What does teaming up with SydneyPLUS mean to Inmagic users in the UK?

SydneyPLUS just announced it has partnered with Inmagic to deploy local support services to UK based Inmagic clients.

Teaming up with SydneyPLUS last fall has allowed Inmagic to begin expanding the products and services offered to its clients. Historically, Inmagic delivered software and services in the UK through its resellers and partners. Moving away from this approach, in February it setup shop in the SydneyPLUS UK branch offices and began to deliver free library and technical support to all local Inmagic users – a benefit that was greatly appreciated given the number of inbound calls received.

Delivering local support in the UK is one of a number of benefits to come out of the SydneyPLUS Inmagic partnership and users can also expect to feel the SydneyPLUS difference in other ways. Already the teams working on DB/Text, Genie and Presto have been expanded to accelerate the development of new features. With this newly gained momentum, Inmagic has just released the new DB/Text for SQL v13 and also committed to shortly releasing both Genie v3.5 and Presto v3.9 as well as new DB/TextWorks and WebPublisher service packs.

Aside from Inmagic, other KM companies such as CuadraSTAR, Questor Systems, and LookUP Precision are also receiving the benefits of being affiliated with SydneyPLUS. The ability to go to a single vendor capable of meeting all of one’s KM needs has an inherent economic and business value that librarians recognize and want.

For Inmagic and its UK library community, being affiliated with SydneyPLUS has clearly opened the door to a greater variety of KM products and cost effective services. For further information about SydneyPLUS or any of its affiliates, email sales@sydneyplus.com with your questions.

Inmagic Joins The SydneyPLUS Group of Companies

SydneyPLUS International, provider of Library KM software and solutions to Fortune 1000 companies, top law firms and government institutions has announced the acquisition of Inmagic's special library business. Inmagic, a pioneer in information management solutions, is known for its large customer base in special libraries, government agencies, commercial organizations, associations, and other non-profits. The library portion of the business includes Inmagic's DB/Text(R) Library Suite of products: DB/TextWorks(R), DB/Text(R) WebPublisher Pro, and Inmagic(R) Genie.

The addition of Inmagic's special library business to SydneyPLUS will extend SydneyPLUS' leadership position in knowledge management and library automation software markets. Phillip Green, former Inmagic, Inc. CTO, will join SydneyPLUS and lead the new division. He will be joined by Inmagic's co-founder Karen Brothers and other core members of Inmagic's special library team of sales, customer support, and engineering staff to form the new SydneyPLUS Inmagic division.

"We are thrilled about joining the SydneyPLUS family," said Phillip Green. "We share a commitment to long-term healthy and productive relationships with customers. We look forward to exploiting the synergies of our combined organizations to accelerate development, enhance customer service, and continue delivering world-class products to our global customer base."

"We at SydneyPLUS welcome everyone in the DB/Text and Genie communities to the SydneyPLUS family. Having our combined customer bases under one roof has been a long-time goal of mine," stated Ron Aspe, President of SydneyPLUS. "Inmagic and SydneyPLUS have long served similar markets, and I believe the combined expertise of both our companies will yield compelling solutions that will bring opportunity, innovation, and more choice to all."

The new Inmagic will continue to protect and reward its customers' investment in Inmagic products by adding new features and capabilities, as well as new applications. SydneyPLUS and its new Inmagic division remain dedicated to maintaining and increasing the qualities that their customers have come to expect--technical innovation, exceptional service, ease of use, outstanding reliability, and a lifelong reputation for integrity.

As part of this transaction, SydneyPLUS acquired the Inmagic trademark, which is strongly associated with the special library market. However, Inmagic, Inc. retains and will continue to market and sell its award-winning Presto technology and its products, Presto KnowledgeNet, Presto AssociatioNet, and Presto IdeaNet. Inmagic, Inc. will continue to use the Inmagic name until such time as a new company name is established.

Additionally, the companies are announcing a strategic partnership to co-market and support Inmagic's Presto for Social Libraries which is a Social Knowledge Network (SKN) application that integrates library workflow with knowledge-based content and the "wisdom of the community" to create a "Library 2.0" environment to support the research and business objectives of organizations.

