As I’m sure a few of you are aware, when Concerto heard that Dave Drew (former user of Concerto’s software from Telford and Wrekin Council) was planning to take on a mammoth 300 mile charity bike ride from London to Paris Concerto jumped at the opportunity to sponsor Dave on his journey.

As part of Dave’s latest training he cycled over to concerto’s office to say hello to the team. Here is Dave’s latest training update:

Welcome to anyone who may be following my training progress for my London to Paris bike ride in July.

Training over the past month has been difficult and sporadic due to our wonderful weather, after that short spell of warm summer conditions, summer kit and really good mileage, its back to the winter bike, kit and waterproofs.

During that nice weather I took the opportunity to visit the guys at Frodsham and thank them face to face for their sponsorship and support, I tried to take the scenic route from North Shropshire and avoid the A49 where possible and once or twice got a bit lost, resulting in frequent stops to consult the map, it was a good 80 mile ride, tough in places, but excellent none the less.

My recent training has been about grabbing what I can, when I can, some good long rides of 70 plus miles incorporating some really big hills around Church Stretton and Much Wenlock, those rides have been particularly hard, especially being on your own in poor conditions. I have interspersed these with some shorter faster rides of around 30 miles when I have had a good weather window.

I have done two club competitions time trials, the Hilly 19, which is 19 miles of up and down, just about the hardest thing I have ever done and the Battlefield 25, which is straight down the A49 from Prees to Shrewsbury and back again and for those who know that stretch of road, it is not exactly flat, it was tough to say the least and I think I was the only one riding a standard road bike without Tri-bars.

Sponsorship is going well, I’ve reached my first target of nearly £700 and have got quite a lot still to collect, which will happen after the event. We (my family) attended a car boot and made £80, and we have a cake sale this Wednesday and at our local Secondary School College, so things are progressing OK, but could always do with more.

It’s now only about two and half months to the ride and even with the training so far I am confident about completing the ride in reasonable shape, my targets are to increase the mileage and frequency of my rides and to still incorporate some shorter faster high intensity rides.

Anyone who wants more information or would like to sponsor me please contact me through email at drew5lt@btinternet.com

As the charity ‘Action Medical Research’ focuses its work on Children and babies their saying for this ride is ‘WE SUFFER SO THEY DON’T HAVE TO’

Thanks

Dave Drew

Successful transformation of local government is well underway, driven in the main by a need to cut costs and be more efficient whilst engaging effectively with stakeholders in the community. It’s clear there are no roadmaps for such transformation or change programmes and it probably hasn’t happened on quite this scale for some time, if ever. However, councils have no choice – they must adapt to their financial situations and make the relevant changes to their operations, but how can they ensure and measure success?

Every council is different – each being responsible for putting its own house in order; and that means there is no one uniform way of doing things. Many will have already had to scale back on staff and budgets and will be looking for new ways to do things, but there is commonality across local government - they are all looking at ways of transforming what they do for the better and considering new ways of working to achieve higher aims, broken down into programmes to achieve those goals.

Measuring success is probably the most difficult part of the jigsaw puzzle. Often programmes for change are managed on a project basis with a team being formed to transform a given area. Once that project is complete and the team disperses, how is success measured in the future? For example, a council that has the aim of ‘making the borough safer’ may undertake a project of installing CCTV cameras. A project team is created, the project is undertaken and the cameras installed, and the project team disperses having completed its task. But at what point do people in the borough feel safer, or does the crime rate drop thanks to the newly installed cameras – this could be several years down the line – and just how is this measured?

Looking to technology

As part of their transformation programmes, many councils have looked to technology to aid in the measurement of the success of projects undertaken. Aside from the ability to evaluate success by setting and measuring against key performance indicators, technology also provides continuity after project teams have completed their aims and moved on. Successful transformation is being achieved by utilising recognised management tools – project management software is an enabler of transformation in many local councils at present.

It’s important to clarify outcomes from the beginning of any project knowing what the council wants to achieve so that it may be recorded at the outset and measured against at completion and beyond. When undertaking large scale transformation, recognition that a consistent method of reporting and governance is key throughout the projects and programmes ensures that success can be measured long after the project has been implemented.

In July 2010, for example, Wirral Council created a Strategic Change Programme to improve its project management efficiency requiring flexible user accounts across different geographical locations allowing task and resource management for over 150 team members. Wirral was clear about its requirements for workflow. Having implemented Concerto Projects it can visibly monitor progress of current and future projects and effectively schedule changes and manage risks within its change programme. Each project is undertaken to achieve the higher aim of change – and each project can be controlled and monitored to make sure that goal is met now and in future.

As we know, the political landscape can change as often as every four years and with each successive new government, policies and budgets change, but standing still is not an option and councils must prioritise.

Technology provides some consistency in a changing landscape - and even better, means that goals may still be met but can also be measured.

