The next issue of the newsletter is ready for you to view on our website.  Plenty of information, and food for thought.  Have a look at the chance to win a ticket for next year's F1 British Grand Prix.

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With temperatures of -15 hitting most of the UK last week it became a struggle to beat the freeze while local authorities battled to keep the roads and schools open.

Temperature’s plummeted and people across the UK battled treacherous condition’s igroup battled to keep working through the week. However, with remote access, SharePoint and mobile working allowed igroup’s Chester office to perform as normal as many employees struggled to get to work.   

Chris, head of operations managed to struggle into work all through last week while the rest of the team dared not to brave the weather. Below are the snowy scenes from our Chester office.

Although ice, freezing fog and up to 11 inches of snow hit the UK igroup’s staff could work and continue as normal from their homes. As many organisations were struggling to keep to productivity levels normal remote working is a way forward. By employing a remote and mobile working philosophy productivity continues no matter what the weather and ensures that your business doesn’t lose out. During the decade employers will become even more flexible to suit our changing weather conditions and daily lives.

Anytime, anywhere working with mobile solutions and SharePoint keep’s ‘business as normal’.

 

 

sept 2009.pdf (806.10 kb)

igroup have launched their September 2009 newsletter which can be found on www.igroupltd.co.uk.

By reading igroup's monthly newsletter find out about what igroup are up to, what new prodcuts and services we offer and updates on igroup's staff and customers.

Each month you can read how igroup have helped their client's to run faster with increased efficiency and productivity whilst being more competitive and helping them to cut cost's. Find out where you can see igroup at trade show's and seminars, and if you can't make it, updates on how they went will be published in the newsletter and igroup will add pictures of its staff at events, seminars and with clients.

Mobile computing: powering public service

Today’s technologies support workers on-site through suites of products devoted to connectivity, security and productivity.

According to the Future Work Forum, one in three UK workers does at least part of their work each week away from the office. Millions of working hours each day are spent working in the community, travelling to meetings and remote offices, or working from home. It’s a scenario that’s especially familiar to anyone working in the public sector, says Nick Umney, a technical specialist working in Microsoft’s Public Sector team. “Today, very few people spend five days a week working at a desk in the office, particularly with the growing awareness of flexible and remote working,” he says. “The challenge is how we enable those workers in the field, or at remote locations, to be as productive and efficient as they possibly can.” 

 The ‘Real’ work is outside the office

One part of the solution is to deploy mobile technology to provide public sector workers with access to job-related information wherever they are based. The potential benefits of mobile working are certainly compelling: the UK government estimates the public sector could save up to £336 million a year through mobile working. These savings would be generated through reduced office costs, efficiency savings, service improvement and improved data quality. “I agree that the public sector could benefit enormously from mobile working because for many roles, the ‘real’ work is outside the office,” says Rob Bamforth, a research analyst with Quocirca. “Providing access to IT on the move saves time, and therefore makes the individual more productive.”For example, the London Borough of Sutton achieved 47% efficiency savings when it provided finance staff with tablet PCs to record the results of home-based interviews with individuals requesting financial support. Staff used specially designed forms on the tablet PCs to record vital details, and generated the required paperwork for an application on the spot. Computerising the process has reduced errors and also means the results can be processed more easily – a typical application can now be assessed in less than one week, compared to five weeks previously. In Sheffield, 84 local councillors have been provided with handheld computers that allow them to electronically record requests and complaints from citizens, which are automatically sent back to the council’s contact centre. The system saves each councillor around three hours per week in paperwork and administration, translating into a major financial saving for the council.  

See how Dynamic Forms can help your business and increase productivity in the field: www.dynamic-forms.net                  www.igroupltd.co.uk  

           

On Wednesday 28th October igroupltd are being joined by Microsoft and Accenture to conduct a FREE seminar centred around mobile computing, mobility, mobile field data collection and SharePoint.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE NOW. Either follow the link or email: seminars@igroupltd.co.uk, call: 0845 838 2184. Visit us at http://www.igroupltd.co.uk/ / www.dynamic-forms.net/Pages/Home.aspx

 Book before the 5th October and recieve a Free White Paper on Mobile Computing!

GUEST SPEAKERS Peter Daley, senior manager in Accenture’s Mobile Solutions practice, will be givign a talk on enterprise mobility, industry trends, mobile computing and where the market is going. Peter is responsible for Accenture’s European Field Force Transformation offering, using mobile technology and business change to drive increased effectiveness for distributed workforces. In addition, Jessica Meats Microsoft's Partner Technology Specialist in SharePoint and InfoPath, who focuses on business processes and forms.

igroup will also be demonstrating their own Dynamics Forms 2009, which transforms paper documents into an electronic format. Dynamic Forms’ is a world class Microsoft certified and tested product that creates and deploys electronic forms solutions to gather information efficiently and reliably regardless of a connection. igroup’s Dynamic Forms offers a number of potential mobile applications for many different organisations including:
· Job completion sheets
· Inspections
· Workforce management
· Surveys

If you attend our FREE seminar in conjunction with Microsoft and Accenture these are just some of the benefits you will gain:

· We offer all attendees A free pilot and set up of the presented solution
· A free trial of SharePoint software, to identify its benefits for your organisation
· Gain knowledge from some leading experts in the field of Mobility; igroup, Accenture and Microsoft
· Microsoft qualified engineers to answer any questions.
· Build your competitive advantage by empowering your field workers.

