NZ .NET28

Solution Overview

"Using the Microsoft .NETFramework and VisualStudio .NET, we reducedthe complexity anddeveloped an XML Webservice payment gatewaythat is simple to integratewith, but retains thedesired security, reliabilityand robustness demandedby the bank."

Tim MuhundanChief Executive3-tier Payment Services

Customer Profile3-tier Payment Serviceprovides payment services to businesses & merchantswanting to take payments for mail orders, telephoneorders, and internet orders aswell as for processing regularbilling.

Web Site http://payments.3-tier.com/MS

IndustryFinancial Services

ScenarioBusiness to Partner,Interoperability

Business Situation3-tier Payment Services usedMicrosoft Visual Studio .NETto create numerous Webservices to help merchantsbe more productive.

Solution SummaryThe solution exposes thecore business bankingfunctions (such as payments,refunds and transactionhistory) and offers it tomerchants as a SOAPcompliant Web service.

Value to BusinessAccess banking services fromany device in a fast, secureand reliable way from anywhere at any time.

Value to ITIntegrate core back endsystems with the bank withzero pain.

Microsoft Technology

Solution Overview

"Using the Microsoft .NETFramework and VisualStudio .NET, we reducedthe complexity anddeveloped an XML Webservice payment gatewaythat is simple to integratewith, but retains thedesired security, reliabilityand robustness demandedby the bank."

Tim MuhundanChief Executive3-tier Payment Services

Customer Profile3-tier Payment Serviceprovides payment services to businesses & merchantswanting to take payments for mail orders, telephoneorders, and Internet orders aswell as for processing regularbilling.

Web Site http://payments.3-tier.com/MS

IndustryFinancial Services

ScenarioBusiness to Partner,Interoperability

Business Situation3-tier Payment Services usedMicrosoft Visual Studio .NETto create numerous Webservices to help merchantsbe more productive.

Solution SummaryThe solution exposes thecore business bankingfunctions (such as payments,refunds and transactionhistory) and offers it tomerchants as a SOAPcompliant Web service.

Secure Payment Gateway Delivered using Microsoft .NET and XMLWeb ServicesUsing Microsoft .NET and XML Webservices, 3-tier Payment Service delivers asecure, reliable and robust paymentgateway to help New Zealand businessesmanage payments and other interactionswith their banks. The Web service can beused from the desktop or from a mobiledevice. Today, New Zealand businessescan license the use of this XML Webservice through their banks.

Eliminating the Banking Integration PainBusinesses hoping to link enterpriseapplications with their banks have historicallyfaced a long, expensive and painful learningcurve before they could integrate banks’proprietary interfaces. This pain is today beingreduced for businesses taking advantage of anew Web service being offered by 3-tierPayment Services.

Tim Muhundan, of 3-tier Payment Services,recalls how complex payment solutions used tobe: "Our first complex integration took morethan two weeks to complete and another monthbefore it was certified. Further, the interfaces inthe market were primarily developed for Webbased eCommerce sites - so they did not providesufficient robustness and security demanded byenterprise applications.

.NET Delivers, Reducing User Complexity3-tier.com made the strategic decision todevelop its own XML based payment gateway, inconsultation with Microsoft New Zealand andETSL (which is part owned by four of thecountry's leading banks).The services are aimedat enterprises wanting to access bankingservices from their call centre or CRM systems.

"Using the Microsoft .NET Framework and VisualStudio .NET, we reduced the complexity anddeveloped an XML Web service paymentgateway that is simple to integrate with, butretains the desired security, reliability androbustness demanded by the bank," he said.

In 2001, ETSL certified the Web service, makingit the first Paymark-certified XML Web service inNew Zealand for use by four main banks forpayments.

Darryl Roots, Business Development Manager atETSL says "3-tier’s offering is available tobusiness customers of ASB BANK, Bank of NewZealand,The National Bank and Westpac."

3-tier Payment Services

Kiwi Businesses Share Business BenefitsMuhandan says that since the companylaunched the service, businesses of all sizes areusing the XML Web service, reducing costs andincreasing productivity.

"Many of our large customers want to integratetheir back-end call centre or CRM system to thebank via our XML Web service."

Mark Holmes, IT manager at MillenniumInstitute of Sport and Health, says, "We processevery single credit card transaction (includingPoint of Sale and recurrent payments) throughthe XML Web service. And because the XMLWeb service is totally integrated with our CRMsystem we get a unified view of our customersand their transactions from a single interface.The banks are very happy because the creditcard numbers of one off transactions are notcached in the database - as they are processedinstantly."

Richard Elliot, Head of Learning Technologies atUNITEC, adds how UNITEC used the 3-tier XMLWeb service to enable registration for the 19thInternational ASCILITE conference at UNITEC inAuckland.

"We considered this payment solution a criticalelement in the successful registration of over150 delegates. The registration interface wasintegrated with the Bank and has operatedsuccessfully for the past four months. We arenow rolling this out to other departments atUNITEC."

Luigi Cappel from the NZ Smartphone and PDAAcademy accesses the payment services fromhis PDA. Cappel is very enthusiastic about thevalue of the XML Web service for his business. "Iwas wasting so much time before: Ringing thebank for authorisation with every credit cardorder, then queuing up the next day withdeposit slips and reconciling the transactionreport back from the bank. Now I save so muchtime and money."

"The beautiful thing about using the XML Webservice interface is that I can access it A3

(anywhere, at any time and from any device)"says Luigi.

