be thorough and can be difficult. We would like to ease your pain. We will help you take the next step and make sure you look like a hero. We are hosting a hands-on workshop that will give you a head start or catapult you to the finish line.
Note: This is the beta version of this workshop available at no-charge; the time is now. Take advantage of free configuration services and training (a $550 value).
Is this Workshop right for your organization?
If you can answer yes to items below, proceed to the event registration and a Vorsite representative will follow-up to quickly verify registration requirements have been met.
-Are you ready for a Hosted Email, Collaboration, and Communications solution?
-Does your organization consist of 20 or more employees?
-Are you authorized to subscribe (Purchase or Free 30-Day Trial) to Microsoft Online Services BPOS Suite on behalf of your organization during the workshop?
Would you like to learn more about Microsoft's Business Productivity Suite before registering? Send me an email or call 206-781-1797.
Agenda
11:45am Welcome - Introductions
12:00pm Lunch and Learn: Getting the Most Out of the Clouds with Microsoft Online Services
Software + Services is the way the industry is moving. Did you know that 25% of new business software is expected to be hosted as a service by 2011? You have already decided to be part of this paradigm shift. We’ll explore Microsoft’s online services offering, the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) and the value it brings to your organization.
Hands-on Activities:
-Lunch (Catered by a local gourmet restaurant, vegetarian options will be provided)
-Q & A Session
- Break
.... see remainder of agenda at the link below.
To register or get more information go to: http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=138318
Friday, April 3, 2009
Vorsite Highlighted as one of KMWorld’s ‘100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management’ for 2009
Vorsite a Recognized Leader in Connecting Top Enterprise Content Management Systems with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.
SEATTLE, WA, April 3, 2009 — Vorsite has joined the ranks of the top 100, KMWorld magazine has named Vorsite Corp., an enterprise search and collaboration solutions company, among 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management.
Read full article
Vorsite a Recognized Leader in Connecting Top Enterprise Content Management Systems with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.
SEATTLE, WA, April 3, 2009 — Vorsite has joined the ranks of the top 100, KMWorld magazine has named Vorsite Corp., an enterprise search and collaboration solutions company, among 100 Companies that Matter in Knowledge Management.
Read full article
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Susie posed this question on her blog... here is a quick exert of one of the areas that she could she a need for "Citizen Service Platform (CSP) allows government agencies to build and deploy citizen service solutions, with “building block” templates designed to meet a variety of government needs, including:• Communications applications• Citizen portals• Web spaces" taken from Susie Adams post on FutureFed. For the full article go to
http://blogs.msdn.com/uspublicsector/archive/2009/01/29/gov-2-0-what-will-it-take-to-get-there.aspx .
I love that our administration is going to be modernizing or maybe better socializing the way citizens and the government interact. The first thing that comes to my mind, usually when I think about the Federal government, taxes. What are some interesting ways that we (citizens) would like to change how we interact with the federal government? I would love to be able to understand the status of my social security without getting a letter in the mail (maybe I can do this today?), get a history of the taxes that I have paid, how different tax codes have benefited others in my tax bracket, get involved with the new administration's programs, maybe connect with resources to help me make decisions. This is an easy segway into the variety of technical solutions that could be developed or utilized to bring this to fruition. This is my initial thought after reading her article, but I will likely re-visit it many more times, once I have had a chance to truly digest the changes that are on the horizon.
What are your thoughts and what would you benefit from?
http://blogs.msdn.com/uspublicsector/archive/2009/01/29/gov-2-0-what-will-it-take-to-get-there.aspx .
I love that our administration is going to be modernizing or maybe better socializing the way citizens and the government interact. The first thing that comes to my mind, usually when I think about the Federal government, taxes. What are some interesting ways that we (citizens) would like to change how we interact with the federal government? I would love to be able to understand the status of my social security without getting a letter in the mail (maybe I can do this today?), get a history of the taxes that I have paid, how different tax codes have benefited others in my tax bracket, get involved with the new administration's programs, maybe connect with resources to help me make decisions. This is an easy segway into the variety of technical solutions that could be developed or utilized to bring this to fruition. This is my initial thought after reading her article, but I will likely re-visit it many more times, once I have had a chance to truly digest the changes that are on the horizon.