The seminar will be held in the Microsoft Customer Briefing center in Reading: Microsoft Campus, Thames Valley Park, Reading. RG6 1WG
BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE NOW: Either follow the link or email: seminars@igroupltd.co.uk, call: 0845 838 2184. Visit us at http://www.igroupltd.co.uk/ / www.dynamic-forms.net/Pages/Home.aspx

 

iGroup Ltd is microsoft dynamics certified and is proud to be able to offer a CRM trial. This allows a guest user to see log into a demo version of CRM and have a look at how it could benefit their business.

Please apply at the following URL for your CRM Trial.

http://www.igroupltd.co.uk/Download/Pages/CRM-Trial.aspx 

 

Trimble TDS range added to Rugged Direct:

www.ruggeddirect.co.uk

www.ruggeddirect.com

http://ruggeddirect/Recon-Trimble_TDS_Recon_200X-P143.aspx

These devices combine a high IP rating with a low price starting at just over £400. There is a broad variety of communication options and configurations available. 

 

Our company is a leading provider of mobile and web software and services. We are a Hot 100 company and a Microsoft Gold partner that is doubling its revenue year on year consistently. We have many blue chip clients and a mix of product and bespoke solution offerings. We are seeking to recruit an experienced new business sales executive to promote and sell our products and customisable solutions. You will need to be a self-starter with 4 years sale experience who is willing to find and foster prospects that culminates in the sales. The role is completely new name and new business only. Candidates will have ideally successfully sold complex software solutions or IT related sales and must be computer literate with some IT knowledge, and have a thorough understanding of closing complex technology/business solutions and be used to exceeding targets.

Please email your CV careers@igroupltd.co.uk - no recruitment agencies

The staff at igroup have recently decided to do some extreme testing on rugged products.

The Tested To Destruction series will be a series of videos testing products we like and ones we dont.

Videos will be out soon on our youtube page

http://www.youtube.com/user/igroupltd

have a look at our exisitng video Mobile computing solutions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kg0326y9I

COMING SOON TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU!!!

The Mobia Tablet will it PASS OR FAIL?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0kg0326y9I

40 second mildly funny video?

 A light hearted look at how mobile computing can help.....

 Click the link above!

Looking for mobile business solutions can be a difficult task, but it does not have to be. Whether your business needs a mobile website or software that can perform the tasks required by your business, all you have to do is look around to find a reliable provider for your mobile business solutions. The rate of fees and expertise varies from company to company, but selecting a mobile services provider you feel comfortable with is a matter of shopping around. Make sure you know whether their specialisation is providing mobile application software or designing sites that are specifically designed to be accessed from a mobile phone.

Finding mobile application resources can be difficult. While Windows CE is still not the most popular operating system for handheld devices, it is gaining popularity. Fortunately, the Windows Mobile 6.0 development kit makes an excellent resource for those that want to integrate mobile applications that will work well with the Windows desktop environment. The kit includes all the information and tools the mobile application resources designer needs to know how to program applications for touch screen devices and non-touch screen devices alike. The cd also comes with access to online tutorials and many white papers which can help a programmer out. The Windows mobile resources kit also includes the software development kit and information on how to certify the application with Microsoft itself. You could compile all of these mobile application resources online.

We have found the following training course very popular for developers new to mobile solution application development. The following list / course content can also be used as a starting point in getting familiar with relevant topics.

Topics covered:

• Introduction
• Background
  • What Is a Distributed Systems
  • Need For Distributed Systems
  • Distribution System Architecture
• Web Services
  • General Overview (Generic/language Independant)
  • Developing Web Services with Microsoft .Net
  • Emerging Technologies
    • E.g. Windows Communication Foundation
• Consuming a Web Service
  • Web Service Proxy Objects
  • Standard Client Applications (Overview to show the difference/similarity with web services)
  • Client Applications with Web Services
• Consuming a Web Service With ASP.Net
• Consuming a Web Service with the .Net Compact Framework (Mobile Development)
• Web Services 2
  • Web Services with Microsoft SQL 2005
• Preparing for Distributed System Deployment
  • Configuring The Server
  • Installing/Configuring Microsoft Internet Information Services
  • Installing/Configuring Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
  • Installing/Configuring Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Deploying Distributed Systems
  • Deploying Web Services
  • Testing .Net Compact Framework Applications on a Physical Mobile Device

If interested contact sales 0845 838 2184