"I am always on the road - so I use my HP iPAQPocket PC 2002 and a wireless Bluetoothcellular connection to transact with my bank.With a single click I can get a history of alltransactions, whether they come from a sale ofan eBook from my Web site (www.smartphoneacademy.co.nz),or phone orders for the coursesand seminars I run. I have been askingdevelopers for this type of payment technologyfor several years and now at last I am able towalk the talk."

Taking XML Payment Web Services GlobalMuhundan says that the company has beenactively following the development of the nextgeneration of XML Web services, includingGlobal XML Web services Architecture (GXA) toensure that its solution is leading edge andprovides more security interfaces.

3-tier Payment Services is currently seeking todevelop channel networks with other banksaround the world using similar model they usedin New Zealand.

Muhundan says "We are already talking tonumerous banks overseas about this and theyare very enthusiastic about the use of XML andGXA to expose the banking features so thatbusinesses can use them from their ERP, CRM,call centre and other line of businessapplications that needs to have secure real timepayment support."

NZ .NET 29

Value to BusinessAccess banking services fromany device in a fast, secureand reliable way from anywhere at any time.

Value to ITIntegrate core back-endsystems with the bank withzero pain.

Microsoft Technology• Microsoft .NET Framework

• Microsoft Visual Studio.NET

• Web Services Extensions

• Microsoft Visual Studio2003

NZ .NET30

Hear it from the Community

One of the key issues technology buyersconsider is the availability of skilled personnelto operate and support the products theyacquire. Buyers are keen to know that skilledpeople are both plentiful and affordable –factors which add value to their technologyimplementation immediately and into thefuture.

The availability of skilled people depends onsupport from the IT community … and one ofthe best indicators of that support is theformation of user groups.

NZ .NET spoke with Lukas Svoboda, ChiefTechnology Officer with Orbiz and founder ofNew Zealand’s .NET User Group to see how theIT community is supporting .NET and thebusiness community.

NZ .NET: Lukas, how did the .NET UserGroup come about?

Svoboda: I started the .NET User Group to helppeople at the grass-roots level. Back in 2001, Ihad already come across many developers andarchitects who really did not know what .NETwas but were working to get an understandingof the platform and its potential.

In the time since late 2001, when the .NET UserGroup took its first steps, the group hasmanaged to proliferate through all the majorsections of IT in New Zealand. Members of ourcommunity now include enterprise developersand architects, government developers, serviceintegrators (e.g. Datacom, Gen-i, EDS), smalldevelopment shops, IT departments of manyvaried companies and academia.

NZ .NET: Now that the initial learningaround .NET is over for many in the NewZealand IT community, what will thefuture of the .NET User Group look like?

Svoboda: In 2003 we are excited to introduce anumber of new initiatives to help supportpeople in IT who are using or contemplating.NET. For example, we are looking at searchablediscussion groups, development resources, and‘how to’ information – and all with a NewZealand focus.

NZ .NET: As the key driver behind thisgroup, can you share with us theoverriding impressions of .NET?

Svoboda: In the chat rooms you have peoplecontinually relaying their experiences and timeafter time I read how .NET provides majorbusiness benefits. Particularly, it seems NewZealand organisations are benefiting in the areasof system integration and distributedcomputing.

In the later part of 2002, we also began hearingmore about XML Web services (as part of the.NET technology mix). Developers have beenimpressed with how it allows the design of"discrete" bits of logic that can be re-used acrossan organisation without the headaches oftraditional distributed computing technologies.

Developers are also blown away by the power.NET has to unify the development approach todisparate environments such as the Web,desktop and mobile devices. This should be ofinterest to any organisation which needs tosupport a diverse range of users, whether in theoffice, on the road or working internationally.

NZ .NET 31

Before total technology solutions companyGen-i recommends using new technologiesand tools to build solutions, customers canbe sure that Gen-i’s software solutionsteam has upskilled and put the technologythrough its paces behind the company’sown firewall. With the arrival of theMicrosoft .NET tools and technologies, theteam assessed the platform. 35 developersand architects underwent comprehensivetraining and an internal organisationalapplication has been developed using the.NET platform and XML Web services.Today Gen-i has recommended anddeployed a .NET Application and XMLWeb service for ANZ Bank and is workingon major projects with several governmentagencies. Its software solutions teambelieves that the scope and capability of.NET, combined with XML Web services,has significantly expanded the possibilitiesof Enterprise Application Integration.

.NET’s Potential for New and More Complex Solutions Ignites SparkWhen Microsoft New Zealand first showcasedthe potential of its .NET platform at TechEd2001, the team at Gen-i was contemplating anarchitectural rewrite of a customer’sapplication.

Cherry Vanderbeke, General Manager of Gen-i’ssoftware solutions team recalls how her teamcame back from TechEd 2001 all fired up aboutthe potential of this new platform.

"While the tools were only in Beta 2, the teammet with Ed Robinson, a New Zealander basedat Microsoft headquarters. He is the productmanager of the Visual Basic .NET built-inupgrade wizard that upgrades Visual Basic 6.0code to Visual Basic .NET code.

"Even back then the team was convinced thatthe .NET platform would enable them todevelop in new ways, allowing more complexsolutions that would not necessarily cost theclient more money than what they were payingtoday."

Ensuring the Team Keeps PaceThe team began following the progress of the.NET platform and in February 2002, several ofGen-i’s architects attended the MicrosoftDeveloper Days to be a part of the launch ofMicrosoft Visual Studio .NET. In July of the sameyear, Microsoft New Zealand extended aninvitation to one of Gen-i’s architects, RickHook, to attend Microsoft’s Fusion event in theUS.

