Habanero: News

Habanero wins big at SharePoint Summit 2013 in Toronto

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Habanero took home two awards at the Toronto SharePoint Summit on May 15 for our work with Servus Credit Union and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE).

Servus’ employee portal, The Village, won in the intranet solutions category. Iris, CBE’s member portal, earned top spot for innovation.

The awards were given out during the conference’s Excellence Gala, an event that recognizes a variety of Canadian-created SharePoint solutions.

At the Toronto conference, Habanero debuted our first ever SharePoint Summit presentation. Employee and Customer Portals Consultant Ellisa Calder presented how Habanero worked with Goldcorp to increase employee engagement and user adoption by over 800%. The presentation was a resounding success for Ellisa and the Habanero team.

Habanero is looking forward to the Vancouver SharePoint Summit in October.

Reach your audience with a SharePoint mobile app

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700

On May 22, Habanero will host a webinar based around expanding the reach of customer, employee, and member portals with the power of mobile apps.

This webinar will cover some different approaches to mobile solutions and include a case study of SchoolLink, a SharePoint mobile app Habanero designed for the Surrey School District. A custom SharePoint web service allows content published on the district’s website to be pushed out to different mobile devices, increasing the communication between administrators and parents and managed by district staff through their SharePoint portal. The app was developed using the PhoneGap open-source framework which allows for easier development across different device platforms.

Hosted by Customer and Member Portals Practice Lead Mallory O'Connor, the one-hour session will also provide helpful insights on content, app maintenance, and technology that may help participants with a current project, as well as offer a chance to learn about the ways content can be extended from a SharePoint portal to mobile devices.

Details:

Wednesday, May 22

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PDT

Axceler and Habanero joint webinar

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Habanero Consulting Group is co-hosting a webinar with Axceler on May 9 entitled “Optimizing SharePoint Management: Gaining Visibility and Control across your Environment”.

The webinar is for anyone who wants to gain visibility across their SharePoint environments in order to enforce required controls. Some of the topics that will be covered include:

Ease the difficulties involved with SharePoint Administration
Gain visibility into the growth of the SharePoint platform
Access drillable activity storage and content reports to get the level of detail you require
Perform the actions you need directly from related reports - don’t wait!
Support a centralized or distributed model for SharePoint management
Boost your SharePoint’s value and productivity
Increase end-user adoption
Reduce demands on the overall SharePoint infrastructure
And more!

Details:

Thursday, May 9
11:00AM - 12:00PM PDT

Habanero is going to rock the SharePoint Summit!

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Habanero is thrilled to be named a finalist for two awards at the upcoming SharePoint Summit 2013 in Toronto. Habanero will also be presenting at the conference for the first time.

The SharePoint Summit runs in Toronto from May 13-15 and features more than 70 sessions, as well as the SharePoint Excellence Gala on May 14.

The Village, the employee portal Habanero designed and implemented for Servus Credit Union is a finalist in the category of Intranet Solutions. While a student learning portal that Habanero worked with the Calgary Board of Education to develop is being recognized in the category of Innovation.

Not to be missed is a presentation by Habanero Employee and Customer Portals Consultant Ellisa Calder, “Striking gold with user adoption—Goldcorp's employee portal journey”. Ellisa will discuss how Habanero worked with Goldcorp to increase user adoption of their employee portal by over 800% from 2010 to today. This adoption increase was dramatic, not only in terms of the number of employees actively using the portal, but also in the breadth of scenarios it’s being used for — from communications, to collaboration, to business process automation.

Look for Habanero’s booth at the conference and enter to win a complimentary spot in a new course we’re offering – Portal Management Done Right!

SharePoint Excellence Gala finalists

Habanero moves up national Top 100 list

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Habanero ranked #73 as a Top 100 Solution Provider of 2012 by Computer Dealer News (CDN). Last year Habanero ranked #76.

CDN is a national digital news-magazine and website designed to provide VARs, system integrators, system builders, ISVs and retailers with comprehensive coverage of news, events and issues in the IT channel. CDN also publishes special issues such as the Channel Elite Awards, the Top 100 Solution Providers, the Women of the IT channel and the Top 25 Newsmakers each year.

Complete listing of CDN Top 100 solution providers

Habanero ranks number one in Globe and Mail best workplaces in Canada list

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Habanero took first place at the Globe and Mail Best Workplace in Canada Awards Tuesday evening in Toronto. Last year Habanero was ranked third in the study conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute. This is the fourth year that Habanero has participated in the comprehensive study.

Habanero’s president, Steven Fitzgerald, says that it’s the company’s commitment to purpose which is behind the win. “Our purpose is to help people and organizations thrive. It’s something we are all passionate about and it shows up in the relationships with have with our clients, partners, and employees.”

Organizations on this year's list were ranked using the results of an employee survey and the Trust Index©, developed by global research firm Great Place to Work® Institute. This methodology is utilized by over 6,000 organizations in almost 50 countries each year, making it the most widely adopted workforce satisfaction tool in the world.

