Welcome
What is your gamePLAN?
We are all feeling the bite of a tough economic climate. So let's work together to develop a strategic approach that will help you get the most from your current IT investment.
Scenarios where Microsoft can help your business
This website is designed to help you optimize your technology budget, lower IT spending, and better manage your business costs so you can do more with less-and save money.
Don't wait, choose a topic and let's get started on your game plan.
Contact your En Pointe Account Executive today, or email us at TeamMicrosoft@enpointe.com
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INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT |
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Minimize resources and time needed to manage your infrastructure
Infrastructure management is the management of essential operation components, usually broken down into three areas: system management, network management, and storage management. There are many tools and technologies that are available to help you better understand your network environment, reduce duplication of effort, and develop risk-mitigating procedures, all of which will help you significantly cut costs.
Microsoft solutions that can take costs out of IT:
Minimize resources and save time with Microsoft Virtualization
Microsoft virtual server solutions can help reduce the resources and time needed to administer your infrastructure, and help you become more agile and responsive to business needs. Virtualization can also simplify and accelerate provisioning, allowing you to add additional capacity or new capability to business applications quickly and easily. Microsoft provides a complete suite of technologies that enable you to build an integrated, end-to-end, virtualized infrastructure, helping you to maximize ROI, cut costs and improve efficiency.
Use the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool to help you estimate your return on investment in Microsoft virtualization tools.
Case Study:
WorleyParsons
Learn how WorleyParsons, a leading provider of professional services to the energy, resource, and complex process industries, having grown revenue from $0.48 billion to $3.3 billion over the past five years, is using Windows Server® 2008 Hyper-V™ and Microsoft® System Center Virtual Machine Manager to significantly reduce the growing costs associated with rapid global expansion.
Improve productivity and collaboration with Microsoft Unified Communications
Microsoft's interoperable unified communications solutions-including highly secure mobile messaging, presence, IM, video conferencing and voice over IP-can help you connect and enable geographically dispersed teams to work together from virtually anywhere, anytime. All while increasing efficiency, encouraging collaboration, and driving down operating costs.
Case Study:
Rabobank
Learn how Rabobank, a global financial services provider with 50,000 employees, will build a digital environment and support seamless multimedia communications across the organization, while reducing operating costs by up to 15 percent.
Extend the value of Windows Vista® with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
When combined with Windows Vista Enterprise, it offers a cost-effective and flexible way to manage Windows® desktops, helping you to drive down TCO by eliminating application management costs, instantly deliver applications as services, and better control enterprise desktop environments.
Case Study:
City of Edinburgh Council
Learn how the City of Edinburgh Council, based in Scotland's capital city, deployed a service-led technology transformation program to improve services and provide the Council with a stable, flexible platform to support its plans, and total savings over five years of approximately £6.4 million.
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TRAVEL & COMMUNICATION |
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Minimize travel expenses and reduce communication costs using conferencing and collaboration tools
Cutting back on business travel is one of the fastest ways to save money and with the video conferencing and collaboration tools that are available now, you can trim travel costs without losing that face-to-face experience. In many cases, sharing information and collaborating can be accomplished more efficiently when done virtually, helping to reduce the cost of running your business.
Conduct meetings while on the go with Microsoft Unified Communications
Microsoft's Unified Communications tools-including highly secure email, instant messaging, presence awareness, web conferencing, video conferencing, audio conferencing and Voice over IP- allow you to stay in close contact every step of the way with geographically dispersed clients, team members, and mobile workers while on the go.
Case Study:
Volvo Group
Learn how Volvo Group, operating in 180 countries worldwide, will use Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 to develop a unified communications environment, expecting to cut conferencing costs by up to 50%.
Case Study:
Cogan Wire and Metal Products
Learn how Cogan Wire & Metal, makers of custom products, deployed Microsoft® Office Live Meeting so it could hold online meetings and training sessions with its dealers and increase employee productivity-and saved $400,000 in meeting and training costs.
