Case Studies

Kiwibank has quickly grown to become a leading New Zealand retail bank with half a million customers, largely due to a strong brand proposition, rapid product deployment, and a “can-do” attitude. When the bank wanted to deliver a better, more consistent customer experience, it turned to the Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 programming model. In-house programmers relied on Windows® Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation to simplify, automate, connect, and future-proof disparate services and systems. Now, programmers, business analysts, and IT staff alike can be more productive and efficient. More importantly, with a seamless, secure, and reliable connection across product channels and platforms, Kiwibank can provide a superior customer experience.

Microsoft needed to deploy a company-wide solution that would centralize security-enhanced access to enterprise data. To accomplish these goals, the Enterprise Application Services IT group created the Digital Asset Web Services by using Microsoft® .NET Framework version 3.0 technologies such as Microsoft Windows® Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation. Microsoft now enjoys more centralized control over its enterprise data, improved auditing and transaction logging, and enhanced security in its IT infrastructure.

Schneider Electric works with partners and customers worldwide to build and deploy the electrical systems that power homes, workplaces, and industrial machinery. The company relies on the deep area expertise of its 92,000 employees to make these projects possible. To empower its internal specialists and differentiate the company from competitors, Schneider Electric needed to connect its internal experts with partners and customers, and enable them to collaborate on projects. Schneider Electric worked with Microsoft® to build a proof-of-concept application design solution that integrates with the 2007 Microsoft Office system. The solution takes advantage of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 technologies for stunning visuals and seamless workflow across applications. With this conceptual solution, the company has the tools to build closer business relationships and launch new revenue streams.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is simply the idea that instead of paying for the bits and running them on your server, you ought to be able to buy the service you want and let somebody else manage it. Of course, this is nothing new. You may have my website hosted by people you've never met. You don't care too much about the bits that actually run the server, you just want it to run and you don't want to think about it. In this case study overview, we meet Remend, one of the new crop of companies who are moving to a SaaS business model.

Over the past 20 years, asset managers at hundreds of firms have relied on Thomson Financial PORTIA® to securely and reliably account for and manage portfolios. Although PORTIA’s functionality is second to none, Thomson felt that customers and prospects needed a more modern approach to workflow. In two days, Thomson worked closely with architects at the Microsoft Technology Center in Waltham, MA, to design the future of PORTIA workflow, called PORTIA Workspace. In just six months, designers and programmers created the Workspace by using the Microsoft® .NET Framework 3.0 application programming interface and cutting-edge Microsoft design and development software. The highly customizable PORTIA Workspace is poised to take advantage of advances in the Windows Vista™ operating system, extend the value of a trusted Thomson brand, and help asset managers achieve unprecedented efficiency.

Using Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation, developers created the Choicelinx Authenticator—a Web service that supports cross-authentication and eliminates the need for separate sign ins to multiple systems. The solution also supports a quick adoption and can be tailored to meet the needs of each partner.

By configuring role-based permissions in Microsoft Office SharePoint® Portal Server, users will be able to share analysis in spreadsheet format without revealing confidential information, while Microsoft Windows® Workflow Foundation capabilities will manage document approval, storage, use, and destruction on the server.

Accruent, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, updated its portfolio of products devoted to retail store lifecycle management. Using Microsoft Virtual Earth and the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, together with the .NET Framework 3.0 managed-code programming model for Windows and the 2007 Microsoft Office release, the new suite of Accruent products brings together the entire range of business processes related to retail store management.

Windows Presentation Foundation allows Wells Fargo to execute on its vision for the ATM channel, transforming the ATM from a simple cash machine into a key entry point into the bank. With WPF technology, Wells Fargo designers and developers can create a rich, compelling user experience unlike any currently offered by other banks’ ATMs.

Technicolor looks to work with Microsoft to migrate its existing DMCS solution to Microsoft Rich Media Collaboration Services solution. Rich Media Collaboration Services uses Connected Services Framework, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2007, the Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 information-gathering program, Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation, Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to optimize content workflow processes and collaboration, and provide real-time business information and insight into project timelines.

See how this car rental agency has accelerated its success by using the cutting-edge programming model provided by .NET Framework 3.0 together with Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation.

The Italian Railway Police has built a flexible electronic documentation management system to automate what was previously a manual process. The solution relies on Windows Workflow Foundation and SharePoint 2003.