Judging is based on five themes the Institute's research indicates are found in the best workplaces: Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie. Habanero received special awards in the categories of Camaraderie and Respect. “It was no surprise that a survey so heavily weighted on employee feedback would garner Habanero recognition for the Camaraderie and Respect indicators,” said Habanero Director of Brand and Experience, Ben Skelton. “As someone who is deeply involved in business development for Habanero I know that it’s our people and how they work together and with our clients that gives us the leading edge over our competitors.”

Habanero won in the category of companies with less than 1,000 people sharing top spot with Google Canada which ranked first in the category of companies with more than 1,000 people.

Best Workplaces in Canada (50-999 employees) list

“Best Workplace For Companies With Fewer Than 1000 Employees” Globe and Mail

Habanero in March issue of PROFIT Magazine

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 03:19:00 -0800

In a March PROFIT article entitled "How to have a winning workforce" Habanero's #3 ranking in the Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada study (BSME) for 2012 was once again called out. The article discusses the business importance of having engaged employees—something that Habanero has recognized since its inception.

The PROFIT article states "Engaged employees are those dream staffers who not only do good work every day, but also go above and beyond the call of duty without being asked, search for better ways to do their jobs, collaborate with others to benefit the business, recommend their company to job-seekers, and are loyal to their employer."

Habanero moved up in the study, conducted by Aon Hewitt and Queen's Business School, from fourth place last year. The announcement in December followed our #3 ranking at the BC Business Best Companies to Work for in BC Awards, and earlier in the year our #3 spot in the national Globe and Mail Best Workplace Awards. '3' is our lucky number!

The March edition of PROFIT is available now on newsstands.

Habanero and Collabware team up!

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:44:15 -0800

Habanero is pleased to announce our partnership with Collabware, creators of Collabware CLM for SharePoint records management software.

"After seeing an increased need in the market to complete the records management (RM) story in SharePoint we reviewed the major players in the market. In the end we decided to partner with Collabware because of their focus on user experience, their superior technical know-how, and their enterprise-ready product design.

"With several former Habanero alumni working at Collabware, we have a close and trusted relationship with them and we share the same vision for what a great records management solution should be, and what it should look like in SharePoint. Collabware is the best records management product available on the market for SharePoint, and maybe one of the best RM solutions there is. It allows our clients to standardize on one ECM platform, thereby saving on license and consulting fees for paralleled ECM platforms that might be rolled out in their enterprise," said Habanero's ECM practice lead, Michael Schweitzer.

Graham Sibley, Collabware's founder, says of the partnership, "We value Habanero's broad experience implementing successful SharePoint solutions and hold a shared philosophy around the importance of providing outstanding user experiences. We believe our partnership brings together the records management product and services necessary to deliver greater business value to clients."

About Collabware

Collabware is proud to be the first and only vendor to offer records managers a comprehensive content lifecycle management product for Microsoft SharePoint. From content creation to record destruction, the end-to-end Collabware CLM solution offers a superior user experience, advanced records management features, and complete compliance control – at a much lower cost.

With offices in Vancouver, BC and Boston, MA, Collabware has a team of innovative, highly experienced individuals who have deep SharePoint knowledge and superior development skills. The team is entirely focused on delivering value and helping customers: reduce costs; optimize business processes; adhere to statutory and industry compliance; protect their reputations; improve worker productivity and efficiency; share and exploit knowledge; migrate information from legacy systems; and maximize their investments in Microsoft SharePoint.

'3' is our lucky number!

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:30:00 -0800

Habanero moved up to #3 in the Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada study for 2012, moving up from fourth place last year. This news followed our #3 ranking at the BC Business Best Companies to Work for in BC Awards, and earlier in the year our #3 spot in the national Globe and Mail Best Workplace Awards.

Produced by Aon Hewitt and the Queen's School of Business Centre for Business Venturing in partnership with PROFIT Magazine and PROFITguide.com, the Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada program ranks participating companies by their employee-engagement scores and other factors, as measured by surveys of each firm's employees, HR team and executives. The program is open to companies with 50 to 399 Canadian employees.

See full list of winners.

Habanero moves up to #3 in BC Business Best Companies to Work for in BC Award

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 22:47:30 -0800

Habanero was ranked #3 in the BC Business list of the "2012 Best Companies to Work for in BC". Last year Habanero placed #5.

Broken down by industry sector Habanero moved into first place in the category of professional services and communications.

Selections for the "Best Companies" list are based on anonymous employee responses to a survey measuring talent systems, employee engagement, leadership dynamics, and organization culture.

Habanero on Top 100 Fastest Growing List

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:10:00 -0700

Habanero is once again included on the Business in Vancouver "Top 100 fastest growing companies in BC" list. The list compares revenue growth over four years. This year Habanero moves up the list to 85 from 93. See complete list.

SharePoint Conference 2012

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:40:07 -0700

If you thought Vegas had a reputation before, just wait!

The SharePoint Conference is being held in November in Las Vegas. It's a great opportunity to engage with the SharePoint community and learn how SharePoint 2013 can help you deepen customer and employee engagement. There will be 28 of us attending the conference!

Let us know if you are going to be attending and we'll email you with updates on all the happenings.

