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Issue April 2009 |
Ferranti e-Newsletter |
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Events
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Nederlandse versie · Version française
Dear customer,
Dear partner,
While reading this newsletter, you will notice that as always Ferranti is working on a lot of new projects.
Essent Belgium called on Ferranti to implement their new B2C Business Platform based on MECOMS for Dynamics AX. With CultuurNet Vlaanderen Ferranti works together on the new UiT database and for Ghent's Fire Department, the project for a new modern dispatching room has been launched.
Furthermore, the network division of Ferranti has completed projects with Sea Invest, Alcopa Car Distribution and CID Lines.
Finally at the end you will find a list of all events organized by Ferranti and events where Ferranti will be present.
Enjoy reading,
Franky Baert
Managing Director |
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Waternet increases employee productivity by 20 to 30 % thanks to Dynamics AX |
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 Time-consuming procedures, a merger and divergent data sources are just three reasons why the old SAP system no longer met the demands Waternet places on its water billing processes. A standard package such as Microsoft Dynamics AX appears to offer a much better fit with Waternet’s non-standard and constantly evolving business processes.
Outsourcing ERP/CRM is costly
Until recently, Waternet had been outsourcing its ERP/CRM activities around customer contacts and billing to PWN, the North Holland water authority. According to Kiki Quist of Waternet, “This was not only a fairly costly solution, the activities were also considered too business-critical to outsource. We wanted to move to an in-house IT environment with a lower TCO.”
That not only meant new hardware but also different software because the SAP packages in use at the time (SAP/CRM and SAP/ISU, the vertical SAP applications for utility companies) did not quite fit the bill.
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Essent Belgium chooses MECOMS for Dynamics AX |
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 Ferranti has been asked to implement the new B2C Business Platform for Essent based on MECOMS for Dynamicx AX.
This project encompasses the Contracting and Switching, Customer Service and CRM, Billing, Credit Management, Accounting and Reporting processes. The project goals tie in with Essent's ambitions as an organization to focus on the customer, to aim for a “First contact resolution” in every customer contact, to empower employees by providing them with the right tools and this with minimal complexity to work cost-efficiently.
About Essent Belgium
Essent (www.essent.be) has been operating in the Belgian energy market since 2001 as an official electricity and gas provider in the three Belgian regions (Flanders, Wallonia and with a turnover of 315 million euros in 2008 and a workforce of 130 employees.
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New MECOMS partners |
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During the last months, the following system integrators have subscribed to the MECOMS Partner Program:
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EVE (D)
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Euriware (FR)
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GMCS (RUS)
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Logica Denmark
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Columbus IT Middle East
These MECOMS partners sell, implement and support MECOMS in their region. All MECOMS Partners |
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Ferranti & CultuurNet work together on the new UiT database |
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Cultuurnet Vlaanderen has awarded Ferranti the order for the ‘Vervolgtraject CultuurDatabank’ (Culture Database continued) project, the new ‘UiT database’.
The ambition of the UiT database is as simple as it is ambitious: To inform every single Flemish person about what's going on. For this purpose, Ferranti is working together with CultuurNet to design an extraordinary instrument for the distribution and collection of cultural and leisure information via numerous channels, including a web services application and a web site enabling more than 4,000 users to manually enter their events every day. The information from the UiT database will be distributed via more than 120 channels, including various media (GvA, HUMO, the Zone magazines...) and an extensive network of cities and municipalities (e.g. UiTinBrussel.be, UiTinMechelen.be...). A complete overview of publication channels is available from http://www.cultuurnet.be/uitdatabank/over-uitdatabank/publicatiekanalen.
This project provides Ferranti with an opportunity to expand their customer base in the Public Sector by delivering innovative solutions.
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New Dispatching room voor Ghent's Fire department |
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After Antwerp, Ghent’s fire department will now also be equipped by Ferranti with a new modern Main Watch dispatching room for its new fire station in Roggestraat and in the outpost stations which are included in the solution.
Together with Intergraph, Ferranti will be in charge of the complete parameterization, integration and installation of the new ‘Dispatch Room’. The Ferranti standard CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) solution will be adapted to a limited extent to the specific requirements of ’s fire department. For its interventions, the Ghent Fire Department will make use of the graphic dispatching functionality, in order to deploy resources and manpower on location as quickly as possible. Call-taking will continue to be a task of the Communication and Information Centre of East Flandres (CICOV), to which this dispatch room is connected.
On Friday 13 February, the project was launched with a kickoff meeting. In less than nine months, we will know whether Friday 13th is a lucky day for Digipolis and the Ghent Fire Department.
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Controller Based wireless network for Sea Invest |
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Sea Invest is one of the biggest fruit and bulk stevedoring companies in . As BELGIAN NEW FRUIT WHARF, Sea Invest built a brand-new fruit terminal in the port of Antwerp, equipped to process 500,000 tons of fruit annually. This automated terminal is unique in the world because of its separate climate zones for the storage and stevedoring of different fruits. For this terminal, Sea Invest relied on the services of Ferranti to implement a controller-based wireless network in a redundant setup. The aim was to link the wireless scanners and forklifts to the warehouse application in order to optimize the terminal’s automation for the real-time processing of data. The controller-based solution offers the possibility of centrally managing all access points.
