Merit Event - Introducing Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008

Merit North West are pleased to announce we are holding an event at Goodison Park, Alex Young Suite, Liverpool on 12th June 2008, between 11:00am - 13:30pm with Gary Duffield, Chief Learning Architect for Xpertise giving a presentation on Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008.

With the launch of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft is delivering powerful new tools that will help transform the way developers build applications and IT professionals support IT systems. Together, they will open the door to a new era where companies build systems and applications that help advance business goals by aligning computing resources with strategic objectives.

More than ever Managers need to understand what these new products deliver and what if anything they can do for their organisations. All the pieces are in place to allow organisations to build and deploy solutions that offer more control and functionality than ever before.

At our next FREE event Gary Duffield, Chief Learning Architect for Xpertise will guide you through the 8 versions of Windows Server 2008 helping you to understand what is available and which version is right for your organisation.

One of the challenges facing IT professionals and developers today is the time spent on managing existing systems, which prevents them from investing as much in technologies and innovations that would help their businesses be more competitive.

Although the primary focus of this seminar will be a review of the key capabilities of Server 2008, we will also look at how the line is blurred between Windows Server and Visual Studio 2008, discussing how together they will impact your business from a technology and skills perspective.

Event Sponsored by Knowsley ICT Club

Knowsley ICT Club is run for the benefit of its members and the wider business community to share best practice in ICT and support those businesses working in this sector.

Knowsley ICT Club is part of Merseyside ICT which exclusively represents Information & Communications Technology (ICT) companies in the region.

By working together - pooling ideas, information and resources - Knowsley ICT Club is able to offer the most comprehensive possible services to Knowsley businesses, whether existing or start-up businesses - at the most competitive prices.

Knowsley ICT Club members specialise in a wealth of services, including: computer networks; hardware and software; telecommunications; website and multimedia development; computer security and disaster recovery.

Whatever you require - from an ink cartridge to a fully integrated network - the Club can offer the support you need.

To book your place at this FREE MERIT event, click here.

The MERIT team look foward to seeing you again.

Harnessing Digital Technologies Case Study - Charities Trust

Charities Trust is a national payroll giving and corporate donation management agency approved by the Inland Revenue. It is also a non-profit making organisation and a charity in its own right, based in the Brunswick Business Park area of Liverpool.

With the assistance of the Harnessing Digital Technologies project (part funded by ESF) Charities Trust was able to secure the deployment and development of a new software application, which linked various company intranets to the Charities Trust database so that the process whereby employees or businesses can donate to charities can be simplified resulting in an increase of usage.

In addition to this, a training need was necessary at Charities Trust to ensure all staff would use and follow the new systems effectively and also so that they can manage the clients/donations efficiently as well as the bespoke software developed.

This new software has changed the business process and has made it a lot easier for companies and invividuals to donate to Charitable causes, and there is also a lot more flexibility for payroll giving, which allows anyone who pays UK income tax to give regularly and on a tax free basis to the charities and good causes of their choice.

Website: www.charitiestrust.org
Contact: info@charitiestrust.org

How to get the Best from E-mail Marketing

Merit North West are pleased to announce we are holding an event at the Business Centre, Warrington Campus, University of Chester on 28th May 2008, between 11:00am - 13:30pm with Martin Corlett-Moss of Mobious, giving a presentation on how to get the best from e-mail marketing.

Email marketing is one of the most misunderstood and misused forms of marketing available to any business. Used right it can be a great benefit, linking you to your consumer in a personal, interesting and involving way. Used wrong it can be a complete pain in the neck, alienating your target audience, and causing annoyance and frustration.

Most emails never arrive in the inbox, look wrong if they do arrive and are deleted quickly by the majority of people. Over 80% of all emails received in your inbox are probably spam, some are irritating, some are offensive, some are dangerous, and some are trying to steal your money.

So how can you avoid, or at least minimise this for your emails? How can you make your work stand out and support your objectives?

This talk covers how to create emails which will generate results, what pitfalls to avoid and how to make sure you get the most from your efforts. It is not a masterclass in email technology, there will be no email systems presented or suppliers recommended. It is a review of how to ensure that you maximise the opportunity through, getting the right data, designing the right email, to putting in the right copy, directing customers to the right place and what to do with them when they get there.

The intention is to allow you to take a critical look at your email marketing and make changes straight away which will improve your results.

Martin Corlett-Moss is the MD of Mobious, a digital and direct agency based in Cheshire and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The agency runs email campaigns for businesses varying from Lloyds TSB Autolease, Sage and Carling, to Newcastle Race Course and Cholmondeley Estates. The agency was voted in the Top 100 outside of London this year and as the best agency in the North East for the 2nd year running.