"By this time the team had given the tools andtechnologies a pretty thorough going over.Gen-i as a company realised the potential the.NET Framework would have in deliveringsmarter solutions to clients.

"Our assessments particularly pointed to theincreased scope that .NET provided for EAIsolutions. When combined with XML Webservices, the playing field changes in terms ofthe solutions we can offer our clients."

Gen-i Limited

Solution Overview

"XML Web services willrevolutionise businessesand at Gen-i we believethat Microsoft .NET is theframework that will offerus and our customers thewinning advantage."

Cherry VanderbekeGeneral Manager, Software SolutionsGen-i Limited

Customer ProfileGen-i provides totaltechnology solutions fromdesign and developmentthrough to implementationand support. With more thana 20-year history, Gen-i offersexperience and credibilitymerged with innovation,creativity and operationalexcellence. Gen-i has eightbranches across NewZealand and Australia and astaff of more than 500. Gen-i’s rapid uptake of proventechnology, speed to market,flexibility and responsivenessgives clients the all-importantcompetitive edge that is keyto business success.

Web Site www.gen-i.co.nz

IndustryIT & Telecommunications

ScenarioInteroperability, Reliability,Scalability, Security

Business Situation• Microsoft .NET is launched

and Gen-i needs to assessthe technology, upskill itssoftware solutions staff andgain experience beforerecommending theplatform to clients.

• Gen-i’s internal forecastingapplication needsredeveloping and the manydisparate systems shouldideally be able to integrateto provide one view of thecompany.

Scope and Capability of Microsoft .NET Shifts Goalposts for EnterpriseApplication Integration (EAI), says Gen-i

NZ .NET32

It was this belief in the potential of XML Webservices and Microsoft’s commitment to leadingthe development of these standards thatresulted in 35 developers and architects fromGen-i undertaking training to develop their skillsto take advantage of the potential of Microsoft.NET.

Delivering .NET Behind the FirewallBefore taking their skills and working withclients,Gen-i wanted to demonstrate its belief in.NET.

"Our organisational forecasting system had beenthrough many reviews as Gen-i had grown and itwas getting to the stage where it needed a majoroverhaul. We also wanted to enable our otherorganisational systems to talk to each other sothat managers could access the informationthey required in a one page view calling from anumber of systems," explains Vanderbeke.

"We assessed our options and based on ourback-office infrastructure,we believed that .NETwould be the best platform to deliver on ourvision."

Vanderbeke explains that three developersworked to build the back-office frameworkusing .NET and SQL Server 2000, allowing theexisting systems to plug in.

"We now have an enterprise view of all ourapplication data that can be customised at thepresentation layer for anyone in theorganisation.

"Using .NET, this project has allowed us toaddress the forecasting problem and at the sametime fix the underlying problem of viewinginformation that is useful to individuals indifferent roles.

"The team concludes that development wasvery easy with the logical components alreadythere to use. They have been able to deliverrelatively complicated solutions in a very quicktimeframe. Most impressive was the ability tocombine disparate systems and applications andhave them work together."

Gen-i staff have been enthusiastic with theresult, with an appreciation of the ability toaccess the information easily and quickly – avery intuitive application is the overallconclusion – and the developers believe that theupskilling time is immediately offset by theirnew capabilities.

"Developer productivity was improved almostimmediately."

Solution Summary• Microsoft .NET was

assessed as tools andtechnologies and astrategic decision wasmade to upskill softwaresolutions staff on the .NETplatform

• Gen-i staff undertookcomprehensive trainingand redeveloped theinternal forecastingapplication using .NET andXML Web services

Value to Business• Forecasting application

problem addressed andunderlying problems ofviewing organisationalinformation that is usefulto individuals was solved

• Software solutions staff canoffer customers solutionsthat take advantage of thepotential of Microsoft .NETand XML Web services

• Developers and architectswere immediately moreproductive using Microsoft.NET

Value to IT• New back-office framework

allows disparate systems toplug in and information tobe integrated

• Development time is fasteven for relativelycomplicated solutions

• Development is easierusing the logicalcomponents that existwithin Microsoft .NET tools

Microsoft Technology• Microsoft .NET Framework

• Microsoft Visual Studio.NET

• Microsoft SQL 2000

• Microsoft Windows 2000

NZ .NET 33

.NET Connects ANZ Bank to Ministry ofEconomic DevelopmentIn mid 2002, the Ministry of EconomicDevelopment (MED) provided an electronicregister called the Personal Property SecuritiesRegister (PPSR) that records information aboutsecurity interests in personal property.

Steven Brunskill, Head of Relationship BusinessServices for Corporate and Institutional Bankingat ANZ Bank explains how Gen-i developed a.NET application that would allow ANZ Bank toautomate its registrations of interest with theMinistry of Economic Development’s PPSRregister.

"We had some very tight deadlines to work toand the team at Gen-i proved to us the speedthat .NET enables and the potential for secureintegration with partners and customers."

Gen-i Concludes .NET Increases Clients’CompetitivenessRick Hook, Architect for Gen-i, has beeninvolved with Microsoft .NET and XML Webservices since he attended TechEd in 2001.Having worked with the tools and technologiesand explored the potential for his clients, hebelieves that the EAI capabilities of .NET andXML Web services apply to all industries.

"Whether you are part of a governmentdepartment, public company or an individualseeking information, the future is about howeasy it is to get information about something orsomeone from other parties.

"This has security benefits and trade potentialand I believe that New Zealand will only remaincompetitive and succeed as a nation if it adoptsnew technologies, such as .NET, early.

