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VMware Advanced Training

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Double awards for FRCI

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

FRCI received two awards during the 2010 edition of Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) held last 11 to 15 July in Washington DC, USA.
During this manifestation, Microsoft rewarded on an international level all its partners that have demonstrated business excellence in delivering Microsoft solutions over the past year.

First awarded as 2010 Country Partner of the Year for Mauritius, FRCI also received the 2010 Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA) Partner of the Year Award for West, East and Central Africa (WECA).

Chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft partners as delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology, FRCI received this award for demonstrating effective engagement with their local Microsoft office in driving customer satisfaction, innovation, winning new customers, and business impact.

“It is a great honour for FRCI to be recognised on an international level, during an event that assembled over 10,000 partners from all over the world,” said Paul Bunting, Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands SMB & Channel Lead.


From left to right: Paul Bunting (Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands), Jon Roskill (Microsoft Corporate), Denis Lam (FRCI), Clarel Constance (FRCI) and Allison Watson (Microsoft Corporate)	Allison Watson and Jon Roskill (Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft Partner Group) congratulating Clarel Constance, Managing Consultant at FRCI,* on WPC stage.*	FRCI awards: 2010 Country Partner of the Year and 2010 ESA Partner of the Year

Paul Bunting also added that “FRCI is one of our quality partners for the Indian Ocean and we are delighted that their performance as Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA) has been recognised on an international level. FRCI also received the “Top ESA Award” for the African and Indian Ocean region, a fantastic achievement which the team at FRCI must be extremely proud of.” Enterprise Software Advisors (ESA) manage Microsoft Enterprise Agreements for their region. This comprehensive Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement is for large organisations, of over 250 computers, that want to standardise on the latest Microsoft technology. “For FRCI, this achievement is more than the result of our 20 years work in the Microsoft world. It is milestone in our progression. We are very proud of it. I dedicate this to our employees’ hard work and to our clients for their trust and loyalty”, emphasised FRCI Managing Director Pierre Yves Harel. The Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) is an annual event allowing Microsoft partners from all over the world to meet and also to meet Microsoft employees. It is also an opportunity to learn more about Microsoft latest programs, strategies and latest technology innovation. This year, Microsoft introduced the Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award that recognizes partners at the country level for their business excellence in delivering Microsoft solutions. An award received by FRCI for Mauritius. FRCI’s three representatives, Clarel Constance, Denis Lam and Gilbert François, present at the conference were congratulated by Allison L. Watson, Business & Marketing Group United States, and John Roskill, new Corporate Vice President Worldwide Partner Group.

Exchange Server 2010

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

FRCI acclaimed worldwide

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

FRCI honored as 2010 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year

Today, FRCI proudly announced it has won the 2010 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award for Mauritius. The company was chosen out of an international field of top Microsoft partners as delivering market-leading customer solutions built on Microsoft technology.

FRCI Managing Director Pierre Yves Harel dedicated this achievement to all employees and clients of FRCI, as well as Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands. “We are extremely proud of this achievement which reflects the hard work and unfailing commitment of our team throughout the years. I would also like to thank all our clients who trusted us and contributed to our success. We have enjoyed for many years a fruitful collaboration with Microsoft IOI and they are also a great part of our success today.”

Awards will be presented in a number of categories, with winners chosen from a pool of almost 3,000 entrants worldwide. FRCI was recognized for superior technology, innovation, and subsidiary engagement for the Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award. The Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Award recognizes partners at the country level that have demonstrated business excellence in delivering Microsoft solutions to mutual customers over the past year. This award recognizes FRCI for demonstrating effective engagement with their local Microsoft office in driving customer satisfaction, innovation, winning new customers, and business impact.

“We are pleased to recognize FRCI of Mauritius as Microsoft’s Country Partner of the Year,” said Allison Watson, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. “FRCI has demonstrated the highest level of excellence and innovation, by combining local market expertise with superior solutions and services that fulfill our customers’ needs.”

The Microsoft Partner Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions over the last year. Awards will be presented at Microsoft’s worldwide partner conference in Washington D.C., USA, from 11 to 15 July.