What are your thoughts and what would you benefit from?
Web Developer Needed
Help bring Vorsite.com out of the ice age and work on some other cool stuff too. Vorsite is looking for a smart, flexible, innovative web developer to help transform our static marketing website into an interactive experience that enables us to connect with our customers and partners. We don’t need a PhD level expert in any one area, rather we’re looking for someone who is a quick learner and is familiar with a wide range of web technologies and tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Silverlight, Flash, server-side scripting (preferably ASP.NET/C#), Visual Studio, Adobe Contribute (or other site editing tools), etc. In addition to coding, should be able to research and identify the best open source and third party products for new feature requests and integrate them into the site. Experience with content management systems and social networking is a plus. Contact us for more information about the position.
Careers@vorsite.com . Please specify in your email how you heard about the position.
Careers@vorsite.com . Please specify in your email how you heard about the position.
Upcoming Vorsite Webinars
Cut your IT costs by 15 to 30%
Get the winning edge in today’s market by coupling the right tools with Vorsite’s expertise.
Upcoming Dates and Registration: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/ol_2501aot_ccc/Registration.aspx?pageName=0l7jrl53jdm98cn8
Enhancing MOSS 2007 with FAST ESP
Enhancing MOSS 2007 Search with the inclusion of FAST ESP and FAST ESP webparts. Discussion of implementation requirements and lessons learned.
Upcoming Dates and Registration: https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/ol_2501aot_ccc/Registration.aspx?pageName=2xfdvq23sr3q5z7t
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Breaking down information silos - Part 3
Hope that you like Part 1 and 2. Part 3, the conclusion to my post, is about lessons learned.
We adopt the Scrum Framework at Vorsite. Scrum, in my opinion, works particularly well for high risk projects. Customers see deployable components by the end of every 30-day sprint. Yes, we do not know for sure if we can deliver everything we promise since we can only make the best decision base on what we know at a specific point in time. But that does not mean that we under-deliver either since someone will always be pushing the envelope.
Before we start development work, it’s my job to communicate a set of clearly defined end of sprint deliverables. These goals are signed off by all stakeholders and team members. By the end of the 30 days, we measure and reassess where we are with the overall project goal. Mistakes are not as costly since we get early validation/ feedback and have the ability to take immediate actions to do the necessary course correction in the subsequent sprint(s). And from sprint to sprint, project sponsors see visible progress. I secretly suspect that was the reason why Vorsite was approached to take a stab at surfacing the data. Put yourself in the decision makers’ shoes: can you still confidently fund a project if, after 2 years, you still do not see nor use any deployable components? I know it depends on the project scope but you know what I mean.
Another tool I find effective in communicating requirements and managing expectation is to conduct mock up/wireframe review. I always use the most low-tech approach to avoid giving end users and management the misconception that everything is done. I either draw or use MS Paint (!) to cut and paste components to create mock up screens and then walk everybody through key scenarios. It’s a tedious process but you will be surprised how it helps. You, as well as your audience, will be given an opportunity to think things through. But life is of course full of curve balls. I still get surprised once in a while but in general, I get what I ask for and customers understand what they will be getting.
However, I did wish that I have a more diverse group of users for the wireframes review and had the opportunity to interview not just the super users (who are mainly Business Unit Managers) but perhaps a Profit Center responsible, a field agent and even a vendor who uses the tool. After all, these are the other key personas. Without any knowledge of their needs – how do we do a good job in making sure that the solution scales?
Having said that, time frame is always a constraint.