Case Study:
Lifetime Products
Learn how Lifetime Products, the world's largest manufacturer of residential basketball equipment and polyethylene tables, saved $850,000 using Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging.
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Lower energy consumption and reduce carbon dioxide output
There are some incredible power management tools available today that can help you reduce carbon dioxide output, which is better for the environment, and lowers the cost of energy consumption, which in turn lowers the cost of doing business. This includes power management software solutions and the creation of a centralized IT administrator to control all your desktops.
Save on energy costs with Microsoft Virtualization Technologies
Most servers run at less than 10 percent of capacity, wasting hardware, space, and electricity. By optimizing your IT infrastructure through server consolidation and dynamic management, you can lower equipment costs and reduce the environmental impact of your data centers, while improving service levels and decreasing costs.
Use the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool to help you estimate your return on investment in Microsoft virtualization solutions.
Case Study:
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Learn how Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire's only academic medical center, reduced total server holdings by 75 percent and saved $4,300 per server in hardware, maintenance, electrical, and real estate costs, saved 30 hours each month in server management and increased availability by implementing the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Hyper-V™ technology.
Reduce carbon emissions and save money with Windows Vista®
With concerns about global warming, energy shortages, and potential oil crises, Windows Vista, Microsoft's most energy-efficient operating system to date, is one way in which Microsoft can help you reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions-and save our customers money. By upgrading to Windows Vista you can give your employees a better user experience, while taking advantage of the built-in energy-saving features of Windows Vista, such as centralized manageability for IT, default settings optimized for best user experience and energy savings, and immediate responsiveness from Sleep or Resume.
Case Study:
Continental Airlines
Find out how Continental Airlines, the world's fifth largest airline, consolidated its operating system images, and reduced IT and energy costs by deploying the Windows Vista® operating system on 6,000 computers.
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For your businesses to grow, you need to effectively manage business performance. This means making sure your IT infrastructure provides a seamless flow of trusted information throughout your organization so everyone is working from the latest information, sharing the same resources and moving in the same direction.
Microsoft's Business Intelligence (BI) is a complete suite of server, client, and developer products. BI offers a comprehensive, seamlessly integrated system that will allow your organization to collaborate more efficiently and make better-informed business decisions. BI supports your people in developing deeper knowledge and insight while using a familiar 2007 Microsoft Office interface in a highly secure and scalable environment.
Case Study:
Culver Franchising Systems, Inc.
Learn how Culver Franchising Systems, used RedPrarie's powerful Performance Management solution, based on Microsoft's Business Intelligence technologies, to save $45,000 per year.
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Technology you need without heavy capital expenditures
To grow your business, be competitive and be ready to respond to opportunities that come along, you need an infrastructure that allows for it. That means having the right tools, working as seamlessly and efficiently as possible, or the means to get the tools you need. Microsoft offers several programs designed with you in mind-each offering different ways for you to build the infrastructure you need, at significant savings.
Helping you find solutions that fit.
The Big Easy Offer 2.0 gives you choices on Microsoft products and solutions that fit your needs. For every qualifying product you purchase, Microsoft pays you partner subsidy funds to purchase more products and services from the Microsoft partner of your choice.
Here is how it works:
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Make a qualifying purchase between Aug. 25 and Dec. 31, 2008
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Register your purchase at www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy
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Receive your partner subsidy check from Microsoft
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Spend your subsidy funds with a qualified Microsoft partner within 90 days of receipt
Watch a short video about the Big Easy Offer 2.0.
Giving you the power to save the day
Receive partner subsidy funds up to 15% of estimated retail price when you purchase Microsoft® Office Visio® Professional 2007 or Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 between September 29, 2008 and March 27, 2009 through a new or true-up Enterprise Agreement or Select License Agreement with Microsoft Software Assurance. The SUPER Promotion is valid from September 29th, 2008 through March 27th, 2009.
Click here to learn more about the SUPER Promotion.