Habanero moves up on Branham's list of top Canadian technology companies

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:12:00 -0700

Habanero ranked #190 on the Top 250 Canadian Technology Companies list featured in the 2012 edition of the Branham300, which was also printed in the April edition of Backbone Magazine. Last year Habanero ranked #198.

For nearly 20 years, the Branham300 has highlighted the top Canadian and Multinational ICT companies operating in Canada, as ranked by revenues. It illustrates the depth and breadth of innovative technologies developed in Canada and is widely considered to be a leading source of intelligence on Canada's ICT industry. The Branham300 is published annually on www.branham300.com, as well as in the April/May issue of Backbone Magazine (www.backbonemag.com).

Habanero ranks third in Globe and Mail best workplaces in Canada list

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:09:00 -0700

Habanero inched closer to the top at the Globe and Mail Best Workplaces Awards gala held last night in Toronto.

The awards are based on in-depth employee and management surveys conducted by the Great Places to Work Institute. Habanero came in at number three on the list for companies with 50-999 employees. Last year Habanero was number four on the list.

2012 Best Workplaces in Canada

Globe and Mail special feature

Habanero a finalist in Alberta Venture's 2012 Best Workplace Awards

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:22:00 -0800

Habanero has been selected as a finalist for the Alberta Venture Best Workplace Awards in the category "Best Workplace for Millenials".

Alberta Venture has held its annual Best Workplace Awards for the past five years. Habanero was also a finalist last year. The 2012 program is presented by Alberta Venture, the Human Resources Institute of Alberta, and Davies Park Executive Search Consulting.

According to Alberta Venture, "A 'best workplace' company is one dedicated to building and sustaining a prosperous, forward-thinking organization that values its greatest asset – people. These leading organizations are able to attract and sustain quality employees in this high demand labour market."

Complete list of finalists

Habanero ranked #4 on the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada List

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:55:08 -0800

Today Queen's University's School of Business released its annual list of the 50 Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada. Habanero moves up the list this year from 13 to 4! The study is conducted with the assistance of Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation. This year's list appears in the March issue of PROFIT magazine.

"We use employee engagement as the standard for determining which organizations are the 'best' employers," said Einar Westerlund, director of project development at the Queen's Centre for Business Venturing, part of the Queen's School of Business. "In this study, feedback directly from employees about their workplace and their work experience enables us to measure how engaged they are."

According to Aon Hewitt, the average engagement score for this year's 50 Best Small & Medium Employers was 83 per cent; other participants in the study had an average score of 61 per cent. Habanero's engagement score was 94%.

Participants in the Best Employer studies were required to complete three surveys: the employee opinion survey, the leadership team survey and the human resources survey. The results of the employee opinion survey made up the vast majority of participants scores, which were ultimately used to determine their overall ranking. To be eligible to participate in the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada study, organizations must have been in business in Canada for at least three years and have between 50 and 399 permanent, Canadian-based employees.

Complete list of 50 Best Small & Medium Employers

Habanero completes spin-off of Catapult ERP Services

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:03:00 -0800

Habanero Consulting Group has completed a management buy-out of its enterprise resource planning consulting practice resulting in the formation and launch of Catapult ERP Services Inc.

Habanero retains a significant investment in the new company which will focus exclusively on delivering Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions in the Canadian mid-market. The other shareholders in Catapult ERP are Lars Agger, Jeff Bacon and Elliot Fishman, who were all previously engaged at the senior level in Habanero's ERP Practice. Fishman remains a partner in Habanero and moves into an advisory and oversight role as he assumes day-to-day leadership as the CEO of Catapult. Agger is Vice-President, Professional Services responsible for successful delivery of ERP implementations and post-implementation support and service, and Bacon is Vice-President, Client Development responsible for growing sales and ensuring client satisfaction. Habanero's entire ERP team has moved to Catapult ERP and will continue to provide the same award-winning service that has earned a reputation for excellence among customers and business partners like Microsoft.

Habanero's ERP practice was established in 2007 and has seen steady growth every year since then, now servicing mid-market clients in Alberta and British Columbia in industries ranging from manufacturing and distribution to hospitality and not-for-profit. Catapult is well positioned to deliver unprecedented value in a space that is experiencing tremendous change, both in terms of technology and customer need, with a renewed and dedicated focus on ERP-related services and the unique needs of mid-market customers.

"We couldn't be more excited about the launch of Catapult ERP. It feels right in absolutely every way — especially since it puts us in such strong alignment with our customers, the market, and Microsoft. We're really excited about the potential for Catapult and the opportunity to breathe some fresh air into a services market that has gone a bit stale," said Habanero partner and Catapult CEO, Elliot Fishman.

Mike Hilton, Microsoft's Regional Director—Western Canada SMS&P said "Microsoft is very excited to see the ERP team at Habanero bring their skill, expertise and focus to our mutual customers through the Catapult brand. We have seen the benefits of working with this team under the Habanero brand, and have great confidence in their future endeavours with us."

Learn more about our vision.

Visit the Catapult ERP website.

Learn about the evolution of Habanero's ERP Practice to Catapult ERP on Habanero's blog:

Launching our new ERP services venture

Making the Leap with ERP!

Habanero again places in BC Business top ten!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:18:00 -0800

Habanero was ranked #5 in the BC Business list of the "2011 Best Companies to Work for in BC". For the past two years Habanero has placed #7.