I was grateful the customers decided to keep direct data integration out of the picture. But on hind sight, perhaps we should invest a little more time in planning out data integration. The inability to automate data import will eventually jeopardize the project and that remains as a risk not sufficiently addressed. Also, in the perfect world, we really should establish a closer collaboration with the group who owned the OLAP cube. We are experts in hooking things up in SharePoint, while they are the experts in OLAP cube (and BI) - it really is a win-win situation for both.
In conclusion, this is a fun project. Started off chaotic but we did a good job in scoping the requirements and ultimately delivered a value-add solution. Someone once told me that if I did a perfect job, he doubt that I would learn anything next so I guess room for improvement is always an opportunity to make it even better!
Till the next project! Meanwhile, it’s time for a good glass of wine.
We adopt the Scrum Framework at Vorsite. Scrum, in my opinion, works particularly well for high risk projects. Customers see deployable components by the end of every 30-day sprint. Yes, we do not know for sure if we can deliver everything we promise since we can only make the best decision base on what we know at a specific point in time. But that does not mean that we under-deliver either since someone will always be pushing the envelope.
Before we start development work, it’s my job to communicate a set of clearly defined end of sprint deliverables. These goals are signed off by all stakeholders and team members. By the end of the 30 days, we measure and reassess where we are with the overall project goal. Mistakes are not as costly since we get early validation/ feedback and have the ability to take immediate actions to do the necessary course correction in the subsequent sprint(s). And from sprint to sprint, project sponsors see visible progress. I secretly suspect that was the reason why Vorsite was approached to take a stab at surfacing the data. Put yourself in the decision makers’ shoes: can you still confidently fund a project if, after 2 years, you still do not see nor use any deployable components? I know it depends on the project scope but you know what I mean.
Another tool I find effective in communicating requirements and managing expectation is to conduct mock up/wireframe review. I always use the most low-tech approach to avoid giving end users and management the misconception that everything is done. I either draw or use MS Paint (!) to cut and paste components to create mock up screens and then walk everybody through key scenarios. It’s a tedious process but you will be surprised how it helps. You, as well as your audience, will be given an opportunity to think things through. But life is of course full of curve balls. I still get surprised once in a while but in general, I get what I ask for and customers understand what they will be getting.
However, I did wish that I have a more diverse group of users for the wireframes review and had the opportunity to interview not just the super users (who are mainly Business Unit Managers) but perhaps a Profit Center responsible, a field agent and even a vendor who uses the tool. After all, these are the other key personas. Without any knowledge of their needs – how do we do a good job in making sure that the solution scales?
Having said that, time frame is always a constraint.
I was grateful the customers decided to keep direct data integration out of the picture. But on hind sight, perhaps we should invest a little more time in planning out data integration. The inability to automate data import will eventually jeopardize the project and that remains as a risk not sufficiently addressed. Also, in the perfect world, we really should establish a closer collaboration with the group who owned the OLAP cube. We are experts in hooking things up in SharePoint, while they are the experts in OLAP cube (and BI) - it really is a win-win situation for both.
In conclusion, this is a fun project. Started off chaotic but we did a good job in scoping the requirements and ultimately delivered a value-add solution. Someone once told me that if I did a perfect job, he doubt that I would learn anything next so I guess room for improvement is always an opportunity to make it even better!
Till the next project! Meanwhile, it’s time for a good glass of wine.
SPS and FAST ESP Search Solutions Webinar
We are hosting a LiveMeeting to cover enterprise collaboration and search solutions that are built on FAST ESP and SharePoint.
When: Feb. 17 11:00am PST.
Sign up here... Microsoft LiveMeeting Registration for FAST Presentation
When: Feb. 17 11:00am PST.
Sign up here... Microsoft LiveMeeting Registration for FAST Presentation
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Breaking down information silos - Part 2
It has been a while since I posted Part 1 – let’s just say I was distracted by life.
Let’s continue…
Forgot to mention I took over mid-project. By then, the customer has agreed to leave direct data integration out of the project scope and adopt a POC approach to see if we could surface the data. That certainly made life easier.
