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Case Study - Communities and Local Government
Latest Technology & Complex Integration
The core technology that was used for all these projects was the Alterian Morello Content Management System. A new area for Central Government Departments was the inclusion of Web2.0 features which included blogs, wikis, webchats and forums. These were all integrated seamlessly for registered users of the website and intranet using the excellent Community Server software and customising it to include wikis and webchats. This has successfully enabled CLG to reach out to communities in an engaging and open way which is an important part of the remit of this organisation.
The key challenges with the Intranet implementation centered on integration issues. In particular, a single sign-on solution was required that worked across user accounts for the network, CMS and Web 2.0 applications. This was achieved successfully and the solution even incorporates personalisation features so that users can create a dashboard with their favorite intranet services. Other features include a live news feed, an events facility, polls, quizzes, favorite links, and details of recently visited areas of the site.
An important area of functionality and content for the main website are the publications and consultations. A lot of functionality was built to process and display these documents in a usable way including poly-hierarchical navigation, multiple content categorisations and advanced search facilities along with the ability to set up forums to discuss specific consultations.
Effective Bespoke Development
The Info4local government portal is a bespoke application that utilises Mediasurface Morello's data model as a content repository. This system allows local government users to register their interests and subsequently receive email alerts if content is posted that reflects those interests. Information is posted by central government agencies using a custom built editorial interface. CLG authors save time by not having to use this interface as the content from the CLG website is automatically added to the portal. All the information is easily findable on the site and can be received by RSS feeds. The easy to use editorial interface is completely customised and wizard driven with rich powerful features for administrating the system and reporting. This system currently supports over 50,000 subscribers.
Reliable Ongoing Support
Further to the successful delivery of this project Digirati is providing ongoing application support and infrastructure management. The Digirati Support Helpdesk provides all the typical support service elements as detailed on our website http://www.digirati.co.uk/services/support.html. CLG were suitably impressed with Digirati services to sign up to a 2 year Service Level Agreement for Application Support.
Conclusion
Digirati successfully delivered the 4 tranches of work over the last 12 months for CLG. These systems are now live and working beyond original client expectations. The project is an example of Digirati's ability to:
- Deliver large-scale enterprise solutions on time and according to client expectations
- Conduct thorough research / stakeholder engagement
- Perform large scale content and website rationalisations
- Handle extensive content migrations
- Implement according to complex business processes and authoring environments
- Work with the latest technologies and successfully integrate them as required
- Create powerful bespoke applications
- Research and implement the latest technology
- Deliver enterprise system integrations
- Create long-term relationships with clients including managed support services
Further information
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