Broken down by industry sector Habanero again placed #2 in the category of professional services and communications.

Selections for the "Best Companies" list are based on anonymous employee responses to a survey measuring talent systems, employee engagement, leadership dynamics, and organization culture.

The themed question posed in this year's company-wide survey was: "If your company was a rock star, what kind would it be?" Based on employee responses Habanero would be a "sensitive folkie". One Habanero employee responded "Our company would be a sensitive folkie because we tend to be pretty low-key and accessible. We let our clients and the solutions we build shine, while we stay out of the limelight."

BC Business top ten list for 2011

Photos from BC Business Best Companies gala November 29, 2011

Habanero Alberta Regional Director wins Top 40 Under 40 award

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:01:28 -0700

Jason McIntyre, Habanero's Alberta Regional Director, was named one of Calgary's 'Top 40 Under 40' by Avenue Calgary at a celebration last night hosted by the magazine.

Habanero President Steven Fitzgerald who attended the event said "It was an exciting night and wonderful to see Jason recognized for his career achievements amongst such an impressive group."

Avenue Calgary's Top 40 Under 40 celebrates Calgarians under the age of 40 who excel in their careers and raise the profile of the city. Jason was recognized for the work he has done as Alberta Regional Director with Habanero and for his contribution to the Calgary Children's Festival where he serves as vice-president on its board of directors.

Read the full profile of Jason in Avenue Calgary

Habanero a finalist for two Microsoft IMPACT awards!

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:37:00 -0700

Microsoft recently announced that two Habanero solutions are finalists for Microsoft's annual Impact Awards.

Vancity's intranet, Insite, is a finalist in the Portals and Collaboration category. Insite also recently received an honourable mention from the Intranet Innovation Awards for its use of search.

The NAV retail solution Habanero developed for Sitka Surfboards is a finalist in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) category.

The awards ceremony will be held in Toronto on November 30th.

Calgary office move!

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:40:00 -0700

Habanero's Calgary office moved into a beautiful new space in Sunlife Plaza on August 30, 2011. The move reflects Habanero's growing presence in Alberta.

Habanero's Calgary office was established in 2006 and has seen steady growth every year since then, including fifteen team members. The Alberta market has been critical to Habanero's overall growth and success in recent years.

"We're very excited about this office move. It feels like a very natural progression for Habanero. We're thrilled with how our Alberta business has grown over the past six years and we're very proud of the strong relationships we've built with our amazing Alberta clients, partners, and employees. We look forward to continued development in the region and becoming even more rooted in the community," said Habanero President Steven Fitzgerald.

Stay tuned for an open house to be announced sometime in the coming months!

Habanero's new Calgary office address as of August 30 is:

1420, 144-4th Ave SW
Calgary, AB
T2P 3N4

The rest of our contact information including phone and fax numbers stays the same.

Habanero included within the top five percent of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:04:00 -0700

On Wednesday, July 13 in Hollywood, California Habanero Consulting Group was named to the 2011 President's Club for Microsoft Dynamics®. The President's club includes the top five percent of Microsoft Dynamics partners worldwide whose commitment to customers is reflected in their business success and growth.

Doug Kennedy, Vice President, Dynamics Partners of Microsoft Corporation states "President's Club represents a small group of top channel partners who reach key business milestones while maintaining a constant dedication to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and an active pursuit of product and technological advancement".

Lars Agger, Practice Leader for ERP at Habanero responds, "We are extremely pleased to receive this distinction from Microsoft. Microsoft is our most important partner and recognition programs such as these are very important to Habanero. We thank both Microsoft for this recognition and of course, our clients".

Habanero's ERP practice provides consulting and implementation services for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Dynamics AX and Dynamics CRM.

For more information on Habanero's ERP offerings please contact Lars Agger at 604.709.6201 x 151.

Habanero wins Digital Alberta Award for "Best in Financial Services"

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:20:46 -0700

Last night the Servus Credit Union external website won the Digital Alberta Awards "Best in Financial Services Award".

Habanero built the Servus website on SharePoint for Internet Sites 2007. The website leverages an advice-based navigation metaphor to surface content that is appropriate for each member's unique banking situation. It features a large amount of rich content and a number of interactive tools.

The Digital Alberta Awards, formerly known as the MediaFresh Awards, is a program designed to recognize leaders in innovation, creativity and the evolving digital media sector in Alberta. The awards were announced in Calgary on June 6, 2011.

Servus website a Digital Alberta Awards finalist

Tue, 31 May 2011 19:02:03 -0700

The Servus Credit Union external website is a finalist for the Digital Alberta Awards "Best in Financial Services Award".

Habanero moves further up national top 100 list

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:48:00 -0700

Habanero moved up to #77 from last year's ranking of #89 in the Computer Dealer News annual Canadian Top 100 Solution Provider Survey. Habanero is steadily moving up the list having ranked #91 in the 2008 survey and #102 in 2007.

CDN defines an information technology solution provider as an organization that resells computer hardware, software or peripheral products along with providing IT related services and consulting in both an on-premise fashion or as a managed service.

