Microsoft partner Nintex is a global leader in workflows for Microsoft SharePoint products and technologies. To extend its workflow expertise to project management, Nintex built a product called Nintex Workflow for Project Server, based on Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft Project Server. Project managers use it to create workflows with drag-and-drop convenience. Because Project Server is built on SharePoint Server, Nintex was able to quickly develop and get the new product to market. Since launching Nintex Workflow for Project Server in December 2010, Nintex and its partners have gained access to the fast-growing project management market, and the company has seen a double-digit sales increase and gained competitive advantage.

The Saudi Ministry of Justice (MOJ) needed a resilient and scalable data warehouse to support the modernization of courts administration and notaries who act in non-contentious matters. It chose Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise data management software and interrelated technologies. Eventually, 500 internal entities will connect to the data warehouse. The MOJ now plans to upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2012.

DATEV, one of the leading IT service providers for tax advisers, auditors, and attorneys in Germany, intended to deliver hosted cloud-based Microsoft solutions to its 39,000 customers. DATEV is now offering hosted Microsoft Office 2010 to replace an earlier version of Microsoft Office software to 1,000 of its 39,000 customers that have already moved to the private cloud. DATEV is considering adding other hosted services, including Microsoft Lync 2010 and the Windows Azure cloud operating system.

Skipton Building Society needed a self-service portal for development environments for its mortgage services division HML. Its IT Shared Service Centre was tasked with finding a solution that would allow HML to provision virtual machines to keep pace with its agile development requirement. By deploying Hyper-V virtualisation technology, along with the Microsoft System Center 2012 suite of products, the firm avoided a £42,000 expenditure on a proof of concept and licences from the incumbent vendor.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., a specialty retailer of beauty supply products based in Denton, Texas, faced a tangled mess in dealing with international product and service management. CIO Chad Ehmke discusses this competitive environment and how Microsoft Dynamics helps the company manage their business operations, which last year generated $3.3 billion in sales across more than 16,000 SKUs.

DrillBoard Worldwide, which creates coaching software for football clubs and associations, wanted to use the software-as-a-service model to deliver its product over the Internet. It is replacing CD-ROM distribution with a subscription-based system using the Windows Azure platform. The company’s first major customer—the Football Association of Wales—aims to sign up every affiliated football coach from amateur level to the national team.

Tube Lines, owned by Transport for London, equips its employees with the latest technology to lower costs and complexity. By investing in a standardised environment with key Microsoft technologies, Tube Lines can upgrade and deploy all Microsoft products within 12 months from release. With its recent move to the Wave “14” stack, it has saved hundreds of thousands of pounds and countless person hours. The refresh included a range of Microsoft security and systems management products, as well as unified communications and collaboration software. Using standard Microsoft technologies has contributed towards a reduced IT operating cost of more than 70 per cent in the past five years. By using the standardised approach with a simplified environment, Tube Lines is well placed to upgrade to Wave “15” technologies.

Leading United Kingdom (U.K.) girls school Benenden School needed to replace its private branch exchange (PBX) telephony system. Having considered offers from four different PBX vendors, the school chose Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition for telephony and unified communications. The Microsoft solution cost 40 per cent less than any of the competing offerings. Plus, it is scalable, easily accommodating new accounts for staff and students.

SABIS—a global education provider with a network of 79 schools and one university—wanted a comprehensive solution to automate its software development life cycle and meet recognized international standards. It deployed Microsoft Visual Studio Team System 2010 and is now realizing significantly faster time to deploy products. This has led to higher satisfaction in the SABIS IT team and other stakeholders, including SABIS administrators, teachers, and students.

Scottish Borders Council faced severe budget pressures and wanted to cut costs by minimising travel and giving its employees tools for flexible and remote working. The council replaced its telephony system with Microsoft Lync 2010 and now plans to extend the solution to 10,000 users. The Lync 2010 deployment to the entire corporate staff is expected to save the authority £1 million (U.S.$1.6 million) over the next three years.