"We are only seeing the start of the XML Webservices revolution and compared to otherplatforms, .NET currently offers far moreintegration potential with easier developmenttools and faster development time."

More than 100 of New Zealand’s leadingsoftware architects are now members of thecountry’s Software Architects Council. In early2002, Microsoft New Zealand facilitated the firstmeeting of this Council and has since supportedtwo further Council meetings and several eventsfor its members. The closing event for 2002 sawmembers taking to the water on Auckland’sHauraki Gulf to catch some of the Louis VuittonChallenger Series racing.

Microsoft New Zealand spearheaded aprogramme to assist young entrepreneurs –KiwiStartUp.NET – back in 2000. To furtherencourage and support a growing knowledgeeconomy, Microsoft New Zealand is a partnermember of The ICEHOUSE – an Auckland-based acceleration, education and researchorganisation for technology companies.

The ICEHOUSE aims to create, support andgrow truly successful companies. By the end of2002, two winners from KiwiStartUp.NET hadbecome residents in The ICEHOUSE.

In a world first, students andmembers of the academicfaculties from New Zealand’stertiary institutions were invited toattend a free taste of the annualIT industry educational event,TechEd 2002. More than 100students and faculty membersattended the day-long event,which preceded TechEd.Presentations range fromspeakers including Dr Jim Miller,Lead Common Language RuntimeSoftware Architect for Microsoft,based in the United States. DrMiller was previously with MITworking in the ArtificialIntelligence laboratory and theWorldwide Web Consortium.

Microsoft’s annual TechEd event attracts an excess of 700attendees of New Zealand’s IT industry, making this thecountry’s largest technical convention. Participants travelfrom around the country to learn about the latest intechnology developments, network with peers andexperience new forms of learning. A popular part of thefour day event is the hands-on, self-paced labs wheredelegates can work through up a choice of sessions. Thesehands-on sessions enable the delegates to learn about newtechnologies and how they can be applied in the realworld, all in a safe environment supported by Microsoftstaff.

NZ .NET36

Axon Computertime

Solution Overview

"The speed ofdevelopment using VisualStudio .NET enabled a 50percent saving on the costof development andallowed us to deliver aproduct ready for markettwo to three monthsearlier than weanticipated."

Scott GreenGeneral Manager, MarketingAxon Computertime

Customer ProfileAxon is a New Zealand ITsolutions and servicescompany, with offices inAuckland, Hamilton,Wellington and Christchurch.Customers include many ofNew Zealand’s leadingmedium-to-large companiesincluding Foodstuffs,Tower,Genesis Power, PDLIndustries, BMW,ASB Bank,and the Crown Law Office.

Web Sitewww.axon.co.nz

IndustryIT and Telecommunications

ScenarioCRM, Reliability,Manageability, KnowledgeManagement

Business SituationIncreasingly,Axon found thatthe cost and complexity ofcreating and updatingwebsites posed a majorbarrier for customers inusing the web more widelyto communicate and transactbusiness.The companyidentified a great need for acost effective and flexiblecontent managementsolution for mid-sizedcompanies that would enablenon-technical staff to easilypublish and manage contentthemselves.

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Enables Axon to Cut Web site Costs forCustomers

Cade Content Manager, a new andsophisticated content managementsolution, represents New Zealand’s firstcommercial "shrink wrap" applicationbased on Microsoft’s Visual Studio .NET.By using Visual Studio .NET, Axonexperienced a 50 percent saving on thecost of development and was able todeliver its product ready for market threemonths earlier than anticipated. Since itslaunch in February 2002, Axon’s Cade hassignificantly reduced the time and costinvolved in developing and maintainingcorporate websites for customers includingNew Zealand’s largest grocery distributor,Foodstuffs.

SituationAxon Computertime is a New Zealand ITsolutions and services company, focused ondelivering smart, practical and economical ITsolutions, including corporate Web sites.Increasingly, Axon found that the cost andcomplexity of creating and updating Web sitesposed a major barrier for customers in using theWeb more widely to communicate and transactbusiness. Scott Green, Axon’s General Manager,Marketing, explains that most companies aredependent on extensive and expensivespecialist resources to implement and maintaininternal and external Web sites.

"Much of the technology that is currentlyavailable is relatively costly and inflexible. Thereliance on technical experts to publish newcontent or change existing content means thatcontent management becomes an expensiveissue for many organisations," he says.

Green adds that the tools Axon had been usingto develop and support its customer Web sites,including Axon’s online IT procurementsubsidiary Quality Direct, also provedchallenging at times.

"For the scale of the projects we weredelivering, the existing technology was not veryflexible,particularly in regards to the inability touse content across multiple sites.Speed was alsoan issue.

"We identified a great need for a cost effectiveand flexible content management solution formid-sized companies that would enable non-technical staff to easily publish and managecontent themselves."

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is theSolutionAfter considering a number of alternativetechnology options including Java and OpenSource, Axon selected Microsoft Visual Studio.NET to develop its new content managementsolution.

"We chose Microsoft based on the flexibility,depth of functionality, standards complianceand cost-effectiveness that the new .NETdevelopment platform offered," says Green."Axon also has a strategic commitment toMicrosoft’s server side technologies."

The development of Cade Content Manager,using Visual Studio .NET, C# and Windows 2000Active Directory,began in June 2001 using a pre-release version of Visual Studio .NET.

"We first developed an internal contentmanagement system to support our QualityDirect online procurement service. Thisongoing development for Quality Direct andcommercial Axon e-business customers made asignificant contribution to the product’smomentum," says Green.

He adds that the benefits of developing onMicrosoft’s .NET platform have been substantial.