To book your place at this FREE MERIT event, click here.

Click here for directions

The MERIT team look foward to seeing you again.

ITIL® V3 Foundation Certificate in Service Management Training Course

We would like to thank Neil Almond of Privitas Solutions Ltd for delivering the ITIL® V3 Foundation Certificate in Service Management training course at our Merit offices on 15th - 17th April 2008.

The course was a great success, with all delegates commenting on Neil’s effective and enjoyable delivery of the course. We will certainly be using Neil again for any future ITIL training courses.

For more information on Merit Training Courses, click here.

Restart Firefox Add-On

If you’re using Mozilla’s Firefox browser (and official statistics from w3 says that as of February 2008, 36.5% of internet users are) then you will know about the many add-ons, downloads and hacks available for a better browsing experience.

Having been playing around with such add-ons this morning, enabling and disabling etc… we found that you keep having to restart Firefox for any effects to take effect.

Of course it’s as simple as closing the browser down and opening it again, but a simpler way is the Restart Firefox Add-On.

It adds “Restart Firefox” menuitem to “File”, and a toolbar button for easy restarting…

Try it yourself below.

Weblink: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1249

i-techpartner eServices Forum, 3rd & 4th June, Liverpool

Registration is now open for the i-techpartner eServices Forum which is taking place at the new Liverpool Convention Centre on 3rd & 4th June 2008.

The event builds on the success of the 2007 i-techpartner Academy at Daresbury Innovation Centre where over 120 delegates attended, including researchers, small businesses, innovation experts and investors.

Focussing on the areas of web services, mobile applications, web 2.0, software as a service and more, this event is for you if you are:

• an innovative ICT/digital SME looking to grow your business
• a researcher from a university or research institute looking to commercialise your research
• a venture fund or business angel looking for investment opportunities in eServices
• an expert in technology transfer, innovation or business growth

The event is a unique platform for eServices-focused high-growth companies, technology corporations, R&D organisations and international investors from across Europe to exchange knowledge and build effective business connections.

If you are an SME or researcher, presenting your technology offering at this event will mean significant exposure to an international audience of industry experts, investors, researchers and SMEs. Your attendance will enable you to access technology specific R&D and discuss how to grow your company with potential partners from research and industry. You will be able to book face-to-face meetings with potential business partners and develop new contacts with SMEs, multinationals, researchers, innovation experts and investors from across Europe. Overall the event provides a unique opportunity to receive valuable feedback and new knowledge regarding your technology.

The Academy is being led by AIMES, together with Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus, RTC North, Merseyside ICT and Vanguard Corporate Finance.

Register: For more information and to register for this event as a presenter or delegate, please visit http://www.i-techpartner.eu/ where you will be asked to create a profile and apply for the event. For further information please contact Marie Mitchell at AIMES on 0151 795 0116 or marie.mitchell@liverpool.ac.uk

Microsoft Project 2003 Training Course

We would like to thank Tony Leach for delivering the Microsoft Project 2003 training course at our Merit offices on 3^rd March 2008.

For more information on Merit Training Courses, click here.

RSS to SMS: Pingie

The Merit staff have recently came across another service we would like to share with you. It’s still in beta stage but our staff are quite excited by it and the possibilities it may eventually bring when it’s fully launched and available.

Pingie is a free service which you can subscribe to and use, which allows you to create an account and add an RSS feed(s) and your mobile telephone number to your account. Whenever the feed is updated, you will receive an SMS with the details of the latest post or entry to the feed.

A couple of issues at the moment are it is only a US based service and your service carrier may charge for the delivery of the messages. So for UK based people wanting to use this service, there may be a long wait until a similar service is launched over the shores. A loophole in the delivery charge is that there are more than enough mobile phone tariffs which offer free or unlimited texts in the marketplace these days.

The idea intruiges though. Think about the times you are away from your RSS reader, and you are participating on an online auction, or waiting for alerts to a particular blog or website which could improve your business. You could be alerted to cheap flights abroad or an update from your favourite blog while you are bored on public transport!!!

If you are interested in seeing how this service develops, you can view the Pingie blog here which will alert you to updates in the service and possible future launch dates for UK and European carriers. Visit http://pingie.com for more details.

Skype at Merit

You can now Skype us at Merit and talk to us for free through your broadband connection.  Search for us at Merit North West and message us.  We’ll get back to you through Skype.

Search Engine Optimisation Workshop

We would like to thank Jan Klin from Jan Klin and Associates for holding the Search Engine Optimisation workshop at our Liverpool Digital offices last Wednesday on 13th February 2008.