Conference delegates help ensure Gracelands is thriving

This year the New Zealand SharePoint Conference had an exciting new twist – a 24 hour community challenge, where a free SharePoint solution was developed for a not-for-profit organisation.

Delegates at the conference got involved, designing and building a SharePoint solution for Gracelands – a Waikato based disability support service that provides rehabilitation, up-skilling and supported employment opportunities to people who have any form of disability.

“Gracelands has been using SharePoint for its Intranet for the last three years, so the team is well versed with the software. It has been well adopted as a central document hub and the community challenge focused on improving the Purchase Order procedure by implementing an online form with associated workflow,” says Debbie Ireland, Manager at envision IT and Conference Organiser.

“Aspects of the system they are currently using are very manual and time consuming, particularly for staff not located at the head office. The redesigned Intranet will also include new branding and improved management of contacts.”

Brendon Pilott, Systems Administrator for Gracelands, is excited to have some of the top SharePoint consultants and professionals working on the rebuild.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us and we are very excited to have been chosen as the community challenge recipient. We have been working with SharePoint for a few years and can’t wait to see what some of New Zealand’s top SharePoint experts have come up with!”

“The new site includes new branding and improved ways to find information, as well as an upgraded purchase order system. Staff will now be able to find documents such as leave balances, key contacts and business policies with ease, and the new purchase order system will dramatically improve productivity as processing and approval time speeds up.”

Rachel Turney, Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft New Zealand says the community challenge is a great addition to the conference.

“Microsoft sees this as a great opportunity to support the local user community – the conference is well known for attracting the best names in the SharePoint industry and the event continues to grow, now attracting more than 380 attendees.”

“The community challenge is an excellent addition to the conference and it was great to see delegates offering their knowledge and expertise to develop the solution for Gracelands.”

The New Zealand SharePoint Conference was held over two days, 16 and 17 March at the Amora Hotel in Wellington. The conference gives business and technical users an opportunity to gain insights from SharePoint experts, with over 40 sessions to attend.

For more information on the conference and community challenge visit: www.sharepointconference.co.nz.