Habanero recognized by Alberta best workplaces program

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:04:15 -0700

Habanero was a finalist in two categories on the Alberta's Best Workplaces 2011 list, as featured in Alberta Venture Magazine. The awards recognize those Alberta-based companies leading the way in corporate culture and human resource development.

Habanero received honourable mentions in the following two categories:

Best Workplace for Working Parents
Best Overall Workplace (Under 100 Employees)

Habanero SharePoint analyst receives MVP award

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:16:41 -0700

Habanero congratulates Michal Pisarek for being designated a 2011 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in SharePoint.

The MVP award is a way for Microsoft to recognize independent experts in various product areas. MVPs get access to pre-release versions of various products and can make a direct impact on what goes into the product final shipping product. There are less than only 200 SharePoint MVPs worldwide.

According to Microsoft, "To receive the Microsoft MVP Award, MVP nominees undergo a rigorous review process. A panel that includes members of the MVP team and Microsoft product groups evaluates each nominee's technical expertise and voluntary community contributions for the past 12 months. The panel considers the quality, quantity, and level of impact of the MVP nominee's contributions. Active MVPs receive the same level of scrutiny as other new candidates each year."

Congratulations Michal!

Habanero receives awesome recognition at Best Workplace Awards

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:54:00 -0700

Habanero received some amazing recognition at the Globe and Mail Best Workplaces Awards gala held last night in Toronto.

The awards are based on in-depth employee and management surveys conducted by the Great Places to Work Institute. They rated Habanero number four on the list for companies with under 1000 people behind Google Canada, Netapp and SAS Institute—all three global organizations.

Judging is based on five themes the Institute's research indicates are found in the best workplaces: Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie. Habanero placed first overall in Fairness––a dimension based on equity, impartiality and justice.

Habanero, along with three other companies, was also presented with a Thrive Award, which is judged on collaborative dialogue, trust, clear outcomes, tolerance and teamwork.

Globe and Mail Best Workplaces 2011

Habanero moves up on Branham 300 list

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:27:41 -0700

Habanero ranked #198 on the Top 250 Canadian Technology Companies list featured in the 2011 edition of the Branham300, which was also printed in the April edition of Backbone Magazine. Last year Habanero ranked #222.

The Branham300—the most comprehensive listing of publicly traded and privately held IT companies in Canada—is published annually. View the complete list.

Habanero designed intranet named one of the ten best by Nielsen Norman Group

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:32:14 -0800

The SharePoint intranet Habanero designed for Canadian law firm Bennett Jones has been included in the Nielsen Norman Group's list of the ten best intranets in the world.

BenNet was created to provide a task-oriented, user-friendly platform that simplifies the process by which lawyers and employees alike can efficiently contribute to, share and reuse information within the firm. It uses a classification methodology similar to that used in online shopping to allow lawyers, on a self-serve basis, to quickly find precedents—templates, models, or previous examples of legal documents. BenNet also enables the quick assembly of these materials into helpful online guides.

Comment and notification features in BenNet allow users to share their comments on legal resources ensuring the quality of relevance of the documents. Other social intranet features have helped create a sense of community among Bennett Jones' geographically dispersed employees.

BenNet was a collaborative effort in which Habanero developed BenNet's user experience design working closely with V51 Consulting for solution architecture and SharePoint Development, and RBRO Solutions Inc. for document management system integration.

This is the second major award for BenNet. In October it was announced that BenNet won Platinum in the Intranet Innovation Awards.

More about the Nielsen Norman Group.

Taking your existing SharePoint 2010 solution to the Cloud

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:24:29 -0800

During Calgary Tech Days don't miss Habanero SharePoint technical specialist Yaroslav Pentsarskyy who will be speaking on hosting SharePoint solutions in the cloud. The session, sponsored by the Calgary SharePoint Users Group, will focus on understanding key differences that affect solution development for the cloud. Developers will learn how they can leverage their existing tools to create basic and advanced solutions ready for the cloud.

Event Details

December 14, 2010
6:00pm – 7:30pm (Doors open at 5:30pm)
2th Floor training center at Global Knowledge (formerly Nexient)
144 – 4 Avenue SW, Suite 200,
Calgary, AB T2P 3N5

Habanero Places in the Top Ten Best Companies to Work for in BC for 2010

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:20:00 -0800

Seven is a lucky number for Habanero, which placed #7 overall in the BC Business list of the "Best Companies to Work for in BC". Last year Habanero also placed #7, but in a narrower category that only included companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Broken down by industry sector Habanero placed #2 in the category of professional services and communications.

Selections for the "Best Companies" list are based on anonymous employee responses to a survey measuring talent systems, employee engagement, leadership dynamics, and organization culture.

The fun question posed in this year's company-wide survey was: "If your organization were a high school archetype, which would it be?"One Habanero employee responded "Our company would be an artist because it focuses on innovation while making sure everyone's personal well-being remains a priority. It is an art to balance life, work and fun. My company does it well and strongly encourages it."

Habanero high school archetype: The Artist

Top ten list

Habanero wins Microsoft IMPACT Award!

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:34:00 -0800

Habanero was awarded Portals and Collaboration Solution of the Year at the 2010 Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards.