"The application is more robust, easier tosupport and runs faster as a result of being ableto create the code in fewer lines.

"Using .NET architecture has also enabled us todevelop various components, such as XML Webservices, that can be separately executed ratherthan requiring the whole application to be run.For example, the HTML content editor can berun separately from an intranet page, rather thanhaving to access it from a separate applicationmenu."

Green adds the greatest benefit of using theVisual Studio .NET tools is that the developmenttime for Cade was approximately half of whatwould have otherwise been required.

"The speed of development enabled a 50percent saving on the cost of development andallowed us to deliver a product ready for markettwo to three months earlier than weanticipated."

Cade Content Manager, which operates onWindows 2000 Advanced Server with a SQLServer 2000 database, was launched in February2002, with the first implementation successfullycompleted to run five websites within Axon. It isalso currently being used to manage 11 separateFoodstuffs websites from a central system andcustomer implementations are also in progressat Ministry of Defence, Institute of CharteredAccountants and Temperzone.

Delivering An Easy And EconomicalSolution To CustomersGreen explains that Cade Content Manageroffers customers a number of benefits such asbeing cost-effective, easy to use, and fast todeploy.

NZ .NET 37

"Cade is a fraction of the price of competing,existing content management solutions," saysGreen. "It makes both development and contentmanagement accessible and affordable. If youcan use a word processing program then youcan use Cade Content Manager."

The solution is also flexible and runs on astandard web browser, allowing Axon to offeroutsourced, Cade-based hosting.

"Customers can opt to carry out a portion ofdevelopment and maintenance work in-house,or to fully outsource. Cade is also available as alicensed solution, implemented at the clientsite," says Green.

He adds: "Three wholesaler websites andanother eight for New World, Pak n Save, Pam’sand Foodstuffs’ are now all managed on a singleplatform using Cade Content Manager. This hasresulted in major cost savings for the companyby being able to eliminate the cost andcomplexity of running multiple websites,multiple teams and multiple contentmanagement tools."

Phil Monrad,Webmaster at Toops Wholesale Ltd,a wholly owned and independently operatingsubsidiary of Foodstuffs, says the wholesalerdecided to adopt Cade Content Manager tomanage its website - www.toops.co.nz - in May2002 because it was a cost effective solutionthat was easy to manage.

"Cade Content Manager is a well-priced contentmanagement solution, that has proven to bevery flexible. We now no longer have to rely onjust two or three technical staff members to addand manage website content. Non-technicalstaff can easily add content, significantly freeingup the IT teams’ time," says Monrad. "We alsoanticipate the workflow process to lead to asignificant reduction in content errors andproofing time because all pages need to beapproved by content editors prior topublishing."

Monrad adds: "The ability to re-use assets, suchas the images on our website,has also led to costreductions.For example, if a staff member leavesthe company, I can alter their photograph andautomatically update this content on the entirewebsite.

"The implementation was also very quickbecause of the ability to pull existing websitecontent into Cade Content Manager."

Flexibility in DeliveryAn example of the integration possibilities withCade is the recent implementation of aInformational website and a re-vampedtransactional website for the Farmers TradingCompany (Farmers). This project has seen theuse of Cade Content Manager, combined withCade Business Transact, deliver an easy tomanage, scalable solution that allows Farmers todeliver their entire catalogue of products to theWeb,and allow customers to purchase via creditcard or Farmers Card. The flexibility of the sitewill also allow Farmers to support this withenhanced loyalty club and frequent shopperofferings.

Generating New Business OpportunitiesBased on the current success of Cade ContentManager, Axon anticipates making up to afurther 30 sales to customers. Green says thecompany is also examining the potential forexport sales.

"We are very pleased that Cade ContentManager is beginning to gain momentum withinthe market. Using Visual Studio .NET, we havebeen able to deliver the right product with theright functionality, at the right price, in a shortertime frame than would otherwise have beenpossible – all consistent with emergingstandards.

"Without the use of Microsoft .NET technology,Cade would not have been possible toimplement in such a short time to such a highstandard."

Value to Business Using Visual Studio .NET,Axon was able to developCade Content Manager, itsnew and sophisticatedcontent managementsolution, in a shorter timeframe than would otherwisehave been possible.

Value to ITAxon experienced a 50percent saving on the cost of development as a result ofusing Visual Studio .NET. Theapplication is also morerobust, easier to support andruns faster as a result ofbeing able to create the codein fewer lines.

Microsoft Technology• Microsoft Visual Studio

.NET

• Microsoft .NET Framework

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000

• Microsoft Windows 2000Advanced Server

NZ .NET38

Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is allowingLion Nathan to deliver its people arevolutionary HR Web portal,Peopleplanet. This portal is significantlyreducing HR administration time and isensuring that individuals and leaders haveaccess to and understand all of their HRresponsibilities. Today, the focus at LionNathan is on delivering leading edge HRpractices, coaching and individualdevelopment programmes that are alldeveloped and tracked online. They leavethe administration largely to technology.

Executive SummaryPeople are a company’s most precious resourceand in today’s more fickle employmentenvironment, the ability to attract and retaintalented people is as important to somecompanies as the return on investment is toshareholders. At Lion Nathan, considerableinvestment is made in developing andimplementing leadership and peoplemanagement processes to ensure thatindividuals and shareholders both realise therewards.

Using Microsoft’s revolutionary rapidapplication development tool, Microsoft VisualStudio .NET, Lion Nathan’s development team,Real Developments, has developed a solutionthat has effectively removed the paper work andshifted the time HR spent on chasing paper tomore active coaching and development.