As we dived deeper and found out more about how the business users created and consumed the reports, we discovered that another BI Project was running in parallel. So, the question is: “Why Vorsite?” BI is not our core competency and we have been upfront to the customers. However, we are experts in hooking MOSS up to Enterprise Content Management systems so we understand how important it is for end users to go to a single point of entry to access the information they need to do their jobs. After all, the biggest pain point (for the existing desktop tool) was the multiple source/location/copy of the “same” reports.
So, we really need to deliver a solution which will be perceived as value-add as well as make sure that it is scalable and extensible.
The first Excel report contained the group's overall financial report. PerformancePoint Monitoring Server came into the picture. We built a couple of scorecards that provided at-a-glance insights into non-performers. These scorecards were based on flat data which has been imported into a SQL database and a cube. This addressed the need of top leadership so that they could take actions. Depending on needs, we planned to add analytic reports/graphs to present the data in different views in future phase(s).
For the Business Unit Managers, they needed details and made profit center accountable.
In order for profit center managers to follow the money trail, we needed to integrate the second set of Excel reports which were pulling data directly from a cube owned by a different group. We decided to use Excel Services and create an Excel Services report in the Dashboard Designer. There was no reason to rebuild something which worked plus we did not have write access to the cube to manipulate the hierarchy of the dimensions and produce an analytic report with all the columns our customers wanted to see.
Finally, we created a page in MOSS. When I saw the PerformancePoint Dashboard item Web Part, I honestly thought that was the coolest thing ever existed. A fellow colleague who is a developer will probably yell at me for simplifying the complexity in pulling everything together but it really did seem easy: just add and drop the filter, scorecards and reports you need! (That’s definitely the PM talking.)
Thanks to the hard work of a dedicated team, the above was successfully pushed out to production. We generated so much excitement in the super user group that we were approached to look into how we could convert an Excel forecast management tool into a web-based tool and integrate that into the new platform!
Let’s continue…
Forgot to mention I took over mid-project. By then, the customer has agreed to leave direct data integration out of the project scope and adopt a POC approach to see if we could surface the data. That certainly made life easier.
As we dived deeper and found out more about how the business users created and consumed the reports, we discovered that another BI Project was running in parallel. So, the question is: “Why Vorsite?” BI is not our core competency and we have been upfront to the customers. However, we are experts in hooking MOSS up to Enterprise Content Management systems so we understand how important it is for end users to go to a single point of entry to access the information they need to do their jobs. After all, the biggest pain point (for the existing desktop tool) was the multiple source/location/copy of the “same” reports.
So, we really need to deliver a solution which will be perceived as value-add as well as make sure that it is scalable and extensible.
The first Excel report contained the group's overall financial report. PerformancePoint Monitoring Server came into the picture. We built a couple of scorecards that provided at-a-glance insights into non-performers. These scorecards were based on flat data which has been imported into a SQL database and a cube. This addressed the need of top leadership so that they could take actions. Depending on needs, we planned to add analytic reports/graphs to present the data in different views in future phase(s).
For the Business Unit Managers, they needed details and made profit center accountable.
In order for profit center managers to follow the money trail, we needed to integrate the second set of Excel reports which were pulling data directly from a cube owned by a different group. We decided to use Excel Services and create an Excel Services report in the Dashboard Designer. There was no reason to rebuild something which worked plus we did not have write access to the cube to manipulate the hierarchy of the dimensions and produce an analytic report with all the columns our customers wanted to see.
Finally, we created a page in MOSS. When I saw the PerformancePoint Dashboard item Web Part, I honestly thought that was the coolest thing ever existed. A fellow colleague who is a developer will probably yell at me for simplifying the complexity in pulling everything together but it really did seem easy: just add and drop the filter, scorecards and reports you need! (That’s definitely the PM talking.)
Thanks to the hard work of a dedicated team, the above was successfully pushed out to production. We generated so much excitement in the super user group that we were approached to look into how we could convert an Excel forecast management tool into a web-based tool and integrate that into the new platform!