The eighth annual IMPACT awards recognize excellence across the large and diverse community of Microsoft's Canadian technology partners. The Portals and Collaboration award recognizes technology partners who have excelled in offering innovative collaboration solutions based on the Microsoft SharePoint Server.

The submissions for this award were scored based on the following criteria:

Creativity and innovation in the solution (technical and business)
Positive business impact from the solution (e.g. ROI, financial impact, growth, or other quantitative metrics as possible)
Majority of the solution is based on 2007 or 2010 Microsoft Office system and other Microsoft technologies for SharePoint Server

Bennett Jones intranet wins Platinum Intranet Innovation Award

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 22:57:38 -0700

The intranet Habanero designed for Canadian law firm Bennett Jones has won Platinum in the prestigious 2010 Intranet Innovation Awards. Bennett Jones is the first law firm to win the award.

BenNet was a collaborative effort in which Habanero developed BenNet's user experience design. Ben Skelton, user experience lead on the project, attributes the project's success to the time commitment Bennett Jones was willing to make and the access they were willing to give to do usability research with their team. "The research was incredibly important as it allowed us to grasp the cultural differences between the different offices and determine how the intranet could make the lives of people at Bennett Jones easier. I also really enjoyed our four hour review sessions, we don't often have the opportunity to collaborate with a client so closely on the design, which was a really intense, yet satisfying experience."

Habanero was responsible for the user experience and design of BenNet working closely with V51 Consulting for solution architecture and SharePoint Development, and RBRO Solutions Inc. for document management system integration.

About the Intranet Innovation Awards

Awarded by Step Two Designs (www.steptwo.com.au) a recognized thought-leader in intranet strategy and design, the Intranet Innovation Awards, now in their fourth year, are global awards celebrating new ideas and innovative approaches to the enhancement and delivery of intranets. This year 55 companies spanning various industries from around the world entered the competition, judged by an international panel of intranet experts. Countries represented by 2010 winners include Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand and the Netherlands. More information about the 2010 Intranet Innovation Awards, and a detailed report, are available at www.steptwo.com.au/products/iia2010.

More information

Step Two Designs release

Step Two Designs interview with Bennett Jones

Habanero third biggest web-development company in BC

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 23:29:00 -0700

Habanero Consulting Group was ranked number three on Business in Vancouver's list of the "Biggest Web Development Companies in B.C." The newspaper's November 2-November 8, 2010 issue ranks companies by number of employees and provides details on 27 businesses. Last year Habanero was ranked number four.

View the complete BIV list (subscriber number required).

Habanero named one of Canada's Best Small & Medium Employers for 2011

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:23:03 -0700

Habanero is proud to once again be included on the "Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada" list. Habanero moves up the list this year from 19 to 13. The study is conducted by the Queen's Centre for Business Venturing, the Queen's University School of Business, and Aon Hewitt. It is published nationally in Maclean's and in La Presse in Quebec.

The study is a measure of employee engagement, so essentially employees determine the results. According to Aon Hewitt's definition, employees are engaged when they "say, stay and strive": they speak positively about the organization to others, are committed to remaining with their current employer, and are motivated by their organizations' leaders, managers, culture and values to go "above and beyond" to contribute to business success.

Organizations that have operated in Canada for at least three years and have between 50 and 399 Canadian-based permanent employees are eligible to participate. Participants in the Best Employer studies were required to complete three surveys: the employee opinion survey, the leadership team survey and the human resources survey. The results of the employee opinion survey made up the vast majority of participants scores, which were ultimately used to determine their overall ranking. The 2011 study marks the 6th time the study has been conducted.

Complete list of 50 Best Small & Medium Employers.

Habanero provides advice on ERP adoption

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:56:00 -0700

Habanero President Steven Fitzgerald was recently included on a panel of experts who gave advice on ERP adoption to IT in Canada magazine.

Read the full interview.

Habanero presenting workshops on social intranets

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:27:06 -0700

Habanero is participating in two major intranet events in Vancouver this month.

Brian Edwards is presenting "Servus Credit Union: An employee crowd sourcing case study" at the Social Intranet Summit on October 28, 2010 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Chris Radcliffe is presenting "Putting social media to work in your intranet strategy" at Intranets for Corporate Communications on October 28 and 29, 2010 at the Sutton Place Hotel.

Habanero makes Top 100 Fastest Growing List

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:24:00 -0700

Habanero is once again included on the Business in Vancouver "Top 100 fastest growing companies in BC" list. The list compares revenue growth over five years.

This year's list is based on revenue for 2009—a difficult year for many companies in BC. While the list is predicated on revenue growth, the Certified General Accountant's Association of British Columbia who sponsors the award notes that companies on this year's list can be distinguished in two other important ways. John Pankratz, president of the association, states in the BIV September 14-20 issue "First, they thrived during a period of challenging economic conditions to expand or refocus their businesses, advance strategy, and gain significant market share over their competition. Second, these companies operate in a way that also considers the 'other' important bottom line. Corporations today cannot serve their own interests exclusively, but must also consider their impact in the communities in which they operate."

View the complete list (subscriber number required).

