Charity Migrates from Linux and Cuts Web Publishing to Just Seconds

Introduction

The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) wanted a Web environment for its staff and volunteers to share information effectively and deliver life-saving services on time. Microsoft® Partner Afkar Information Technology transferred the charity’s Linux-based portal and the intranet to a new solution based on Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007. As a result, the new content management system has increased employee productivity and internal collaboration.

Business Needs

QRCS provides social welfare and community care services that relieve human suffering caused by natural and man-made disasters. Headquartered in Doha, the charity operates worldwide with a focus on the Gulf region, and belongs to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, the world’s largest independent humanitarian organisation.

The backbone of QRCS is its workforce—thousands of volunteers working on different sites as well as 80 staff at its headquarters. In times of crisis they are responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and must be well organised and act in time to provide effective relief work. In turn, it is the organisation’s duty to help ensure that teams can access all the necessary resources, including procedures and policies on relief work and support from the head office.

The charity wanted to improve collaboration within the workforce through an online community-based presence, so that teams could communicate by using networking features such as blogs and videos, and have a common, accurate picture of any task. But the existing Web site, based on a Linux operating system, was judged unfit for the purpose. Mahmoud Albatarni, Head of IT at QRCS, explains: “We considered enhancing our Linux-based portal, but there were too many new elements to be added, and the previous system could not take the burden.

A new content management system was also required. Previously, it took at least two to three days to publish a document or add a new section. Finding relevant documents was time consuming and the system was unable to manage high volumes of data and the increasing number of users.

To do more than just publish information, we needed a Web solution that could expand easily and help employees collaborate, without having to follow any complex and time consuming content management processes,” says Albatarni.

Solution

In 2007, Albatarni’s team decided to replace the Web site and portal with a versatile content management system based on Office SharePoint Server 2007. “We chose Microsoft over other options such as Oracle suite and open source because of its content management capabilities and the possibility of integration with other technologies in the future,” says Albatarni.

QRCS signed a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement for low-cost volume licensing, and had talks with Afkar Information Technology, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Mamoun Eregat, Business Development Manager, Afkar Information Technology, says: “We understood the organisation’s online requirements and built a customised solution on Office SharePoint Server 2007 because it can manage all the additional social networking features easily.”

Mamoun Eregat, Business Development Manager, Afkar Information Technology, says: “We understood the organisation’s online requirements and built a customised solution on Office SharePoint Server 2007 because it can manage all the additional social networking features easily.”

Afkar built a single repository for all documents by using Microsoft SQL Server® 2005, and divided the project into two elements. First, an intranet to support collaboration within the organisation through features such as discussion forums and personalised employee profiles. With the enterprise search tool, users can quickly find information—policies, procedures, and expert advice on relief work—and provide life-saving services at the right time.

The other element is the new Web site supported by a state-of-the-art content management system. Now, authors can publish documents themselves, while content managers can use the versioning tool to track changes in documents, correct any mistakes, and keep the content up-to-date. External users can also interact more easily—prospective volunteers can register by completing an electronic form using Microsoft Office InfoPath® 2007. Online donors can calculate and pay Zakat, a mandatory charitable donation for all Muslims.

Afkar Information Technology deployed the system within 45 business days at the end of 2007. It also conducted intensive training sessions for the QRCS IT team and internal users on managing content and resolving technical issues. “The training focused on empowering business users to cater for day-to-day publishing requirements and keep the content up-to-the-minute,” says Eregat.

Benefits

The new system, based on Office SharePoint 2007, fulfils all online requirements of the charity—for the intranet as well as the Internet. It has opened up the possibility of interacting with the public through innovative channels such as online discussion groups and electronic registration forms. Plus, with the intranet, the charity can publish internal policies and procedures on time, and achieve better corporate governance. Albatarni says: “The solution is very easy to manage. Instead of days, content managers can now upload documents within a minute—within a second. That’s why we prefer Office SharePoint Server 2007—it helps us to do more.

The combination of the search tool and a single repository for all documents helps to ensure that accurate information is available on time, resulting in increased employee productivity.

By sharing knowledge on a regular basis through interactive channels such as wikis, teams are always well prepared to respond to any disaster in any part of the world. From being just a content publishing medium, the charity’s Web site is now an interactive portal that covers news on social welfare in and around Qatar. Anytime, anywhere in the world, representatives can post pictures and videos of themselves or disaster-struck places on the Web site, which help prospective volunteers to decide if they want to join a particular project.

Representatives all over the world have access to the charity’s online appointment calendar, which shows availability for meetings—for the next day, month, or year. Afkar customised the portal’s look and feel to the charity’s corporate and cultural image. Besides calculating Zakat for donors, the Web site can support users with text in both Arabic and English .

http://www.qrcs.org