FRCI opened in 1989 as a small company specialising in desktop training for enterprises in Mauritius. Since then, it has gradually diversified its offer in the ICT sector and now counts over 50 employees. FRCI is also present in the Indian Ocean region, French Pacific islands and some African countries.

The company is structured around five areas of expertise.

Nuclei, FRCI’s training centre, offers a complete training service to enterprises: audit of resources, needs analysis, implementation of customised training strategies and flexible delivery modes.

Isys specialises in IT infrastructure and enterprise content management. It is a preferred Microsoft partner for Enterprise Agreements in the Indian Ocean region.

FRCI also developed its very own ERP solution under the Insight division, which focuses on creating and implementing integrated IT systems and customized ERP solutions.

eServices is the branch of FRCI dedicated to online solutions, from website design to development of Web applications, search engine optimization, Intranet, hosting and e-marketing.

Finally Maurisoft specialises in multimedia, offering hardware, software and courses in graphic design, video, animation, sound and music.

FRCI is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner since 2007. It was also recognized in 2008 as 10-years outstanding Microsoft Indian Ocean Islands partner.

FRCI offers a wide scope of Microsoft Solutions and is certified on a number of competencies including: Portals and Collaboration, Learning, Software Asset Management, Midmarket solutions provider and Small Business Specialist Community. It was the first Microsoft Enterprise Software Advisor (ESA) for the Indian Ocean region.

Today, FRCI is honored as 2010 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year for Mauritius.

For more information about Microsoft Partner Awards and a list of the winners, visit www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/wpc or http://digitalwpc.com/Awards

eServices Latest Website

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:37:39 GMT

Why Virtualise?

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

If you’re like most businesses around the world, you’re probably wondering how you can spend less, be more efficient and how to make your business ‘greener’ while avoiding higher costs. Well, the answer might just be into thin air…

Put simply, virtualisation refers to the creation of a virtual version of an actual device or resource. This could be a server, a network, an application or an operating system. The actual resource is divided to create separate virtual resources all operating on that same real resource. The goal is to maximize the capacity and efficiency of the initial resource.

As businesses' IT needs grow and evolve, virtualisation has come around as the answer to the growing demand of enterprises for solutions that will enable them to be more flexible and adapt to changes without significantly increasing cost of maintenance, storage, hardware…

This is how virtualisation helps your business.

SAVE MONEY
Virtualisation solutions enable businesses to reduce their costs by reducing energy consumption and the need for multiple physical servers.
Independent research shows that most file servers are only running at around 15 to 18 % efficiency. That’s a significant waste of both server space and money. By splitting one server into multiple virtual servers, as opposed to buying more physical servers, an organisation can make huge savings.
In consequence, businesses also save in maintenance and in real estate costs, as there is less space needed for physical servers.

BE MORE EFFICIENT
The IT team typically spends about 80% of its time dealing with problems such as downtime, security threats and server sprawl. This can be considerably reduced with virtualisation solutions.
The efficiency of the whole organization can also be enhanced via a higher availability of servers. For example, the IT team is able to carry live migration with virtual servers without employees losing access to the server, allowing them to continue working without interruption.
Users can also benefit from greater flexibility with easy access to virtual machines and applications on demand. There is no need to install applications on a physical machine to have access to that application.
Virtualisation not only delivers high level of availability but also a flexible and dynamic management solution. This increases the organisation’s agility in helping to deal more efficiently with security threats, increasing IT regulations and rate of change.

BE GREENER
Virtualisation solutions considerably reduce power consumption, as it maximizes capacity and reduces running costs of unused resources.
Server core parking, a feature of Windows Server 2008 R2, for example, significantly reduces power usage for CPUs, maximizing processing load on a minimum number of cores.
This focus on energy saving enhances Green IT, an important aspect of modern, socially responsible organisations.

