The Perficient SharePoint Rockstars have done it again!
At this week’s Microsoft Southwest District bi-annual Partner Briefing, Perficient was awarded the ‘Best Practices’ award for a SharePoint solution we built for a large auto manufacturer.  Perficient was engaged by this automaker to define, build, and deploy a system to record and track dealer interactions for the field organization.  The auto manufacturer leveraged the capabilities within Microsoft SharePoint 2010 and Business Connectivity Services (BCS) to successfully deliver a solution that services approximately 80 field sales people covering over 600 auto dealers in the United States.
Perficient worked closely with the client to develop a solution on SharePoint 2010 to meet their needs. The application focus was on delivering functionality completeness within an easy-to-navigate structure.
The capabilities of SharePoint 2010 allowed for tools to record notes about dealer meetings, share any documents related to the dealer, and record follow-up tasks and/or events. User experience was an ever-present requirement.  Audience targeting was used to help individuals with different roles filter through information within a busy business environment.  Targeting also influenced site navigation and a light styling was applied to aid page navigation.
The automaker has experienced a high user adoption with this solution, already having input a couple thousand records. Their field reps love how easy the solution is to use, and it looks as though the solution will only get bigger enterprise wide.
Congrats to the Perficient team who worked on this solution!

Collaboration platforms, like SharePoint, have become key assets inside any organization. Utilizing portals to share documents, calendars, lists, and resources are no longer a luxury, but a necessity within organizations. I know our team couldn’t live without our SharePoint site- it’s by far the easiest way for us to connect on our projects and make sure we are on the same page (both literally and figuratively).
While SharePoint is a great tool to use internally, it’s also an amazing platform when it resides outside the firewall, where collaboration can exist between partners, vendors, and customers. Creating portals to promote collaboration outside of your immediate organization not only enhances efficiency, but relationships as well.
In our upcoming webinar series “Thinking Outside the Firewall with SharePoint”, Perficient will share with you the many ways SharePoint can be utilized to connect your business with the organizations you collaborate with on a daily basis.
We’ll be kicking off our series on January 24^th with an Extranets webinar. Extranets connect organizations to employees, partners, vendors and customers and provide a secure, engaging and personalized interaction with people, information, applications and business processes. With the proper strategy in place, extranets can provide a strong competitive advantage, reduce costs and ultimately foster business growth.
Perficient’s SharePoint Extranets Webinar is a must attend event for organizations looking to:

• Reduce supply chain      inefficiencies
• Interact with your loyal customer      base
• Extend customer self service      strategies
• Share business resources with      partners
• Enable mobile capabilities
• Extend remote employee access

Join Perficient’s SharePoint experts for this informative webinar to discuss extranet capabilities, best practices, and use cases. Register today!
 
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the “Thinking Outside the Firewall” series:
 
February 21, 2012- Internet Sites
 
April 3, 2012- Search
 
See you outside the firewall!

I’m sure you’ve heard a lot over the years about SharePoint- it’s an amazing platform that allows organizations to connect in an unprecedented way. While I could write about SharePoint and tell you all the reasons why my colleagues and I think it’s the best thing since sliced bread, it’s always a lot better when we have customers that want to do the talking for us.
But before I let someone else do the talking, let me give you a little background…
Perficient has been working with LatinWorks, an advertising agency located in Austin, TX, to help them reinvent how they collaborate internally. Ad agencies aren’t known for being particularly forward-thinking when it comes to the world of technology, so LatinWorks was definitely breaking new industry ground when they approached our team about their collaboration needs.
When our team heard their dilemma, we knew there was only one solution- SharePoint. Working closely with the LatinWorks team, Perficient created a state-of-the-art intranet solution on SharePoint 2010 that allows the agency to share projects, connect via SharePoint social networking features, and ultimately provide employees with a central location for company information necessary to do their jobs.
Recently LatinWorks’ CFO, Hector Silva, spoke with Tim Williams about the solution and how it’s being used within LatinWorks. To read the blog post for an in-depth look at this innovative solution, click here.
Needless to say, the LatinWorks team is thrilled with the SharePoint solution Perficient created, and we look forward to continuing to break new ground with Microsoft technologies.