We run automated nightly builds of our SVN managed release candidate code for the Concerto application.

Just today it was noticed that these builds were now failing, so I had to babysit a compile as the original author of all the compilation scripts.

The error which our compilation server was hitting was SVN Propfind Request Failed on [checkout path] with Internal Server Error.

Now the only thing that had changed was we had deployed a new Corporate Anti-Virus solution to our Servers.  In this instance we have migrated to ESET NOD32 Antivirus. 

I had configured the Exclusions, however turns out that http and https scanning were both operating, naturally as requests to our SVN repo’s hit through Apache then the finger was pointing at this.

Turns out this was indeed the problem, excluding the relevant incoming IP’s did the trick.  So one thing to check when experiencing this error is the antivirus software running on the apache server, granting access to the SVN repo.

Concerto are pleased to announce the arrival of our latest software module, Concerto Business Planning. Concerto Business Planning is the only software of its kind that enables users to seamlessly interlink their business plans and their day to day projects to result in precise and up-to-the-minute business planning data. 

Concerto Business Planning has been designed to add the extra dimension to your project and business planning. Working in conjunction with Concerto Projects, Concerto Business Planning enables users to plan out their business goals, set objectives, set KPIs and associate risks to your business plan. Unlike other business planning software, Concerto Business Planning then incorporates in Concerto Projects and allows users to continue to manage their business plan seamlessly through automated reports and integrated financial tracking modules.

Concerto’s Business Planning Module is a standalone module but has been primarily designed in conjunction with Concerto Projects. For more information on Concerto Projects please click here.

Often Support and Implementation staff find themselves in a position where they have to find technical solutions which do not involve a coding resource.  One of the sets of tools that can often be leveraged are the SQL Server stand alone command line tools.

Previously I thought that a computer bloating install of Enterprise Management Studio was required, but Microsoft (god love them) have published multiple feature packages for SQL Server 2008 which can be installed separately, as you require.

These are under the umbrella name of the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Feature Pack and yes, where relevant the tools are backwardly compatible with earlier versions.

For more information and to download click this link.

Concerto has created a new interface for elements of both the projects and asset solution for use on mobile phones, such as IPhones or Android mobiles. The new interface will allow users of elements of both solutions the ability to make changes to key elements of the data.

The mobile interface will enable Concerto users much better access to the system, even on the move. As with the main system the user will need access to the internet to be able to use the mobile module.
Functionality includes the ability to access and update project activities, view and update helpdesk calls, record time via the mobile timesheet application. Access to individual activities and tasks is also available through the new modules.

For a closer look, have a look for yourself at http://isupport.concerto.co.uk/login/new

For information on Concerto Sites or Concerto Projects please click respectively or to contact us on how to start using the new mobile site click here.

Quick reports is a new additional reporting feature to the existing report modules, it has been designed to enable users to create simple reports quickly and effectively. The feature allows users to create both simple and complex reports ‘on the fly’ and use again and again.

The aim of the new quick report feature is to allow users of the Concerto system the ability to create and save everyday reports with minimal effort and time. The quick report options are simpler than the more advanced reporting module and allow users to ‘drag and drop’ report fields to create fast analysis of the system data.

Quick reports offer the user a broad analysis of all of their project and property data very quickly, which can be vital to help improve decision making and time management.

For more information on our system please take a look at Concerto Projects and Concerto Sites or Contact Us for more information.

Web based project management software helps extensively in culmination of a specific task that requires organised predefined start and an organised closure. Every project is initiated with a particular goal and an objective. This includes primarily the data that is researched so as to look organised and so that the haphazard collection seems like a disciplined one. Now, researching for the data as well as planning the appropriate use of available resources is highly essential. These are to be projected in the right direction so as to achieve ultimate success in the progression of the task. Web based project management software makes these tasks a lot easier for the researchers to handle.

Web based project management software helps in the processing of brainstorming, draws an error-free critical path analysis of flow charts and also contributes in plotting the graphs so as to evaluate all the possible risks. Manual set up and processing of the project might be very hectic and hence, web-based management systems prove to be of worthwhile help.

Web-based management systems help in the formation of all the required information. To cut short all the processed results for the researcher who is then able to select from the variety of data he/she might have in hand. It is via such systems that all projects are devoid of any error and are loaded with clarity. The reason behind this is that such systems help in the assortment of the most preferred information.

Also, if you want to see the successful completion of the project, web-based management software help on the processing of project specification document. This file helps in the approved information that has been laid out by the researcher and the client is satisfied with the content.

When it comes to the documentation of any project management, web-based project management software helps extensively in the framing of available references and the actual figures in relation to the estimated timeframe and cost.