Microsoft Virtualisation Solutions
At FRCI we strongly believe in the potential of virtualisation in improving businesses’ efficiency and operations. In this context, our division Isys, specialist of IT infrastructure and enterprise content management, hosted a seminar for IT professionals, in collaboration with Microsoft, on Microsoft Virtualisation Solutions last Wednesday 19 May, at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Ebene.

Virtualisation is part of Microsoft’s strategic vision of Dynamic IT for implementing IT infrastructures that can automatically adjust to changing business conditions by aligning computing resources with business objectives.

Microsoft’s approach focuses on adopting virtualisation as a basic IT skill and not as a specialist area. Any IT professional should be able to manage virtual solutions, which is why all Microsoft solutions come with common management tools in familiar interfaces that are easy to use.

Isys consultant Raj Seegobin took the opportunity during his presentation to do a few demos of these solutions and to present some of the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, released in July 2009. These, grouped into 3 main focus areas, include:

Better Flexibility :
- Live Migration
- Cluster shared volumes
- Hot add/remove of storage
- Processor compatibility mode for live migration
Improved Performance
- Improved memory management
- TCP offload support
- Improved networking
Greater Scalability
- 64 logical processor support
- Server core parking

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.

Office 2010

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Officially available worldwide this Tuesday 15 June, Microsoft Office 2010 already sounds promising with improved performance and new features that will make our life even easier.

If you’ve already switched to Office 2007, the upgrade to 2010 will provide a consistent improvement of functions but for those who stuck with Office 2003, the cumulative changes are overwhelmingly positive and it’s hard to imagine an objective reason for not upgrading.

In Office 2010, Microsoft has put emphasis on productivity, usability, collaboration and accessibility.

Productivity
Microsoft puts the emphasis once more on productivity in Office 2010 with new features and improved functionality of existing features, allowing you to work faster, access information easily and be less dependent on other software. For example, you don’t need any third party design or video editing software to edit your images and videos in your PowerPoint presentation. Simple tools allow you to format size and colours, remove backgrounds, change presentation style within PowerPoint.

Improved Usability
The Ribbon, the most sweeping change in user interface introduced with Office 2007, is now present in Outlook, Publisher and OneNote as well. No more old style menus and toolbars. This is especially welcome in Outlook, where many previously buried options are now much easier to discover.

The File menu is also back. Office 2007 buried the file menu functions on the Office menu which proved less user-friendly. This is rectified with Office 2010 where the file menu appears at the far left hand in a bright colour. Unlike the other tab headings, it opens a full-page informational display called Backstage view. This backstage view allows you to view information about the current file or e-mail message, manage a list of recent menus and recent places, convert documents, handle printing tasks, without leaving the program window.

All Office 2010 applications also include a complete set of customization tools for the Ribbon. You can hide built-in tabs, move tabs and groups of commands up and down, rename tabs and groups, and create custom tabs with your own arrangement of favorite commands.

Collaboration
Office 2010 also brings in new collaboration features that will help users in their day to day work and interactions on a project. Whereas previously you could only read a document that was open by another colleague, it is now possible to work simultaneously on the same document. You would be able to see which part your colleague is editing and his changes are at once reflected on the document you opened. Some areas can also be blocked for editing. Updating one figure in a report could instantly provide updates on results to all users viewing the report.

Accessibility
Microsoft has made a substantial investment in online features for this edition. Office Web Apps enable users to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote online, with a common feature set that works on Windows Live SkyDrive for consumers and as part of SharePoint servers in big corporations.

Graphic reproduction of documents edited and opened online is impressive, near identical to the desktop version. Office Web Apps will be fully functional in not only Internet Explorer, but also other browsers such as Safari and Firefox, where as Opera and Chrome are supported but not garanteed.

Users will be able to share more easily their documents with colleagues and access them from any device with an Internet connection. A user could upload a PowerPoint presentation for example, that has a large file size and cannot be sent via email and give access for his colleagues to download, or the client to download at his office.

Access to your Office tools will become even easier with Office 2010 available on your PC, on your mobile and on your browser.

Reviews
Reviews of Office 2010 by different experts are generally positive. Award-winning technology writer Ed Bott said in his review: “Office 2010 is a surprisingly deep, thoughtfully designed, well-engineered collection of software programs”.