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Acquire the technology you need while freeing up cash
In times like these, every business is looking for ways to hold onto cash, without hurting business. One of the most effective ways to increase cash flow is, of course, by building your business. And to build your business, you need to have the capacity and flexibility to jump at opportunities as they arise. One of the best ways to make sure your business is ready, is by investing in your IT solution. If you follow your game plan, you'll be able to maintain cash flow, and grow.
Save with Business Productivity Online Suite
Microsoft Software + Services strategy gives you the flexibility and options you need to manage and access software in the way that best suits your needs-whether online, on-premises, or both. Also, using web services available through Azure, you can build a Software + Service storage solution, allowing you to minimize hardware and datacenter costs.
Case Study:
Open Text Corporation
Learn how Open Text Corp., an enterprise content management company, used Azure™ Services Platform from Microsoft to provide customers with a more flexible and less capital-intensive approach to ECM and electronic archiving, while reducing costs in storage and hardware.
Be ready to seize every opportunity with Microsoft Financing
Unlike traditional financing, Microsoft Financing covers 100 percent of eligible Microsoft, third-party, and independent software vendor (ISV) software-as well as partner services and hardware-with no hidden costs. Microsoft Financing offers credit-approved customers immediate access to capital so you can purchase and deploy IT solutions today, with no fees or large up-front costs and a flexible and predictable payment structure. This helps free up budgets and capital that you may need to utilize elsewhere.
Microsoft Financing is not a financial services company. It is a financing solution backed by Microsoft to support sales of Microsoft products and services to qualified customers.
The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 provides incentives to businesses including a special 50 percent depreciation allowance for 2008 purchases and an increase in the small business expensing limitation for tax years beginning in 2008.*
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Increased Section 179 Expensing for businesses: Now up to a maximum of $250,000 in 2008
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50% first year bonus depreciation: IRS provision applies to software placed in service before January 1, 2009
*From the IRS benefit description
Any information about the Economic Stimulus Act Of 2008 should not be used as tax advice as Microsoft does not provide tax advice, please consult with your tax advisor to determine the benefit to your organization.
Get the software you need, at the lowest up-front cost available.
The Microsoft Open Value Subscription is a comprehensive, subscription-based Microsoft Volume Licensing program that enables small to midsize organizations that have an existing network of 5 to 250 desktop PCs to acquire the latest Microsoft technology at the lowest up-front costs available. With the Open Value Subscription option, you pay a single price per desktop PC to deploy Microsoft technology as the standard across your organization.
Case Study:
Genesis Pharma
Learn how Genesis Pharma, a leader in pharmaceutical distribution in Greece and South-East Europe, used Microsoft Open Value Subscription licensing to deploy a single operating system across its network, reducing management time by 15 percent and reducing acquisition costs by 20 percent.
Case Study:
C. Rokas SA
Learn how C. Rokas SA, a leader in renewable energy sources and electromechanical projects, used Microsoft Open Value Subscription licensing to upgrade and unify all its systems, with a single license key, giving the company greater flexibility and more predictability in managing software without a large initial investment.
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Get the most out of your software investment
Microsoft Software Assurance is a comprehensive maintenance offering that keeps you up-to-date on the latest software, provides phone support 24 hours a day, and includes partner services, training, and IT tools that help you deploy, manage, and migrate software. With Software Assurance, you can increase worker productivity, accelerate organizational performance, and quickly realize a return on your software investment.
Reduce the costs of new software versions with Software Assurance
Software Assurance gives you the rights to run new versions of licensed software as they become available during the term of your agreement.
Increase productivity through training and support
Take advantage of training benefits, support resources, problem resolution and more.
Get more flexibility in managing software expenditures
Spread payments annually, instead of incurring one upfront payment, to reduce initial costs and forecast annual software budget requirements up to three years in advance.
Enable your employees to work from home
The Home Use Program lets your employees get a licensed copy of select Microsoft Office desktop programs for which they are licensed at work to install and use on a home computer. |
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