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SADA Speaks
The Official Blog for SADA Systems, Inc.
World Wildlife Fund: Success Story
SADA Systems, Inc. helps WWF automate provisioning of Google Apps accounts and user provisioning minimizing time expenditures related to these functions allowing WWF IT to focus more on value adding business initiative.
SADA Systems, Inc.SADA Systems, Inc. (SADA) is a privately held information technology consulting, outsourcing, and development firm founded in 2000. SADA started as a Google partner for its search technology, and is proud to be one of the world's first 10 Google partners for Apps, having participated in the Google Apps official launch campaign in February of 2007 demonstrating a track record and competency in the implementation and customization of Google Apps and providing related consulting services. SADA Systems, Inc. has also assumed a major leadership role in the Cloud Computing space, and has built a significant part of its business around the implementation of cloud-based solutions all around the world.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
For more than 45 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF's unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.The ChallengeWWF's Global ICT Team had unique requirements to overcome the challenges they were facing with respect to their existing Identity Management system. The goal was to help WWF by making it easier to provision individual users and and synchronize them with minimal overhead effort.
SolutionSADA's User Provisioning Sync Tool allows for advanced customization to meet the needs of specific requirements in place by our clients such as WWF. In this scenario we were able to meet the needs of WWF by:
- Utilizing specific LDAP attributes when assigning a Google Apps username allowing customization based on the meta data that is stored in LDAP and in turn store user data which allows WWF to to come to specific determinations and conclusions
- After account is provisioned, automatically configure Gmail forwarding to an email address stored in an LDAP attribute, thus greatly improving end-user experience by eliminating the need for users to do configuration on their own
- During account provisioning, assign a predefined user password allowing the administrators to better utilize their time elsewhere
ResultsAs a result of WWF's and SADA's collaboration, WWF's ICT team no longer has to manually provision accounts. Tangentially this has freed up their IT staffs time and decreased their overhead costs allowing their staff to take on more worthwhile, progressive and value adding business initiatives.
Oregon Department of Education Empowers Student/Teacher Collaboration with Google Apps
Wednesday, April 28th - Today the Oregon Department of Education became the first in the country to announce that it will begin offering Google Apps to all public school districts in the state.
Individual schools migrating to Google Apps are hardly new. SADA has assisted numerous schools, at every level of education, with switching their email and collaboration to Google Apps. What distinguishes this switch is the scope. The Oregon Department of Education will be opening Google Apps for Education to public schools throughout the state. Although Google and the Oregon Department of Education signed a five-year deal for the program, school participation has not been mandated. Schools in districts throughout the state may participate on a voluntary basis, and discontinue use of Google Apps for Education at any time, for any reason. The announcement heralds a tremendous and unprecedented step toward integrating technology with the classroom, and providing students, teachers, and parents with a powerful collaboration resource. Students in Oregon elementary, middle, and high schools will be able to work with each other on class projects, in real time, and they will have the ability to collaborate with their teachers and receive valuable input on their work. Students and teachers will also be able to make use of Google Apps create websites, communicate through email and groups, and access their work from any location. In the wake of funding problems and a worsening financial outlook, the move to Google Apps also promises to save the school district a significant sum of money. "This move is going to save the Department of Education $1.5 million per year," writes Jaime Casap, the Google Apps Education manager. This level of savings promises to be a tremendous boon to the department's ailing budget. Click on the links below to learn more about the Oregon Department of Education, Google Apps for Education program. Labels: Google, google apps education edition, official google blog, Oregon Department of Education
Baseline Consulting Group: Exchange Online Success Story
SADA Systems, Inc. helps Baseline Consulting Group, A premier provider of enterprise information design and deployment services.
SADA Systems, Inc.
Baseline Consulting Group (BCG)
Baseline Consulting is an acknowledged leader in information design and deployment. BCG helps companies enhance the value of their enterprise data, improve business performance, achieve self-sufficiency, and realize strategic objectives. Baseline provides business consulting and technical implementation services in four practice areas:
• Data Warehousing • Data Integration • Business Analytics • Data Governance.
Driven by each client's business needs, Baseline uses proven, structured approaches to create strong business and IT partnerships and bring clarity to many complex data challenges. The Baseline approach uniquely positions them to help clients achieve selfsufficiency in designing, delivering, and managing data as a corporate asset. Baseline brings certainty to results by blending deep technical expertise in systems and data with understanding of business processes and organizations. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Baseline changes how companies leverage information. To learn more, visit Baseline's website at www.baseline-consulting.com.
