Silent Edge is a provider of sales performance consultancy. Over the past 10 years, Silent Edge has expanded the business rapidly as its reputation has grown. The pool of third-party consultants, products, and talent development programmes for sales people has increased, adding to the complexity of planning new initiatives and managing internal and external resources.
Debbie Grainge, Head of Programme Management Office, Silent Edge, says: “Our existing enterprise resource planning system was complex and inadequate for the changing needs of the business. We were struggling to get the right resources to the right place at the right time. The ideal solution would design, capture, select, and help deliver the right projects as well as giving senior managers greater visibility of performance. We also needed a toolset that could schedule sales skills development workshops to maximise resources and avoid overstaffing.”
Working with Microsoft Partner Program Framework, Silent Edge chose an enterprise project management solution using a combination of Project Server 2010, with supporting technologies including Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services. Excel Services in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 is also part of the solution. The new toolset helps the company maximise benefits from its existing Microsoft assets, which interoperate with Microsoft Project Server 2010. As a result, Silent Edge has realised significant productivity gains.
James Butler, Head of Client Services, Program Framework, says: “We could see that Silent Edge required a unified project and portfolio management system to support its delivery processes. Project Server 2010 fulfilled that need by helping the business get more value out of its existing management information.”
Silent Edge is now better positioned to ensure projects are completed on time and to the highest quality, increasing the potential for revenue growth.
With the improved reporting features, users can run and view reports through the user-friendly interface in around 10 seconds. Grainge says: “Previously, running reports took up to four hours. Now, with rapid reporting through Project Server 2010, we can satisfy large customers with demanding standards such as the BT Group.”
By automating the planning system for events and matching of resources to projects, Silent Edge expects to significantly lower its outgoings. Grainge says: “We can manage our people more effectively, help ensure that there’s no overstaffing, and complete projects on time with Microsoft Project Server 2010. This could achieve up to 80 per cent cost reductions in some instances.”
“Our job in the project management office is to have a bird’s eye view of the projects and ensure value for money. Issue, risk, and change management was streamlined with the centralised logging and reporting across all projects. It’s amazing what we can do with Project Server and this is just the beginning.”
Debbie Grainge, Head of Programme Management Office, Silent Edge