Nicolette Wood, Lion Nathan’s HR DirectorTechnology, reports that the move to usetechnology to get the most out of HR practicesinvolved considerable testing throughout itsdevelopment phase with people from allaspects of the business, including those whowere not PC literate.

"Adopting a marketing approach to sellPeopleplanet into the business has really builtawareness and resulted in high usage andpositive feedback."

She continues that the next phase will involvecontent management and the ability of LionNathan people to customise the site to meettheir individual needs.

"Often companies claim to have leading edgeHR practices,but what companies do not alwaysdo is package these in a way that their peopleunderstand the value to them. Supporting ourHR practices with technology has helped makeour leading edge HR practices become a way oflife."

Paper, Pens and People – Is this Really theSmart way to Drive LeadershipPhilosophies?The challenge for any HR department is todevelop practical and worthwhile HR tools thatwill assist in the development of the company’speople to help maximise the company’s profit.Ideally, the HR team wants every person to haveaccess to these tools, to understand andimplement them, and to report on progress.What they do not want is for this to become anadministrative nightmare – for them or for thepeople outside of HR.

"We believed that our HR tools were leadingedge – our challenge was what could we do toensure that our people, who span severalcountries and many sites,get the most out of ourHR practices," says Ms Wood.

The solution was to move away from paper andlook to some of the new innovations intechnology.

"Our first step was to develop a simple in-houseweb portal which provided insights into how tohire great people, tools for developing thesepeople and some basic Lion Nathan HRphilosophies."

The goal was to make this as user-friendly aspossible so that people from any site and anylevel could easily navigate the portal, find theinformation they needed and be sure that it wasin a format that they could understand and workwith.

Taking the Consistent Message andAllowing it to be CustomisedThe second phase took the core informationand added applications to allow leaders tomanage performance appraisals, bonusobjectives and competency assessments fortheir people online.

"We used Microsoft SQL Server 7 and ASP todevelop applications that were tailored toleaders needs and easy to use."

… and Marketed Ms Wood explains that the portal was brandedPeopleplanet and internally there was a greatdeal of marketing undertaken to raise theawareness of the tool.

Lion Nathan Limited

Microsoft and Lion Nathan Show How Technology Can Revamp HRto Prioritise People Over Paperwork

Solution Overview

"Often companies claimto have leading edge HRpractices, but whatcompanies do not alwaysdo is package these in away that their peopleunderstand the value tothem. Supporting our HRpractices with technologyhas helped make ourleading edge HR practicesbecome a way of life."

Nicolette WoodHR Director TechnologyLion Nathan Limited

Customer ProfileLion Nathan Limited, asubstantial, internationallyfocused brand-brewinggroup, was formed in 1988by the merger of two long-established New Zealandcompanies: Lion Corporationand LD Nathan & Co. Overthe past ten years, LionNathan has transformed itselffrom a multi-industrycompany dependent on thesmall New Zealand marketinto a highly focusedbrewing group with a strongAustralasian business baseand an increasinglyinternational outlook.Currently the company hasaround 2,500 people spreadthroughout Australasia.

Web Sitewww.lion-nathan.co.nz

IndustryRetail and Hospitality

ScenarioBusiness to Employee,End-user productivity

Business SituationLion Nathan’s HRmanagement and processeswere very paper based,resulting in individuals andmanagers spendingsignificant proportions oftime on the administrativeside of HR rather than onindividual development andthe building of leadershipcapabilities.

NZ .NET 39

"There would have been absolutely no pointwhatsoever in developing leading edgeapplications if people did not know about themor how to use them. We invested significanttime and resources to brand and marketPeopleplanet to ensure its success."

And according to its people, when Peopleplanetwas launched it was a huge success.

Ms Wood says that almost overnight commentsstarting flying back to the HR team aboutreduced admin and the team saw people take afar greater ownership of their individual HRdevelopment.

But this was not the end for the team at LionNathan. Six months after the launch ofPeopleplanet, the team was back for more.

Moving to the Next GenerationUsing Visual Studio .NET, the development teambuilt next generation Web applications. Theselatest applications are allowing individuals tomove online for the setting of their annualindividual bonus objectives, accountabilities,development plans and for their monthlyreviews.

Jonty Sutton, Director at Real Developments,says looking back now, his team would havestruggled to get the performance andfunctionality required by the application fromany other product.

"Considering the complexity of the application,it would have been hard if not impossible toimplement this with standard technologies suchas ASP."

Mr Sutton concludes that the results from usingMicrosoft Visual Studio .NET have been reallypositive.

"Visual Studio .NET has lived up to itsexpectations of being very solid and stable. Wealso experienced reduced development timebecause of code reuse and it is very easy toamend code and implement any changes. Thecombination of these factors has created amindset change amongst our team that hasimproved our programming practices."

Where to Next?Even before the final phases of the first versionof Peopleplanet were officially completed, theportal received extremely positive feedbackfrom within and outside of Lion. The next focuswas the ability to customise the site accordingto individual roles and development needs usingMicrosoft Content Management Server with thedashboard environment integrated into it toprovide portal interface.

Ms Wood explains that technology is continuallyevolving and to ensure its HR practices anddelivery tools remain at the cutting edge, herteam will be constantly assessing the HR andtechnology markets.

"First and foremost you must have leading edgeHR practices. However you can have the bestHR practices in the world, but without the mostappropriate delivery tools they will probablynot become a way of life. At Lion Nathan, ourgoal is to provide our people with the best ofboth areas to ensure we develop and retain thebest people who deliver the results."