The Challenge
Baseline Consulting consistently reevaluates their own technology needs to better enable them to serve their clients. Baseline consulted with SADA Systems, Inc. for guidance, in their effort to reduce costs while increasing services available in their current email systems. Outlining their needs, SADA and BCG established the following key criteria:
• Availability and continuity of messaging services. • Seamless migration experience for all end users. • Instantly variable pricing and scalability. • Net cost savings over current provider.
Solution
Of critical importance was ensuring continuity of operations during the planning, staging and execution phases of the project. After reviewing Baseline's needs, we suggested Microsoft's Exchange Online Service offering. Not only would this approach meet all of Baseline's requirements but, as part of Microsoft Business Productivity Online Service (BPOS) suite, it would provide a platform for progress ensuring that BCG can extend their capabilities to accommodate increased demand.
This recommendation was supported by SADA's 10 years of experience in traditional infrastructure solutions, and over three years of cloud-based expertise in messaging and collaboration systems.
Also of critical importance to the success of this project was being able to conduct the project without affecting system performance for end users. SADA carefully planed the implementation and deployment of the messaging environment and client application. When the deployment process started, SADA approached the process using a proven co-existence strategy. BCG's existing mail system would work side-by-side with the new, cloud-based solution until the migration process was complete. This blended approach satisfied Baseline's expectations for maintaining the user experience during the implementation phase.
Results
SADA Systems leveraged Microsoft's robust cloud services solution, and our experience implementing cloud solutions to deliver a seamless transition from BCG's Exchange system to their new, highly available, geo-redundant Exchange Online platform. The flexible nature of this subscription-based service accommodates the highest needs for on-demand scalability with respect to price and number of users. After the implementation of cloud-based solutions for messaging, BCG was able to realize a 65% net reduction in costs related to their messaging system over a 3-year period.
"First, let me thank you and Mike for really excellent work. And for your support and patience throughout the day. The migration and set-up activity was seamless and the instructions you provided were exemplary. I would wholeheartedly, and without hesitation, provide a reference/case study/whitepaper for the work SADA accomplished in this effort."
- Gordon Levy VP Finance & Administration Baseline Consulting Group
Google Notification
In order for Google to continue to improve their products and deliver more sophisticated features and performance, they are harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology. This includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5.
They have several exciting new features planned this year for Google Docs, but as we transition to the new Google Docs architecture, we'll need to temporarily remove offline support starting May 3rd, 2010. After this date, offline access to Google Docs will automatically be disabled and your users will no longer be able to access Google Docs while disconnected from the Internet.
If you use Google Docs offline, please sync your documents by May 3rd to ensure that changes you've made while offline are saved to Google Docs.
If you need offline access to certain documents after May 3rd, you can always export Google Docs files to your computer (http://goo.gl/jCNE), then upload your files back to Google Docs (http://goo.gl/1YkJ) after you're finished editing offline.
We know this is an important feature for some of you, and we are working hard to bring a new and improved HTML5-based offline option back to Google Docs.
Please note that this change only concerns Google Docs. We will continue to support offline access for Gmail and Google Calendar.
Thank you. Labels: Google Updates Alerts
Google Docs, Sheets and MORE is Now Real Time!
Google docs takes it to the next level with an announcement on their blog this morning. We are not talking about a face-lift but a back end renovation enabling the new preview versions of Google Docs, Sheets and new standalone drawings editor (pending abbreviated Googly nickname) to collaborate in real time. This refocused perspective on speed and collaboration is better illustrated in this video:
A better document editor
The real-time editing experience we have all been looking for and subconsciously wishing for from Google spreadsheets and documents is here, which means you can now see character-by-character changes as other collaborators make edits. Google also added another popular feature to spreadsheets: sidebar chat, so you can discuss documents as you work on them with colleagues.
The new technical foundation also helped Google improve document formatting, which means better import/export fidelity (phew!), actual margins and much more, not to mention improved image layout tools within documents. A faster spreadsheet editorWith the new spreadsheets editor, spreadsheets load faster, are more responsive and scroll more seamlessly. Google has also added a formula bar for cell editing, auto-complete, drag and drop columns, and simpler navigation between sheets. And as always, real-time collaboration in spreadsheets is easy with sidebar chat and the ability to see which cell each person is editing. A new collaborative drawing editor
Google also launched collaboration capabilities in the drawing editor also making them accessible directly from the docs list. The new standalone editor allows you to collaborate in real time on flow charts, designs, diagrams, this functionality has huge potential for creating process flow diagrams within companies by allowing more than one person a marker at the white board if you will. Furthermore, you can copy these drawings into documents, spreadsheets and presentations using the web clipboard, or share and publish drawings just like other Google Docs.