Monday, January 26, 2009
We are hiring!
Vorsite is looking for passionate individuals that are interested in driving and producing Enterprise 2.0, Collaboration, and Search solutions. Whether you enjoy sales, development, consulting or support, we are interested in hearing from you! We are recruiting for our offices in Seattle and Charlotte. Send your resumes and a brief description of your interests to careers@vorsite.com .
Friday, January 16, 2009
Breaking down information silos - Part 1
What do you do when the customer gives you a couple of Excel Spreadsheets and you are asked to “expose the data” in SharePoint using PerformancePoint? Make things happen!
As a Program Manager at Vorsite Corp., I was recently asked to run this project. I pretty much walked away from the initial internal project briefing wondering how to translate “make it pretty”; “wow me!” etc. into user requirements. But, it’s my job to scope the requirements and see structure in “chaos” – should be a walk in the park, right?
Here are the facts:
- Two Excel Spreadsheets containing data pulled from different data source. Several hidden worksheets with columns performing vlookup/complex if-else statements to derive values for use in multiple pivot tables representing the data in different views
So, what’s the problem with using the Excel spreadsheets?
I like to approach problem using a scenario. So, picture this:
You are a new hire in the Marketing group. As a Business Unit Manager, You are responsible to track budget spend and keep management informed of how you spend the money. Because of the nature of the business, you have to collaborate with several other business units/external vendors to run a full marketing campaign. As a result, you distribute your budget among several individuals. So, you have a group of people who commit to spending X amount of your money but you have no visibility to the actual amount until the invoices go through the financial systems. You quickly realize that you need to look at multiple systems to follow the money trail. The monthly meeting is tomorrow – where do you look? Jim, your analyst, said the latest Excel reports are stored in the shared network drive – access is open to all – can you trust the data? Where do you start? Over 10 campaigns and it’s already 2 in the morning. Do you even need to be concerned at all? Or maybe you can simply pray that forecast always equal actual in real life.
Don’t take me wrong. I love Excel. And I marvel at the complexity of these two reports. I just think that it should be easier when you need more information. Plus, nothing prevents me from tweaking the figures to my advantage. If everybody brings a different copy of the report to the meeting, how can decision makers gain true insights into business performance?
If I got you hooked so far – stay tuned for more…
As a Program Manager at Vorsite Corp., I was recently asked to run this project. I pretty much walked away from the initial internal project briefing wondering how to translate “make it pretty”; “wow me!” etc. into user requirements. But, it’s my job to scope the requirements and see structure in “chaos” – should be a walk in the park, right?
Here are the facts:
- Two Excel Spreadsheets containing data pulled from different data source. Several hidden worksheets with columns performing vlookup/complex if-else statements to derive values for use in multiple pivot tables representing the data in different views
So, what’s the problem with using the Excel spreadsheets?
I like to approach problem using a scenario. So, picture this:
You are a new hire in the Marketing group. As a Business Unit Manager, You are responsible to track budget spend and keep management informed of how you spend the money. Because of the nature of the business, you have to collaborate with several other business units/external vendors to run a full marketing campaign. As a result, you distribute your budget among several individuals. So, you have a group of people who commit to spending X amount of your money but you have no visibility to the actual amount until the invoices go through the financial systems. You quickly realize that you need to look at multiple systems to follow the money trail. The monthly meeting is tomorrow – where do you look? Jim, your analyst, said the latest Excel reports are stored in the shared network drive – access is open to all – can you trust the data? Where do you start? Over 10 campaigns and it’s already 2 in the morning. Do you even need to be concerned at all? Or maybe you can simply pray that forecast always equal actual in real life.
Don’t take me wrong. I love Excel. And I marvel at the complexity of these two reports. I just think that it should be easier when you need more information. Plus, nothing prevents me from tweaking the figures to my advantage. If everybody brings a different copy of the report to the meeting, how can decision makers gain true insights into business performance?
If I got you hooked so far – stay tuned for more…
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