The Web Chat For Sharepoint system, based on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Office SharePoint Server 2007, has improved the speed and accuracy in which the company responds to its customers.
With offices in London and New York, Redburn Partners provides stock recommendations, sales trading and execution, operational and compliance consulting, and industrial analysis, research, and reporting services.
The company's customers, which include major Wall Street investment banks, rely on Redburn to provide up-to-the-minute stock information and industry news. Redburn employees had access to various applications to help them provide customers with information and pursue new business opportunities. These applications included a Fidessa order management system, Parlano MindAlign Group Chat, and a Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform.
However, because each of these systems operates separately, gathering and communicating information was time-consuming and inefficient. Users had to log on and off each application separately in order to search and retrieve the necessary information.
Peter Culver, IT manager at Redburn Partners, said: "The applications were adequate, but our sales staff and analysts didn't have access to one seamless solution that offered a complete picture of a customer or industry, so it was difficult to provide customers with accurate market trends in a timely manner. Also, this lack of integration made the flow of information between the sales and analysts teams ineffective."
The company implemented a customised system from Formicary, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and global provider of systems integration and software platforms.
At the heart of the Formicary implementation for Redburn was the migration from Parlano MindAlign to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Group Chat, a move aimed at enhancing communications.
The new system gives employees a complete picture of all information relating to a customer. It automatically takes customer sales information from the order management system and publishes this into Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Group Chat chat rooms to facilitate the flow of information around the organisation. Previously, this data could only be shared manually by the traders.
From Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Group Chat, Redburn workers can launch or view discussions within the WebChat application or click a link that goes directly to the specific customer's profile in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Employees can also click a link to visit a customer site in Office SharePoint Server 2007 that includes an RSS feed, updated industry news stories, and the customer's sales history.
All discussions in the system are recorded for historical knowledge and legal purposes.
Culver said, "We are on target for the implementation to achieve full return on investment in less than 18 months. Whether they are sitting next to each other or working in offices separated by thousands of miles, our sales teams and analysts are able to work much more cohesively, quickly, and effectively."
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