Does your business need better Reporting?

Many businesses require more detailed reporting from the business applications they use and are unable to find a solution that meets their needs.

To be successful in today's competitive marketplace, organisations need to better leverage information locked away within the walls of their business applications. Comcity Technology can assist with designing Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services and SharePoint Services solutions, enabling your organisation to transform valuable data into shared information for insightful, timely decisions at a lower total cost of ownership.

SQL Server Reporting Services is a comprehensive, server-based solution that enables the creation, management, and delivery of reports. Reporting Services combines the data management capabilities of SQL Server and Microsoft Windows Server with SharePoint Services to deliver real-time information to support daily operations and drive your business growth.

For more information on how Comcity Technology can assist your business in this area please feel free to contact your Account Manager.

Small Business Tax Grants

A reminder that the Investment Allowance for Small Business and general business tax breaks are set to conclude on the 31st December 2009.

Small business entities (turnover of less than $2 million a year):
An additional tax deduction of 50 per cent of the cost of eligible new tangible depreciating assets where the business commits to investing in the asset between 13 December 2008 and 31 December 2009 and first uses the asset, or installs it ready for use, or (in the case of new investment in an existing asset) brings the asset to its modified or improved state on or before 31 December 2010.

Other business entities (turnover of $2 million or more a year):
An additional tax deduction of 10 per cent of the cost of eligible new tangible depreciating assets where the business commits to investing in the asset between 1 July 2009 and 31 December 2009 and first uses the asset, or installs it ready for use, or brings the asset to its modified or improved state on or before 31 December 2010.

Please consult your accountant or visit the ATO website for more information and if the grant applies to your business.

Total Cost of Ownership for I.T. Part 2

Microsoft recently released the TCO for Windows 7 versus Windows XP. The aim was to provide clients with a guide on the potential savings they would expect if they upgraded their current computer systems to Windows 7. A key aspect of the Windows 7 release is built around the operating system being "lightweight" and therefore able to run better than XP on older systems. Below are extracts from the release:

Cutting cost is key in today's economy. The recent Forrester study with over 300 enterprise customers in US, Japan and Europe says that controlling costs is critically important or very important business priority for 87% of the surveyed companies. Based on the three in depth customer studies so far, Microsoft estimate customers may see overall Direct IT cost savings in the range of $111-to-$191 per PC per year. This is estimated to be around 10-20% saving on total desktop support costs per year.

The savings are based around the improvements in Power Management, whereby the smart power management features in Windows 7 can save between $19-$45 a year in power per system. Other cost savings are found during the deployment process which is faster and reduces a re-build time greatly. Its estimated that thus could save $21-$61 a year. General desktop management and troubleshooting savings are between $61-$143 a year due to a more reliable kernel and security features to protect the system.

Over the coming months our newsletter will continue to provide more information on TCO with several parts on this topic. For more information on how Comcity Technology can assist your business in this area please feel free to contact your Account Manager.