Value to Business Almost overnight, usingtechnology to supportleading edge HR practiceshas reduced administrationand allowed people to focuson building capacity anddelivering leading edge HRpractices.

Value to ITUsing Visual Studio .NET hasproved to be very solid andreliable – the completedevelopment tool. It hasintegrated very well withSQL Server 2000. The abilityto reuse code and amendcode quickly and easily isdelivering ongoing benefits,as Lion Nathan startsconsidering changes andadditions.

Microsoft Technology• Microsoft .NET Framework

• Microsoft Visual Studio.NET Microsoft Windows®2000

• Microsoft SQL Server 2000

• Microsoft ContentManagement Server

• Microsoft DigitalDashboard

Dr Nigel Perry, Senior Fellow at the University ofCanterbury, is conducting ground-breakingresearch and language development out of theUniversity of Canterbury. Dr Perry is leading theevolution of the Mondrian and Haskelllanguages – two of the 26 .NET languages – andhas also received funding from Microsoft fortwo further research projects. One isinvestigating the addition of delayed objectcreation ("JIT Objects") to C# and .NET, and thesecond is exploring the compilation ofdynamically typed languages for the .NETplatform.

NZ .NET caught up with Dr Perry in lateNovember 2002 for an update of his work. Hewas eventually located at Oxford University inEngland where he was presenting to his peerson Mondrian and JIT Objects following a trip toGermany where he had delivered a paper at the.NET One conference on CodeDom for ASP.NET.

NZ .NET: Dr Perry, how important is theMondrian language project?

Dr Perry: For New Zealand, having such aproject led out of one of our local universities isa credit to the reputation we have international-ly. Mondrian started life at the UniversiteitUtrecht in the Netherlands in a project led by DrErik Meijer. At that time, I was visiting theuniversity and worked with the team on the firstsystem.Today, in the University of Canterbury’sProgramming Languages Research Group we arecontinuing to work on Mondrian and use it as aplatform for other research projects.

NZ .NET: Many readers may not haveheard of Mondrian. What type oflanguage is it?

Dr Perry: Mondrian is a modern purelyfunctional language that is specifically designedto inter-work with object-oriented languagesand leverage the possibilities of the .NETframework. It brings powerful algorithmexpression and scripting techniques to the .NETprogrammer, including ‘Just in Time’ evaluationwhere work is not done until needed andcached to be re-used once the work has beendone the first time.

For web programmers Mondrian introducesground-breaking multi-language ASP.NET, whereboth C# and Mondrian code can be included onthe same page.

NZ .NET: How can people access thelanguage?Dr Perry: Mondrian is available to run underVisual Studio.NET; and is freely available fromhttp://www.mondrian-script.org, wherecompilers and documentation are available.

Further details on Mondrian can also be foundin the article ‘Mondrian for .NET’, Dr Dobb'sJournal, Feb 2002.

NZ .NET: In mid 2002 you received oneof the 45 grants that Microsoft Corp.sponsored worldwide to research the useof Shared-Source Common LanguageInfrastructure (or Rotor as it is commonlyknown). What does this involve?

Dr Perry: Rotor provides a free, shared-sourceimplementation of Microsoft’s CommonLanguage Runtime platform, including sourcecode for C# and Jscript compilers, associateddevelopment tools, and the Common LanguageInfrastructure (CLI) platform itself. This isinteresting to the academic and researchcommunities around the world as it allows us toexperiment with and teach about, the design ofthe CLI and to do so on a number of operatingsystems including FreeBSD and MacOS X.

We recently received a Microsoft Research grantto look at two areas using Rotor - "JIT Objects"and an investigation of dynamic typing on theCommon Language Runtime (CLR). The JITObjects project is investigating whether we canefficiently make the Just in Time evaluationfeature of Mondrian available to programmersusing any .NET language. This would add apowerful tool to the .NET programmersrepertoire. If successful this project will beconsidered by Microsoft Corp. for inclusion inthe .NET product.

Further details on these projects can befound though our website: http://www.mondrian-script.org

Questions regarding any of this work can be directed to Nigel atmail to:nigel@cosc.canterbury.ac.nz

NZ .NET40

New Zealander Pioneers Development of .NET Languages

NZ .NET 41

Tertiary Institutions team up with Microsoft

The University of Auckland has been quick toseize the opportunity offered by the MicrosoftDeveloper Network (MSDN) Academic Allianceprogramme to allow students access to modernsoftware development technologies, and staff tohave tools and curriculum materials available toresearch and teach these technologies. Ofparticular significance have been theopportunities presented by the introduction ofMicrosoft .NET.

Departments of Computer Science andInformation Systems often face a dilemma intheir curriculum choice: should they choosesoftware and technologies that highlightconcepts, or software and technologies that arein wide demand in the industry? The advent of.NET seems to solve this tension. We can nowteach concepts together with technologies thatare and will be in high demand in the market.

Features of the Microsoft .NET Framework thatthe University of Auckland Computer Scienceand MSIS Departments appreciate include: astandard based multi-language and multiculturalsystem; a rich OO/component model; theseamless integration of XML, Web services,distributed systems, mobile systems, businessorchestrations, and databases; and the buildingcurriculum support for .NET from externalpartners in academia.

Teaching .NET at Auckland commenced with itsuse to support half of a Stage 3 ComputerScience course in distributed systems(COMPSCI 335) in 2001, one of the first coursesof its kind in Australasia.This was extremely wellreceived by students, and the .NET basedcomponent has been continued and extendedin 2002, with enrolments of around 250students. During 2002, we have also refocusedour Stage 2 computer applications course(COMPSCI 280) to use VB.NET as the teaching

language. This course is a requirement for allInformation Systems majors and is alsoextremely popular with Computer Sciencestudents. The introduction of VB.NET has beenrelatively smooth, and has again been wellreceived by students and staff alike, withenrolments in the course of around 450students per year.

