HCS Business Solutions recognised as finalist in 2014 Microsoft Small Business Partner Awards

Neil Phelan, HCS Business Solutions and Ciaran Keohane, SMB Group Lead Ireland, Microsoft

HCS Business Solutions was recently announced as a finalist in the 2014 Microsoft Small Business Partner Awards. The company was honoured among a global field of top Microsoft Corporation partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

Based in Waterford’s Cleaboy Business Park, HCS which employs 20 staff, held off stiff competition as more than 3,200 entries were received from 112 countries. 

In total there were 46 awards celebrating each of the core partner competencies, including cloud technology; Windows 8, Office and SharePoint applications; public sector; citizenship; sales excellence; and many more.  The award finalists and winners were selected from a group of nominations based on their commitment to customers, their solutions’ market impact and exemplary use of Microsoft technologies.

Director of HCS Business Solutions, Mr. Neil Phelan was delighted that the company was awarded such a prestigious accolade. “It’s a wonderful tribute for HCS to receive.  We became Microsoft’s first Gold Small Business partner in Ireland just two years ago, so to be recognised as a finalist on Microsoft’s global platform is a resounding endorsement of the team’s work here in Waterford and Dublin.”

“The criteria for the category were quite extensive, however we demonstrated that HCS has been proficient in embracing Microsoft services and providing innovative I.T. solutions to our clients which are, primarily, SMB’s across the whole of Ireland.”

“Microsoft’s core competencies differentiate them from any other competitor and as part of the Microsoft framework, HCS embraces those competencies, offers technological innovation, sales and service support, whilst all the while developing and building relationships with our customers.”

Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp added, “Microsoft’s success as a company depends on great partners, and HCS Business Solutions is a shining example of the kind of innovation our partner ecosystem drives year after year.”

“We are honoured to recognise HCS Business Solutions as this year’s finalist of the 2014 Microsoft Small Business Partner award, and we applaud the team at HCS in their dedication to providing innovative solutions that drive results for our mutual customers.”

HCS Business Solutions will be represented at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, which is the annual, global convergence of Microsoft’s top partners, in Washington D.C. from July 13th to 17th.

For further details about the software, infrastructure and IT services HCS Business Solutions provides visit www.hcs.ie or call 051 595200 or 01 873 4120.

HCS Business Solutions to announce series of free Microsoft Office training workshops for 2014

HCS Business Solutions, Microsoft’s first Gold Small Business partner in Ireland, plans to announce a new series of free Microsoft Office training workshops in 2014.

The free practical, hands-on training workshops entitled “A New World of Work” are designed to give small business managers, owners and business decision makers the opportunity to “test drive” the new suite of Microsoft technologies including Office 365, Sharepoint and Windows 8 across phone, tablet and PC.

According to Neil Phelan, Director, HCS Business Solutions, the decision to roll out further workshops in 2014 was based on the popularity of the current tranche.

“We have been delighted with the response to these training workshops.  Since they were announced in late September, the workshops in Waterford, Kilkenny and Dublin were fully subscribed within days.”

“That is why we made the decision to conduct a further series of “A New World of Work” workshops in 2014.  It goes to show that businesses today, regardless of their size or number of employees, are conscious of addressing the ever changing work – life balance.  How we work and interact with our colleagues and clients remotely has an effect on productivity, efficiencies and the bottom line.”

Michelle Casey, Pre Qualification Manager, Winthrop Engineering, attended one

of the New World of Work training workshops recently. “The course was practical and applicable to many of the situations and scenarios I encounter every day”, she said.

“Before, some of these scenarios would have seemed problematic and disruptive, however working with the Office 365 range of features made these problems insignificant.  Also because the course was conducted on a wide suite of platforms such as tablet, PC and smartphone it was easy to see how Winthrop

Engineering Ltd. could benefit through implementing these technological developments without any major outlay.”

Mr. Phelan added, “These training workshops examine how our approach to technology must change as we work increasingly on the move and away from the office.  By introducing day to day scenarios participants are able to understand how these new productivity tools and technologies can enhance their business.”

For further details of the HCS New World of Work Training workshops for 2014 visit www.hcs.ie or call 051 595200.

HCS Business Solutions to deliver free Microsoft Office training workshops

HCS Business Solutions will host a series of free Microsoft Office 365 workshops over the coming months.

The free practical, hands-on training workshops entitled “A New World of Work” will be delivered in Waterford, Kilkenny and Dublin in October, November and December.

According to Neil Phelan, Director of HCS Business Solutions, the premise of these practical workshops is to give small business managers, owners and business decision makers the opportunity to “test drive” the new suite of Microsoft technologies including Office 365, Sharepoint and Windows 8 across phone, tablet and PC.

Mr. Phelan commented, “How we work is being challenged with our work-life balance evolving.  The future of productivity is about how our approach to technology is changing, how we are increasingly working on the move and how the idea of the office as the primary work location is no longer accepted as the conventional norm.”

“The New World of Work workshops will enable attendees to address and assess their changing circumstances and discover the right solutions for their businesses. Participating in the workshops is the best way to learn about the business productivity tools and technologies for your business and is designed to be interactive, experiential, and fun.”

Mr. Phelan added that the benefits are manifold.  “Pre-empting the new direction in work practices and implementing a strategy to accommodate these changes has been proven to lead to increased productivity, better efficiencies and even a more content workforce. “

“With new technologies it is now possible to be connected anywhere, at any time and we can be as effective at home, at the airport or even waiting for a taxi”, Mr. Phelan added.

