Holdens Pave the way to Unified Communications with FirstClass

Holdens is one of a number of specialist dealers for Centrinity FirstClass and have been appointed an official Gold Channel Partner

These days nearly everyone uses e-mail to communicate, but what a lot of people don't realise, is that e-mail is just one method of working with others on-line. Centrinity's FirstClass Gold provides users with a customisable suite of on-line collaboration tools which can help users work more efficiently, while making them part of on-line communities. And best of all, FirstClass can be accessed on-line anywhere, anytime! FirstClass has been adopted by major corporations, and by large numbers of education organisations including Harvard. The Open University uses FirstClass to deliver its MBA programme globally and currently has over 100,000 users on its system. FirstClass is equally at home in education, commerce or in the professions where the movement of information is critical and time is precious.

FirstClass in Action

FirstClass is easy to use. The FirstClass client (which is small, multi-platform and free) can be installed on any computer. Even without the client, users can employ any web browser to access the server over the Internet, so wherever you are, you can access your mailbox, electronic files etc. via a series of folders, or 'conferences' which also act as a gateway to several online communities.

Personal Resources

From the desktop, you can publish your own website, or store URLs for future reference. You can also access stored electronic files - including e-mails, and any kind of document (sound, video, text, image files) stored on a central secure server.

Collaboration and On-line Communities

Users can enjoy membership of a number of on-line communities where they can share and gain knowledge by participating in on-line conferences and live chats. You needn't be on-line at the same time as colleagues to participate in an online discussion, as message threading allows you to follow on-line dialogue easily.

Knowledge Sharing

Rather than sending a message to a colleague or group of colleagues whose e-mail addresses you know, FirstClass means you can share information with, and seek advice from a wider group by posting a message to a designated conference. This can save on paper and staff time by disseminating information through the conferences.

Resources

Using the 'Resource Calendar' communal rooms and equipment can be booked on-line on a centrally stored calendar. Documents can be attached to appointments, so for example a meeting plan or training schedule could be appended for information. Schools and colleges could even deliver some course elements on-line. Homework assignments could be posted and received using this system for the ultimate in speed and convenience (and no more 'the dog ate my homework' excuses!).

Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere!

This type of on-line collaboration goes way beyond the traditional idea of e-mail. For any company with a mobile workforce, issues such as disseminating information, making remote users feel part of a real team, reducing levels of of technical support/training and the need for a dedicated hard drive, become issues of the past. Lost laptops need never mean lost data ever again!

For more information or to arrange a demonstration, contact Tim Whiteley. 01704 515117

Visit the Centrinity website at www.centrinity.com

KEY POINTS

• Although originally developed for the Macintosh, FirstClass is multi-platform and can sit in a mixed-platform environment (support for OSX is due in Spring 2001).
• As the system is so intuitive and on-line help/ tutorials can be provided through conferences, a minimal amount of training or support is required for both users and administrators.
• FirstClass is scaleable and can grow with your organisation. The largest current site hosts over 100,000 users on a single server.
• With its Rapid Application Developer tool (FirstClass RAD), bespoke applications can be developed quickly and easily - for example a FirstClass interface to an existing database.
• As user permissions are quick and simple to set, the server requires very little administration or maintenance.
• The total cost of ownership is very low compared with competitive products (small hardware requirement; low investment in terms of administration, training and support).