Vision
Eastridge discussed options with the manufacturer and recommended a five day SharePoint Deployment Planning Services engagement. The planning session was paid by Microsoft through the customer's Volume Licensing benefits.
Once planning was complete, the customer had a clear understanding of available options, timeframes and budgets. They chose to embark on a phased approach that would tackle major goals while also mentoring their internal IT support team.
Architecture
The production system consisted of a small SharePoint 2007 farm with specific integration points to Seibel, file shares, and secured access for authorized suppliers. In order to fully automate the new portal, the customer purchased Nintex Workflow 2007. Eastridge did the early design and mentoring with Nintex Workflow and supported the customer when necessary as they moved forward with internal development.
At a later phase the customer purchased Nintex Reporting 2008 in order to measure specific site activity, user contributions, security audits, and performance trends over time. Eastridge assisted with the brief setup and supported their staff as necessary.