SharePoint Saturday September 25

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 21:13:38 -0700

Habanero is a platinum sponsor of the first SharePoint Saturday Vancouver being held Saturday September 25, 2010 at the BCIT Downtown Campus.

Join SharePoint architects, developers, and other professionals who work with Microsoft SharePoint technologies for what will be an educational, informative and lively day filled with sessions from respected SharePoint professionals and MVPs. A wide variety of SharePoint related topics will be covered. SharePoint Saturday is free, open to everyone, and is your chance to immerse yourself in all things SharePoint!

Speakers from Habanero include Brian Edwards, Michal Pisarek, and Yaroslav Pentsarskyy.

Don't miss Tech Days 2010

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:12:17 -0700

Experts from Habanero are excited to be presenting at this year's Tech Days 2010. The Microsoft event is a training conference for IT professionals and developers. Participants will learn about current technologies, network with peers, and take away valuable resources.

Habanero technical and infrastructure specialists will be presenting sessions in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. Go to the Tech Days 2010 website for more details and to register for the event.

A SharePoint 2010 development must-have

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:48:11 -0700

Habanero congratulates Technical Specialist Yaroslav Pentsarskyy for his newly published book Top 60 custom solutions built on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. The book navigates through technical and business scenarios providing a developer with tested code and the complete picture of a SharePoint 2010 solution.

Yaroslav, a valued member of the Habanero team, has received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) designation for the past two years and was recently also designated a Microsoft Virtual Technical Specialist. He posts frequent SharePoint insights to Habanero's blog, as well as maintaining his own SharePoint blog, sharemuch.com.

Yaroslav will be presenting at the upcoming Microsoft Tech Days training conference. He will be hosting sessions in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Habanero technical specialist awarded Microsoft MVP

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:22:11 -0700

Habanero congratulates Yaroslav Pentsarskyy for being designated a 2010 Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in SharePoint. This is the second year in a row Yaroslav has received the designation.

The following is an interview with Yaroslav about the Microsoft MVP award.

What is the MVP program all about?

The MVP program is not just technical in nature. It's also about helping a community of users and customers with product adoption. The role of an MVP is to be a leader in the community and drive engagement from developers, IT professionals, and information workers. These roles all ask different types of questions and need different types of support.

How do you become an MVP?

MVPs are nominated by other MVPs, Microsoft staff, or other technical community members. You are expected to supply a portfolio which identifies things like users groups in which you are a presenter, conferences you've spoken at, blogs you've written, or books you written. They ask for all your references. A Microsoft product team reviews it. People who are nominated do get rejected. It's not an easy award to get.

What do you get?

You get access to the product team that develops various products, in my case SharePoint. There's a yearly summit in Redmond where MVPs are invited to get together and the product team asks what we'd like to see in future releases. We're participating in a three year strategic vision. It's cool to see what Microsoft is currently working on and what will be coming out in three years. It gives me a real sense of engagement.

What does being awarded an MVP mean to you?

It's a big honour. Microsoft is a leader in software development and the practices and standards we follow internally at Habanero come from them, so to be recognized by Microsoft is huge. They don't recognize many people and those they do recognize are really impressive.

It sounds like achieving the MVP designation requires that you make a big commitment of your own time?

I think part of it is personality and I would be doing the same thing even if I wasn't an MVP. After spending a lot of time solving a problem you want to share what you've learned with others. It's also really important to get feedback to determine if there might be a better solution out there that someone else has discovered.

What was your contribution to the SharePoint 2010 beta release?

I wrote a lot on SharePoint's new social features and wrote SharePoint how-to's, short-cuts, and tips-and-tricks. There were a lot of bugs we found in the betas of both Visual Studio and SharePoint that we didn't want to have to deal with later on, so it was great to be able to directly contribute to the product's QA in this way.

Did Habanero support you in achieving MVP recognition?

I have not seen a company that encourages professional and personal development as much as Habanero. We have time allocated for blogging, training requests are rarely denied, resources (like books) are never an issue, and taking exams is encouraged and paid for. The overall team is really supportive and collaborative. We have knowledge sharing sessions all the time. A lot credit goes to Habanero for this particular award. It's great to work at company that appreciates such efforts.

What's next?

I'm going to continue my work contributing to blogs, video tutorials, user groups, and conferences. I'm also very excited about a publication I'll have coming out this fall! Stay tuned to my blog for more details in coming weeks.

Habanero featured in TransLink ad campaign

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:55:00 -0700

Habanero President, Steven Fitzgerald, is featured in a TransLink ad campaign that aims to promote corporate responsibility for reducing car traffic.

The campaign is run through TransLink's TravelSmart program, which was created to help reduce single occupancy vehicles and the huge impact cars have on the environment. The program had a major success during the 2010 Winter Games when the region met a goal of reducing vehicle trips by 30 percent and transit ridership reached an incredible daily average of 1.6 million passengers.

The TravelSmart program has recognized Habanero as a TravelSmart Workplace, which is one that helps to empower employees in making choices that benefit their own health and the health of the environment. Fundamental to the idea of a TravelSmart Workplace is that corporate leaders should set an example for the rest of the company with their own lifestyle choices.