"This is an extremely positive outcome for Inmagic's large base of library customers and business partners around the world," said Ron Matros, CEO of Inmagic, Inc. "SydneyPLUS has a long and successful history in the special library and knowledge management market and is a great home for Inmagic's library solutions business." For more information about Inmagic, visit www.Inmagic.com.

The SydneyPLUS Group of companies also includes, Incite Software Solutions, LawPort, Cuadra Associates, Inc, Questor Systems and Lookup Precision.

SydneyPLUS Continues to Expand and Seeks Knowledge Management Consultant

SydneyPLUS International is expanding and wants to hire a Knowledge Management Consultant. And the job title reflects your many responsibilities here!

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

Responsibilities:
As a librarian you know that the ultimate aim of our profession is to put the right information into the hands of the people when they need it. This is what SydneyPLUS KM software does. With our software you can play an integral part in the KM success of many of today’s top companies.

Working alongside our team of expert KM librarians you, as SydneyPLUS Knowledge Management Consultant, will be responsible for interviewing, researching and gaining a full understanding of client specific KM problems and then utilizing your creativity, ingenuity and in-depth understanding of our in-house software solutions will design, implement and roll out custom KM solutions. Leveraging your solutions within their organization, your clients will be able to maximize efficiency, help reduce costs and offer seamless enterprise access to their knowledge resources. Candidates must also be able to carry out sales and training support. These include,

• Conduct product demonstrations and customer training sessions on all SydneyPLUS products and capabilities



• Work with Sales and Marketing team to prepare and deliver unique software solution demonstrations



• Consult with and advise customers on training and implementation process issues



• Work with in-house team and managers to resolve problems



• Stay abreast of SydneyPLUS product development and the Knowledge Management Industry



• Always be learning

Requirements:
You have an MLIS degree, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, can work effectively with a variety of people in a variety of situations and possess a commitment to superior customer service. International travel required.
Salary:
Salary commensurate with capabilities.
Contact:
Your resume and accompanying letter can be sent on-line to mmaslowski@sydneyplus.com or Faxed to 604-278 9161.
We thank all candidates for their applications; however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

ALA launches the S+ CE module

ALA recently launched the SydneyPLUS Continuing Education (CE) module to further the professional development of its staff. The following post is derived from the December 2010 SydneyPLUS Client NewsLetter article available from the SydneyPLUS website.

Founded on October 6, 1876 during the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the American Library Association was created to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

ALA succeeded in making it easier for the presenter and attendees to manage registrations. Described by ALA as “intuitive,” the SydneyPLUS CE module allows staff to register for courses through a “single click workflow,” which generates an e-mail confirming the registration to staff, along with notification by e-mail to the presenter of the number of seats left.

The SydneyPLUS CE module automatically manages a wait list on behalf of the presenter. As the number of registrations exceeds the number of seats available in the class, participants are wait-listed in order of registration. Any cancellation by a registrant frees up a space and the next person on the wait-list is enrolled and notified by e-mail.

SydneyPLUS provides more than a library system to ALA in that the SydneyPLUS Information Manager is used as the organization’s internal Knowledge Management System. SydneyPLUS CE is the latest initiative, which joins these other projects:

• SydneyPLUS Calling Tree (i.e. a hierarchical representation of staff used to ensure proper communication of important news throughout the organization)
• SydneyPLUS Expertise Management (i.e. staff can describe their expertise and skills to ensure the organization makes best use of them)
• SydneyPLUS Virtual Reference (i.e. a virtual reference desk that automatically routes requests to experts in the organization)

How has ALA accomplished so much using SydneyPLUS? The secret to the successful partnership has been to invest in training, consultation, and even more training. In the last four years ALA has trained five times with SydneyPLUS: three times at SydneyPLUS headquarters and twice onsite at ALA.

SNUG 2010 Virtual Conference

This year’s Sept 20 2010 SNUG (SydneyPLUS National Users Group) meeting was held as a virtual meeting for the second year in a row. The following post is derived from a full press release available from the SydneyPLUS website.