In 2003 a new postgraduate Computer Sciencecourse, Pervasive Computing and the Enterprise(COMPSCI 734) will be introduced.This coursefocuses on advanced and emerging softwarearchitectures at the confluence of XML, webservices, distributed systems, and databases..NET based technologies will be an importantcomponent of the practical work of this course.

As students have completed these courses,research project offerings using .NET forimplementation have steadily increased andmany staff are now incorporating .NETtechnologies into their own researchendeavours.

A major driver in both student and staffendorsement of these moves has been theMSDN AA programme which allows us to offerstate of the art commercial grade software inour labs and also for students to install under theterms of the licence on their home machines.This far sighted approach by Microsoft allowsmany of the normal barriers that exist betweenhome and lab to be minimised for our students.

At the close of 2002, the MSDN AcademicAlliance programme had been taken up by anumber of tertiary institutions spanning NewZealand. Microsoft New Zealand anticipatesthat further institutions will subscribe to theprogramme in 2003 making .NET a growingpart of their tertiary experience.

John Hoskins right (Head Of Department of Computer Science) and Radu Nicolescu left (Lecturer), stand in front of the new science extension.

By John Hoskins and Radu Nicolescu, University of Auckland

The world of information technology is rapidly changing andemployers seeking IT graduates are demanding graduates whocan hit the ground running. Student graduates with real andpractical experience prove far more valuable to theseemployers.

To help and mentor upcoming students obtain real and practicalexperience, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y) has formed apartnership with The University of Auckland. This partnership isdesigned to help equip future graduates by allowing them tolearn and work with the latest .NET platform and tools andtechnologies on real business projects.

Working with the Advanced Development and Integration(AD&I) group at CGE&Y, three of the university’s top stage 3students have lead their projects and with the Microsoft .NETplatform,whilst working in a team environment – and all as partof their final year course work.

Surangi Sharma of CGE&Y explains that this initiative is also achance for CGE&Y developers to gain valuable experience bymentoring these students through the various phases of theirproject.

"Over the past two years, our consultants have worked veryclosely with the student teams. We have taught key skills thathave ranged from project management techniques all the way todevelopment methodologies."

Students Respond PositivelyRoger Wang, one of the students from the 2002 group, explainshow they had the opportunity to work with Microsoft .NETtechnologies.

"We were overwhelmed at the functionality that .NETtechnology brought into the project and realised how importantit was for us to be working with such leading edge tools."

The students acknowledged that they knew by learning andworking with the .NET platform that they were ahead of anyother graduates who had not worked with the technology.

"Once the system was deployed, it was a great feeling ofsatisfaction to know that employees of CGE&Y were using thesystem we had built."

The underlying reason CGE&Y chose to employ the .NETplatform in 2002 as the environment for the students to workon was that they wanted to future proof the potential graduates.

Software Estimation ToolAt the beginning of 2002, the AD&I group in Auckland identifiedan opportunity to improve the estimation of softwaredevelopment projects. Accurately estimating a softwaredevelopment project time line is extremely important to anorganisation.

Prior to this project, metrics of past project estimates were noteasily available for comparison. Further, it had often beendifficult to capture how good the initial estimate was againstwhat actually happened for past projects, as this informationwas not stored in any structured form.

It was decided that a bespoke application was the best solutionas there wasn’t an off-the-shelf tool available that met all of therequirements.Hence a project was created to build a web-basedsystem that delivered the following:• Generation of a ballpark estimate figure for the development

effort very early in the lifecycle,• Standardisation of the estimation process,• Simplify the project estimates process,• Catering for estimate improvement.

ApproachThe project team investigated on software estimationtechniques, based on use cases and eventually settled onKarner’s Method of Project Effort Estimation.The main benefitof this technique is that it can be performed quickly with a usecase model survey, very early in the lifecycle with very lowprecision.

TechnologyThe solution is based on Microsoft’s .NET Technologies and thearchitecture chosen was a robust n-tiered architecture. TheWindow technologies and the tool-set consist of the .NETFramework,Visual Studio.NET,Windows 2000 Server, IIS 5, XSL,SQL Server 2000, Rational Rose and RUP.

Eva Poon, another student from the 2002 Project Groupcomments on using the Microsoft .NET platform.

"The chance to work with the latest tools really helped me gainan advantage over other students when it comes to hands onexperience. The platform itself brought great functionality tothe system."

The security is based on Windows 2000 security models.

BenefitsThe benefits of the solution are:• Intuitive and user friendly system to use;• Deriving a ballpark estimate in a structured fashion to

determine if it’s viable in relation to client time frame andbudget;

• Standardisation of the estimation process as each user is takenthrough the same structured process and gives them the samelist of factors to consider;

• Ease of evaluation as ET Intelligence stores estimates in arepository and the actual time taken on the projects can becompared with the different estimates;

• Estimate improvement over time (by making adjustments to a‘fudge factor’);

• Delivering projects on time and within budget,hence meetingthe two most important client objectives;

• Making forecasting more accurate.NZ .NET42

Industry Meets University:Real World Experience

University of Auckland Information System students at their end of year awards dinner withtheir sponsors Microsoft and CGE&Y. From left to right, Pradeepa de Silva (Microsoft),Sunflower Feltham, Eva Poon, Surangi Sharma (CGE&Y) and Roger Wang.