Initially, the TravelSmart Workplace ad will run in the BC Business Top 100 issue in July and the Business in Vancouver Green issue in August. The ad shows Steven and another man standing in an elevator clad in cycling wear. A caption below the photo reads "Two bike couriers? Nope. One is a company president." It is also featured on TransLink's website.

Steven is a long-time bike commuter and avid mountain biker. He and company partner Rick Martin will be riding in the BC Bike Race, which is a seven day mountain bike race. Leading up to and during the race they are documenting their experience through the company blog.

Habanero a Progressive Employer of Canada

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:34:43 -0700

Habanero is once again on the Progressive Employers of Canada List. The purpose of the list is to encourage organizations to be mom-friendly and to ultimately see more supportive workplaces for women.

"Habanero Consulting Group is among a select group of 'mom-friendly' employers who are leading progressive change in the Canadian workplace for working parents and their families," said Sarah Fowles on behalf of Connect Moms, momcafé, and Lisa Martin International.

Connect Moms, momcafé, and Lisa Martin International (founder of the Briefcase Moms Program) initiated the Progressive Employers of Canada List in 2009, after conducting a nationwide survey in November 2008 asking moms what they were looking for in a workplace of choice. Habanero made the 2009 list as well.

Using New Technology to Build a Winning Hockey Team

Wed, 12 May 2010 16:00:20 -0700

Vancouver—Next hockey season don't be surprised to see the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs thanks to technology designed to help the club select the best draft picks. Today, Habanero Consulting Group, in partnership with Microsoft, unveiled the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Scout Portal at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The solution was built using Microsoft Office SharePoint 2010, which was also officially launched today. The portal allows Oilers scouts, who are spread across the globe, to easily share player information with each other and with Oilers executive management. The portal gives a player-centric view of potential draft picks with a look-and-feel similar to popular social networking sites. Video footage of a particular player's shifts on ice and key information such as media reports, statistics, ranking lists, and NHL fitness test results can all be viewed on a particular player's page where scouts and management can use a number of collaboration features.

"The technology allows scouts to browse player videos online, read detailed player stats and review comments made by each of the scouts—all in real time. Previously it took days for questions or discussions to be resolved. The Edmonton Oilers scouting portal is already proving to be a tremendous asset to the Club," said Habanero Senior Consultant Rick Martin.

Habanero has had success building solutions on the SharePoint platform since its first release. The company uses the technology to enable its clients to improve employee productivity, increase organizational collaboration, and ultimately deliver real business value in a number of new and unique ways.

"There are real benefits to be had for the Oilers from an administrative and cost savings perspective, but the greatest business value is to help the club win the Stanley Cup. That's an exceptional business case to be able to make, and I absolutely think the Scouting Portal can help them do it," said Martin.

For Information on SharePoint 2010 Solutions:

Rick Martin
604.709.6201 x 101

Habanero Moves up Two Places on Computer Dealer News Top 100

Mon, 10 May 2010 21:43:00 -0700

Habanero moved up two places to #89 in the Computer Dealer News annual Canadian Top 100 Solution Provider Survey for 2009. Habanero ranked #91 in the 2008 survey and #102 in 2007.

Open-book Management at Habanero Featured in Financial Post

Mon, 03 May 2010 17:45:00 -0700

Habanero Consulting Group's success with open-book management, was featured in the Financial Post May 3, 2010. Habanero Executive Vice President Elliot Fishman told the Post how opening the books to employees has helped them weather change and become more engaged in the financial decision-making process. Habanero, privately-owned, presents financial statements to the whole company every month.

Open-book management is not new to Habanero. The books have been open to employees since 2002. Fishman said that getting employees to see the value in following the company's profits and losses has been a worthwhile effort. Senior Information Architect Mallory O'Connor, also interviewed for the article, goes on to say that the open-book policy deepens employees' commitment to Habanero.

View the full article:
Opening doors opens eyes Financial Post May 3, 2010

Habanero Makes Branham300 List

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:15:18 -0700

Habanero ranked #222 on the Top 250 Canadian Technology Companies list�featured in the 2010 edition of the Branham300, which was also printed in the March/April edition of Backbone Magazine.

The Branham300—the most comprehensive listing of publicly traded and privately held IT companies in Canada—is published annually. View the complete list.

Radcliffe Habanero's New Regional Leader for BC

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:40:17 -0800

Habanero Consulting Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Radcliffe as the new Regional Leader for British Columbia. Radcliffe brings extensive experience in client experience management, project delivery, senior level consulting, risk management, and financial analysis, and he has worked extensively with Habanero's Practice Leaders to develop our service offerings.

As BC's Regional Leader, Radcliffe is responsible for creating and implementing a go-to-market strategy, executing the regional sales plan, and developing strategic client relationships. With a strong vision for the business potential in the region, Radcliffe presents a compelling approach for integrating the role into Habanero's existing and evolving leadership structure.

As Radcliffe states, "We will continue focusing on deepening engagement with strategic relationships in BC. To help clients coming out of a rough economic period, we will concentrate efforts on pre-project business justifications and post-project business impact valuations." He adds, "I look forward to the exciting challenges this position brings and to expanding Habanero's positive impact within our client base."

Contact Chris Radcliffe.