Customer Solution Case Study
/ Council Streamlines Financial Operations with Scalable, Integrated Environment
“The feedback from other councils was convincing. They said that Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 was not only reliable, but it was simply the best fit for the requirements of local council infrastructures.”
Steve Scott, Enterprise Architect, Leicester City Council
In 2009, Leicester City Council replaced its financial management software with a standardised system that processes data from 200 branch sites and 65 line-of-business applications. Based on recommendations from other local councils in the United Kingdom (U.K.), it used Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 to connect the 65 interfaces with the finance system. The scalable, integrated environment increases the speed with which valuable business projects are deployed.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published June 2010
Business Needs
Leicester City Council employs more than 15,000 people at 200 sites across Leicester, the largest city in the East Midlands region of the U.K. The busy council has a number of priorities—among them, encouraging environmentally sustainable practices, ensuring all homes offer a high standard of living for constituents, and providing schools with excellent teaching resources. To support delivery of a wide range of community services, the council is joining other U.K. regional councils and developing a modern, integrated, scalable IT infrastructure that increases internal efficiencies. Ultimately, this benefits the tax payer through optimisation of resources, and by increasing the resources available for community services.
As part of its efficiency drive, in 2008, Leicester City Council decided to upgrade its financial management system and implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application called Agresso Business World. Previously, systems for processing payments, such as council tax, were managed on local applications and data was sent to the council’s headquarters for processing.
With 65 line-of-business interfaces to connect to the new finance application, Scott’s team needed to find the perfect way to link up data. Steve Scott, Enterprise Architect at Leicester City Council, says: “We wanted to lay the foundation for a seamless, reliable service-oriented architecture that supported our business requirements.”
Solution
In 2009, Scott and Bharti Mistry, Systems Integration Manager at Leicester City Council, considered a number of solutions, eventually deciding on Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 supported by Microsoft SQL Server 2005 data management software. “The feedback from other councils was convincing. They said that BizTalk Server 2006 was not only reliable, but it was simply the best fit for the requirements of local council infrastructures,” says Scott. Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 acts as an integration gateway between disparate local applications―for example, systems for managing council tax refunds, and housing repairs and maintenance―and the head office. All BizTalk Server data is held in SQL Server 2005, rather than batch files, and is transferred in real time.
In 2009, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Phoenix Software introduced Scott to systems integrator ap16, also a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. ap16 worked closely with the council, developing six templates that are used to customise the connections and messaging requirements between the different interfaces and Agresso. ap16 also provided the development team with valuable training so that council employees could carry out future connections themselves. “Most of our developers are trained to use Microsoft programming tools and are familiar with SQL Server, so this was a natural step for our team,” says Mistry.
Benefits
Leicester City Council and Scott are confident that Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2 is the right technology to support business operations, and the development team is rapidly accumulating the skills needed to deploy valuable projects.
· More time for valuable projects. Scott’s team is working on a pipeline of projects to enhance internal organisation and efficiencies. One upcoming example is the staff data integration project that will link email and phone staff directories to the human resources system using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006 R2.
· Technical skills are rapidly accumulated. Previously, employees spent a long time learning the complexities of individual applications, but couldn’t apply this expertise to other applications. Team members built on workflow and messaging skills learnt from ap16 and customised the remaining interfaces themselves.
· Auditing and legal compliance is straightforward. All electronic data flows are captured and stored, which makes it easier for the council to comply with government regulations concerning financial and personal data.
· Less time is spent fixing problems. With a standardised interface between different financial systems, finance and IT employees spend less time on system maintenance and development. The council can maintain its infrastructure without needing to customise or replace existing applications.
· Development time is reduced. Scott says: “Employees make better use of development time when they work with familiar technology. Plus, they can accumulate and practice new skills that make deployments faster, easier, and cheaper.”
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published June 2010