The Cisco wireless control system is ideal for managing wireless networks, as it provides for general network functions such as security policies, intrusion prevention, RF (radio) management, quality of service (QoS) and mobility.
Communication with the access points can take place by means of any network infrastructure using Lightweight Access Point Protocol. This protocol ensures that all communication between the access points and the controller is assured in a secure manner and allows for the complete automation of important configuration and control functions in order to achieve cost-efficient wireless network management.
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Virtual network solution for Alcopa Car Distribution |
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Alcadis is a subsidiary of Alcopa and is in charge of distributing cars of various brands. Alcopa is the holding of the Moorkens family and is mainly known as an importer of Asian car and motorbike makes. The family has been operating in the automotive distribution and retail sector for more than sixty years and has a presence in various markets and countries.
Alcopa offers its automotive customers in these various countries additional tailor-made services – such as insurance, leasing, maintenance contracts and parts – while developing a one-stop-shopping concept in several European countries. This concept is mainly aimed at offering an extensive array of products and services, which are closely associated with selling cars, in one distribution point. One of the biggest priorities of Alcopa is the development of a long-term collaboration with their customers.
In the frame of an extensive high availability project, Alcadis chose to set up a new data centre, where among other things Alcadis's IT services could be consolidated and centralized. Due to the virtualized server environment, Ferranti opted for a virtualized network solution, in consultation with the customer, using a redundant 6500 chassis and Cisco’s VSS (Virtual Switching System) technology. The VSS 1440 offers stack possibilities for chassis solutions, so-called backbone switches. One benefit is the fact that the entire solution is considered as one component with one IP address, meaning one routing request can be shared. That way, Spanning-Tree is definitely a thing of the past, and the solution offers very high performance. This switch configuration is equipped with 10 Gigabit Ethernet and has a bandwidth of 1.44 Terabits per second. Operational management has also been simplified, as several Cisco Catalyst 6500 switches can be centrally managed from one point.
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Unified Communications - Work smarter, not just harder! |
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Unified Communications is a topic that is alive within organisations. It is, after all, a handy and tangible tool to help increase productivity and lower costs. The tool provides the possibility of integrating different communication media, thereby offering the user the possibility of being reachable and available everywhere and at all times whenever he chooses. It is up to the user to select the best and most suitable form of communication to fit the requirements of the situation in the best possible way, at any particular time.
This is a splendid description, but it has little meaning without further explanation. Unfortunately, this hot topic is shrouded in a lot of confusion. Vendors clearly promote Unified Communications (UC) as the ultimate solution to all problems. The next step in business development according to many business analysts, because the business processes can be harmonized to the communication media, and, of course, vice versa. And who knows, perhaps even the solution to the financial crisis is hiding within UC?
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CID LINES ready for Unified Communications |
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 For more than 20 years, CID Lines has been offering innovative solutions for all aspects of hygiene. They manufacture cleaning products and disinfectants used in an agricultural production setting, such as a dairy farm, a pig farm, a poultry farm, a sheep farm, etc. but which can also be used in the transport industry, the food-processing industry and mass catering. In their professional labs, specialized chemists and engineers continuously work to improve and develop their products, while applying the strictest norms as regards quality control. CID LINES exports to more than 70 countries worldwide.
As a result of the company's strong growth and expansion, it was looking for a new telephony solution for its various branches. This telephony solution needed to assure a number of new functionalities, as well as alleviating the reception's task through intelligent call routing. As a result, Ferranti rapidly suggested an IP-based solution. Because the network is the cornerstone of any VOICE implementation, CID Lines’ strategy was to first implement an upgrade of the LAN and their wireless environment in order to be sufficiently equipped for future developments in the field of unified communications. The company has already opted in favour of an integrated solution of Cisco and Nokia dual mode mobile telephones, which use the wireless network indoors and switch to the mobile phone network outdoors. Unified messaging and Click2Call with Outlook were other aspects, which will improve user-friendliness and increase productivity. In order to save costs on telephony, the company chose Quescom's GSM Gateway and opted in favour of setting up a centralized callout point for all branches. As a result, the whole solution is also much easier to manage.
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Cisco Capital EasyLease - Saving costs with leasing with 0% financing |
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As the credit crisis continues, we also like to share some positive financial news. Until 31 July, you can finance your purchase of Cisco network and voice material and associated services with the Cisco Capital Easylease programme. At a 0 % interest. This innovative programme means we can offer our customers financing solutions, designed to spread the costs of ICT projects and free valuable budgets.
Cisco has made it possible to finance complete ICT projects and solutions while your cash flow remains intact. Moreover, this option gives you the flexibility to keep your ICT environment up-to-date at a low entry cost. With clear conditions and a 0 % interest rate, these financing solutions enable you to set up advanced ICT environments while remaining competitive and even growing.
What are the benefits?
Continue
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Events |
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SEMINAR: ICT uitdagingen voor de Publieke Sector
28 April 2009 - Radisson SAS Astrid Antwerp
SEMINAR: De strategie achter Unified Communications
30 April 2009 - Ferranti offices
V-ICT-OR SHOPT IT 2009
14 May 2009 - De Montil (Affligem)
Conference: Energie Metering & Billing 2009
26 & 27 May 2009 - WTC Rotterdam
Cisco Expo 2009
27 May 2009 - Wolubilis
Metering Europe 2009
6-8 October 2009 - Fira Gran Via, Barcelona
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