Performance metrics too are evaluated and are an essential part of the completion of any project. Hence, via web based project management systems, management team is able to research a complete list of tasks that need to be focused on diligently. This helps in the formulation of corrective measures that can be of immense help in the long run. This means that web-based project management systems help in the supervision of every work that is being done and is contributing to the culmination of the project, and all teams are able to access the information as to whether it is error-free or needs any rectification.

Also, many a times, other team members contributing to the task need to be checked and re-checked as well. Web based management software help in this process of checking and evaluating the content that should be framed into the project.

Lastly, the content that is part of any research needs to be evaluated on corrective measures and web based management software helps the management team in doing so. It makes sure that the research has been appropriate, up to the mark, and all the required tasks are check listed without being overlooked at.

By Kevan Davey, Managing Director of Concerto Support Services

If you would like to take a look at Concerto Projects, our project management software, please click here.

Concerto have featured on Public Technology.net today as Kevan Davey, Concerto’s Managing Director, talks frankly about the challenge of getting the SME into government work.

The article is as below, if you would like to see the original article please go to Public Technology.net

‘The real reasons SMEs don’t bid for public sector work’
The Cabinet Office and the PM have spoken a lot recently about how SMEs and start up businesses have the ability to fuel the growth the UK needs to aid Britain’s recovery from the recession.

But from where I’m currently sat as an SME technology company that deals mainly with local authorities, as well intended as David Cameron may be, it’s clear that where the public sector is concerned, there are still many barriers to SMEs tendering for contracts. Current procurement practices still make it very difficult for SMEs to apply for and win government contracts.

The problem: many SMEs simply don’t have the knowledge of where to begin to tender, and in many cases the guidance from local authorities in terms of how to go about it, what you must have in place to be eligible to pitch in the first place and how to best present your company to stand any chance of success is hard to find on authority websites and not particularly helpful.

Complexity
I get weekly emails from private sector organisations who have realised that there is money to be made from this complexity and offer their services in the form of training courses to attend to learn how to pitch for public sector contracts. The fact that entrepreneurs have spotted a gap in the market place fuelling an entirely separate training industry around the complexity of public sector procurement clearly identifies that there is a problem with the current situation

The overall attitude to ‘risk aversion’ by public sector organisations is the single major hindrance to local authorities engaging with SMEs. It’s fair enough that local authorities, when spending tax payers money, want to know that it’s being spent “safely”; that companies with which it engages do not suddenly go out of business or where there are maintenance contracts, are doing their job safely and within Health & Safety guidelines, but there are varying degrees of risk which should be dealt with differently to each other. Should a company supplying stationery or installing a new technology system be subject to the same strict measures as an asbestos contractor for example? The criteria and tender process to supply paper clips, is currently the same as anything else even though the risks are enormously different. And it can take between three and six months to get a decision, sometimes longer. What SME with limited staff resources can afford to dedicate such an enormous amount of time to be rewarded with a standard sized contract?

This attitude to risk aversion is inhibiting SMEs from tendering for contracts in the first place; it seems too much effort for little reward at the end. Which brings me to the hoops that SMEs must jump through before being allowed to tender.

Many authorities insist that a company must have been in business for three years, and have three years worth of accounts to show. They require public indemnity insurance, employers insurance, recognised quality systems, as well as environmental policies as part of the initial assessment. In a recent bid I have been involved with the council required £10,000,000 worth of professional indemnity insurance for an IT contract worth £40,000. Another authority set a bar of companies having £1,000,000 turnover as a minimum requirement as part of the initial pre qualification assessment.

Until the Coalition alters the public sector’s attitude to risk and much of the red tape pre, during and post tender, SMEs will focus their attention on other private sector contracts which are decided faster, are often more lucrative and require much less employee time to bring to fruition.

For more information on Concerto Projects or Concerto Sites please click on respectively, otherwise contact us here

Training update for the big ride, generally going really well, as previously mentioned joining the local cycling club, North Shropshire Wheelers, has proved to be fantastic.

The Sunday club runs have been just about long enough for my targets and at a pace that should be perfect for the ride in July, plus it has got me used to riding in a group and sheltering in the pack when needed. This makes such a difference to your overall energy levels when riding for long periods, previous to this it has been long solo rides with no hiding from the conditions, especially the wind.

The last club run took us down to the South of the County, Church Stretton , and up and over the Long Mynd, absolutely fantastic, not a cloud in the sky, but very tough at times.

These clubs runs have now finished and its completion time for most of the guys, especially time trails, I hope to do some competitions aiming for the ‘Hilly 19’ in a couple of weeks, can’t say I am looking forward to it but I’ll give it a go.

My own devised training programme had me achieving 80 miles in one session by the end of February and thanks to the group that box is ticked, coupled with the mid-week rides I am hitting 150 to 200 hundred miles a week and feeling OK, most of the time!

Next target is 100 miles by the end of April and with the warmer weather coming that should be well within reach.

Dave Drew