SNUG sessions started with a focus on reporting with a Crystal reports primer that showed how users can start creating their own reports, how they can enhance existing out-of-the-box reports and how they can best leverage their own data for reporting. The meeting’s focus then shifted to a review of how to make best use of Information Manager version 4.1.1. Among the many options explored during the review where; how to enhance a portal database with book jacket covers, how to access a collection via a mobile device and to how to generate reports with the portal’s own built in Report Writer. The final session of the meeting provided case study examples of innovative Information Manager Implementations. The examples showed how IM can be used to apply “terms of use control” by having users enter their network credentials before accessing sensitive corporate reports and how existing IM functionality can be calibrated to manage all aspects of electronic information subscriptions.

SydneyPLUS clients can further network by visiting the client supported SNUG wiki at https://snug.pbworks.com . They are also welcome to follow SydneyPLUS through Twitter at http://twitter.com/sydneyplus.

SydneyPLUS Seeks Librarian Consultant

SydneyPLUS International is looking to hire a Librarian Sales Support / Training Consultant. And the job title reflects your many responsibilities here!

SydneyPLUS employs several librarians, so we asked them, "What do you like about your job?"

1. SydneyPLUS International's headquarters are located in beautiful Richmond, British Columbia and its neighbor, Vancouver, BC is ranked as the top Canadian city for quality of life.

2. SydneyPLUS also has librarians working in many top locations, such as New York, Nottingham (UK), etc. and it is an experience to work with staff around the world.

3. SydneyPLUS clients range from governments to corporations to non-profits, and every industry is represented by our clients, which allows us to meet experts in every field.

4. SydneyPLUS has supported special libraries, archives, and museums for thirty years, and many staff have worked in the company for all of these years.

SydneyPLUS SharePoint Web Part

If your organization is pursuing SharePoint integration and implementation for the library, then you may want a range of options for that integration, including the best choice: a Web Part.







Based on the SydneyPLUS Information Manager platform, SydneyPLUS has supported integration with SharePoint through a number of measures to the extent that it has designed a Web Part specifically for providing access to any SydneyPLUS data through SharePoint.

The SydneyPLUS Web Part may be the best choice for clients using SharePoint for many reasons which we will discuss here. Before we outline the benefits of the Web Part, there are other measures available to clients that provide access to SydneyPLUS data through SharePoint:

· SydneyPLUS RSS Generator can publish RSS feeds for display in SharePoint.
· SharePoint BDC can also query the SydneyPLUS database.

Editor's note: The SharePoint BDC (Business Data Catalog) is also known as the Business Connectivity Services in SharePoint 2010.

SydneyPLUS Web Part capabilities:

1. The SydneyPLUS Web Part is easily configured by librarians. The SydneyPLUS Web Part is configurable to allow your administrator to determine what should be shown:

· Administrators can select any table and fields.
· Administrators can query using a search screen designed for librarians.
· Web Part uses the familiar SydneyPLUS Information Manager user interface.






2. The user does not have to leave SharePoint to interact with the library.

A number of actions are available to your users through the Web Part, which means that they will appreciate the convenience of staying on SharePoint.

· Users can renew items checked out in SydneyPLUS from SharePoint.
· Users can request items from SydneyPLUS through SharePoint.
· Users can search the SydneyPLUS database directly.

3. The SydneyPLUS Web Part can display relevant data based on user identity.

An important feature of the SydneyPLUS Web Part is its ability to display data that is specific to a user.

· Display resources specific to the person's department, office, etc.
· Display a list of journals that are being routed to the person.
· Display a list of requests made by that person.


If you have questions and want to find out more about SydneyPLUS SharePoint Web Part feel free to contact us at 604 278 6717 or email sales@sydneyplus.com

Editor's note: SydneyPLUS also provides intranets and extranets for law firms, and a competitive intelligence solution on the SharePoint platform.

If you would like to learn more about the extent of library-related vendors supporting SharePoint integration, then read this article:

Weldon, Lorette S.J. How is SharePoint used in Libraries? FUMSI, August 2010, online:
http://web.fumsi.com/go/article/use/4714