With this latest breakthrough, we can only imagine the string of fantastic updates to follow.
End of Q1: SADA Says Thanks!
We would like to take a moment to extend a personal thank you for helping SADA Systems grow this quarter. We genuinely appreciate you helping “spread the word” about our company and the services we provide. In case you may not recall all of the services we provide, please visit this page on our website, which lists everything. Maybe there are needs you have we may not be providing yet - if so, please let me know. We'll be more than happy to help.Also, we would like to extend a $25 Visa gift card for any future referral as a small token of our appreciation. If a referral turns into a SADA client, we will forward an additional $250 Visa gift card. Hey, in this economy, every little bit goes a long way.Referring clients to SADA is easy, simply click here, and fill out the form.We look forward to continuing to work with you for the rest of 2010and beyond. Thank you for your continued business. Labels: client testimonials, google apps, Microsoft BPOS, promotions, sada systems, thank you
SADA Builds Google Sites Templates
SADA helped to empower Google Sites per Google's request to help end users better manage projects, documents, team work, training, contracts, marketing and more. With many thousand installations to date some of the most successful are: SADA built a total of 10 templates for Google among the most successful are: Project Tracking
This Sites template enables you to get your project organized with this central place to manage all project deliverables and timelines. Track issues, risks deliverables, tasks, calendar, documents, updates and more all in one place.
Click Here to Use this Template!
Custom Client Engagement
You can use this template to organize your teams by maintaining the list on the teams page. You can also keep track of your team meetings using the Google calendar on the team meetings page. Organizing your action items is simple and can be accomplished by utilizing the action items page. If you need something heard by the whole team or would like to open the floor for an active discussion regarding your team you can use the discussion page.
Click Here to Use this Template!
 The Document and Library Sharing
This Sites template enables you to store and share important company documents using this template. This site includes pages for documents across several company departments.
Click Here to Use this Template!
 Team Work Site Template
This Sites template enables you to keep track of and organize team information in one central location. Includes, team calendar, important team documents, an Action Items page and an Announcements page. Easily create more pages, attach documents, insert forms and more.
Click Here to Use this Template!
 Training
This Sites template enables you to run your training using a site template. This template comes with course material and test pages, a student feedback, and a calendar with a course schedule.
Click Here to Use this Template!  Company Extranet With the company Extranet template you can easily organize and store important documents across your departments. You can also detail team members and provide a central location online for company announcements. Get your organization organized with the Extranet template. Click Here to Use this Template! Product and Marketing Requirments You can use this template to organize all of your product and marketing requirements. Here you can store important marketing media files, list detailed product requirements, conduct surveys on the success or failure of previous marketing campaigns, even organize and store presentations. Click Here to Use this Template! Crisis Management The Crisis Management template and help you structure an effective Business Continuity Plan, Crisis Team, Telephone Tumble, Risk Assesment, Emergency Contact Numbers, Contacts and more. Click Here to Use this Template!  Intranet The intranet site template where you can replace this content with your own. You can use the documents library and the resources section to organize your important business documents that need to accessible to the entire team. Run Q&A sessions with your company by utilizing the discussions page. If you have something to say to the entire team you can simply post it on the announcements page. Click Here to Use this Template! Competitive Analysis You can use this template to organize your teams by maintaining the list on the teams page. You can also keep track of your team meetings using the Google Calendar on the team meetings page. Organizing your action items is simple and can be accomplished by utilizing the action items page. If you need something heard by the whole team or would like to open the floor for an active discussion regarding your team you can use the discussion page. Click Here to Use this Template!
Nash Entertainment Utilizes Send-IT Global
 Need to send large files? Nash Entertainment sent numerous large files without any servers, VPN, or complex passwords to remember. SADA Systems' Send IT Global delivery service helped Nash by taking the worry out of sending large files electronically. All of their files transferred via Send IT Global were sent directly over the Internet bypassing email and FTP systems, resulting in a fast, easy, secure and FREE transfer.
SADA's Send IT Global allowed them to securely and quickly upload multiple videos on the back-end allowing their users to upload videos to Nash Entertainment.
Another practical use for one of SADA's free tools, Send IT Global, and send files up-to 2GB!
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