Application Development Case Studies

Microsoft Office SharePoint Pilot and Implementation

In the field of Oil & Gas Exploration, there is a lot of data to manage, organize, and have processed by the right people.

For a worldwide company in this space, leveraging resources over geographically separate sites and getting the right people the right data can be a daunting task. Treadstone Consulting’s group of engineers was tasked with assessing the client’s needs, then designing and implementing a pilot for an enterprise portal based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. This portal would serve as a central launch point and access point for company resources and services.

Our first task was to assess the requirements of the users, of management, and of the network. Through interviews with key client personnel and an in-depth review of the systems, applications, and architecture of the network, Treadstone’s engineers were able to formulate a list of requirements that the final solution must meet. From those requirements, the initial pilot portal was designed. The physical and logical architecture of the solution was carefully planned and documented to provide a high degree of resilience and to ensure interoperability with existing systems and services.

The pilot systems were then implemented and client staff was able to put the system through its paces. The final solution allowed users to access corporate email, shared workspaces and documents regardless of physical location, document control and versioning, and through its integration with Active Directory, the information and services were available to the users through a single sign-on to the network.

After the initial success of the pilot, Treadstone developed the project plan for enterprise implementation and the fully developed solution was put into production.

.Net with SQL 2005 Backend Intranet Application

Our client, who is the world’s leading provider of solid expandable technology for the energy industry, was in need of a solution that would provide the legal department the flexibility to act autonomously when collecting and gathering data through a secure web interface while providing access in a secure environment. Treadstone Consulting’s Systems Architects were tasked with building a Web services application to speed the discovery process; and ensure that the new infrastructure properly incorporated existing systems and could also scale easily in the future for robust and reliable operation.

Our first task was to assess the requirements of the users, Management, and of the network. A solution to the situation required the creation of a centralized user end database and secure web interface. Microsoft SQL Server 2005 was chosen as the database solution because of its enhanced security, reliability and manageability, SQL Server Reporting Service and advanced data mining capability. The interface into the database was developed using Microsoft .NET technology because it provided faster time to market, flexibility and scalability, reduced vulnerability to application security threats and ease of maintenance.

The new web interface was then implemented and the staff began putting the system through its paces. The final solution allowed users access to a visually rich and practical Web-based application that collected and gathered data based on numerous search criteria. As a result, Treadstone enhanced the client’s ability to analyze, find and define data; enhanced internal efficiency and improved total cost of ownership from centralizing collection efforts and reduced redundancy.