The series of free three hour training workshops will take place at HCS Business Solutions, Waterford on October 11^th, October 25^th and December 13^th, Castleknock Hotel and Country Club, Dublin on November 7^th and December 5^th and Kilkenny’s Ormonde Hotel on November 21^st.

As the first Microsoft Partner in Ireland to achieve the new Microsoft Gold Small Business competency, HCS is also the first company to roll out this new free training initiative.

Places are limited and early booking is essential.  To book your New World of Work training place, visit www.hcs.ie or call 051 595200.

Microsoft MD urges Waterford businesses to take their share of opportunities from Cloud computing

Microsoft MD, Paul Rellis, proved to be a big attraction amongst Waterford businesses as almost 100 people attended a business briefing entitled “The Future is the Cloud.”

The event was sponsored by Waterford based HCS Business Solutions and co-hosted with Waterford Chamber of Commerce.

Cloud computing has been prevalent in the news recently as it has the potential to create almost 20,000 new jobs over the next decade in Ireland. The impact report, carried out by Goodbody Economic Consultants for Microsoft Ireland claims that Ireland is perfectly poised to capture "a disproportionately large" share of the global cloud market, which is estimated to be worth around €70bn by 2014.

Paul Rellis said that cloud computing will give huge opportunities to individuals and companies alike. “The power of computing that was once the preserve of large organisations can now be used by every organisation of every size. Cloud computing is a new industry that Ireland can take advantage of very quickly. The technology space changes so rapidly but this is a transformation that will be sustainable over the next couple of decades.”

Mr. Rellis added “If Waterford businesses concentrate on developing competencies in cloud computing, perhaps working with the Waterford Institute of Technology to develop those competencies there is nothing to stop the huge opportunities available in job creation.”

“It is up to the civic authorities, institutes of technologies and so on to try and make a difference here. There is no reason they can’t be more successful in Waterford than in any other part of the country.”

Neil Phelan, Director of HCS Business Solutions, which a certified Microsoft Partner, added the future is undoubtedly cloud computing.

“Technology has moved on so quickly. We moved from mainframe computing in the 70’s, to PC’s in the 80’s, the Internet and .com era of the 90’s and noughties, and now leveraging on the internet era the cloud is set up to take a big leap over the next decade.”

“Although some questions arise around challenges to adopting cloud services security will inevitably be a concern. Just like the internet era consumers and business people were afraid to use their credit cards on-line or do their banking on-line in the early days, now it is the norm. This same pattern will inevitably occur to the use of cloud based services for businesses.”

Mr. Phelan added that most companies and consumers are already using some form of cloud technologies and may not consider themselves as being cloud users. Services such as Online Backup and Remote Email Filtering are cloud based technologies that are being utilised already by many companies.

There may be Clouds, but the future looks clear for Waterford’s Businesses

Waterford native and MD of Microsoft Ireland, Paul Rellis, will address the region’s businesses on the future of “cloud computing” and the advances being made by Microsoft in this area.

The business briefing entitled “The Future is the Cloud” is supported by Waterford IT company, HCS Business Solutions and Waterford Chamber and will take place in the Tower Hotel at 8.30am on Wednesday, February 16^th.

Paul Rellis was appointed Managing Director of Microsoft Ireland in December 2007. As MD he is responsible for Microsoft Corporation’s business in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and also represents Microsoft on all strategic policy and communications issues in Ireland.

Prior to being appointed MD, Paul was the Managing Director for Microsoft’s European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Operations Centre, based in Sandyford, Co. Dublin. His role includes overseeing Microsoft's channel partners, supply chain, finance and order management across the region. The EMEA Operations Centre services 131 countries across five time zones. Previously, he held the position of Finance Director for Microsoft Operations in EMEA and Asia-Pacific.

One of the most recent exciting developments in the IT sector has been the shift towards cloud computing, which ultimately has a simple purpose; it allows end users to securely leverage the Internet for application use, data storage, and other tools. Coupled with this, cloud options are more cost effective, there is no need for on site backup and no more costs associated with managing IT infrastructure.

According to Neil Phelan, Sales Director, HCS Business Solutions, there is huge anticipation ahead of the “cloud” amongst local SME’s. Mr. Phelan commented, “Cloud computing is, undoubtedly, the way forward and is being welcomed by companies of all sizes. Cloud computing will give users a more reliable, remote and transparent IT service resulting in greater uptime and more business stability, which in these tough times is crucial.”

Mr. Phelan added “As Certified Microsoft Partners HCS Business Solutions is delighted that Paul Rellis will join us to address Waterford’s business community about the significance of cloud computing and the huge commitment Microsoft is making to online services.”

Microsoft first opened its doors in Ireland in 1985 with a small manufacturing facility employing just over one hundred people. Since that time, Microsoft Ireland has grown to encompass four distinct operations at its campus in Sandyford in Dublin, employing over 1,200 full time employees and 700 full-time contract staff.

“The Future is the Cloud” briefing will take place in the Tower Hotel on Wednesday, February 16^th at 8.30am. This event is free. For further information or to book your place call Sheila Quinn at Waterford Chamber on 051 872639 or email sheila.quinn@waterfordchamber.ie