Will Microsoft kick off another upgrade cycle that will last for several years?

Useful Information for you
Microsoft Office 2010 is already available for companies having a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement and will be available to the general public worldwide end of June.

Training courses for Office 2010 will be available at Nuclei from September.

Stay tuned for more information on new features of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on our website.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.

eServices Latest Website

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Top 10 Reasons to 'Go Genuine'

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Software piracy is not only detrimental to our country’s economy and the development of the ICT sector but it also has direct negative impacts on companies.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), a nonprofit trade association, is the foremost organisation dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. Maurisoft, as the official representative of Adobe in Mauritius, and our partner Microsoft are active members of the BSA in Mauritius.

BSA members are adamant that companies play a key role in promoting the use of genuine software. It is critical that companies work together to address the key issues of software piracy.

BSA Top 10 Reasons why you should help fight software piracy:

Viruses introduced by illegal software can damage or even destroy your system.
Serial number clashes can cause serious disruption.
The lack of user manuals, reference manuals, and product support can make your job even more difficult.
Because you have no original disks, you’re unable to recover from a software failure.
You waste time and energy sorting out system problems.
You get no assurance of product authenticity or reliability.
If you run a CAD environment, you may encounter problems with output devices such as printers and plotters.
The organization will suffer a tarnished reputation if found guilty of copyright infringement.
Criminal charges may be filed against directors who consent or turn a blind eye to illegal copying of software.
Your company forfeits product warranties and low-priced or free upgrades.

For more information about software piracy, download the brochure on gogenuine.mu

A software asset management is one of the tools that can help you regain control of software in use in your company and help you manage it. If you would like to run a software asset management for Adobe or Microsoft software, do not hesitate to contact us.

For more information about the current ‘Go Genuine’ campaign, visit the Maurisoft website.

Follow us on Twitter

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Is your website safe?

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Recent events have forced us to look again at the security of our website. Could anyone hijack your website and publish any information he wants on it?

The answer, and this is probably not what you wanted to hear, is “yes, they can”… that is, if you let them.

eServices manager Frederic de Comarmond says there are millions of web attacks every hour and he daily registers on average 1 attack every 5 minutes on his servers.

“There’s no need to panic. Online attacks have always been a common and known threat; the trick is to be aware of this and to be equipped to deal with it.”

"Creating a website today is made to look so easy and simple
that we tend to forget there is more to it than a nice design or a few functional pages.
You need a solid basis and a reliable interface."

Who are hackers? What do they want?
There are two types of hackers. The ones that do it for fun, to prove their skills and to show off. These ones can attack your website as part of a competition and typically have fun changing the information on your website.

Others have harmful intentions. They want to retrieve credit cards information, personal information, access private database… They do it for money.

How do hackers do it? Are there different types of attacks?
Very often, hackers will scan websites for vulnerabilities and choose the websites with the less security as their next prey.

The most common forms of attacks are SQL injections, a code injection technique that exploits a vulnerability in the website programming.

86% of successful web attacks are due to a weakness in web interface.

An SQL injection can allow the hacker to modify the content of your website, insert a virus, slow down your website or redirect your site somewhere else so when users open your site, they are actually transferred to the content of another site.

The most dangerous attacks are attacks on the DNS server, which ensures the visibility of your website. If this server is under attack, then nobody can access or view your website.

What consequences can these attacks have for a website owner?
The consequences can be catastrophic. The company’s image and reputation can be seriously damaged by such event where hackers will publish wrongful information or give a virus to your website visitors. The company risks losing its credibility and the public’s trust.

How can we know our website is under attack?
In some cases, you can tell by visiting your website. A good practice is to check your website every day. If any information is strange, you know someone is tampering with your site.

Some types of attacks are harder to detect, such as the slowing down of your website.

At eServices, we also receive email alerts for every attempted attack. While we do not investigate all attacks – there are so many of them –, serious attacks, such as redirecting of website content or failure in servers, attract our immediate attention.

What should we do to protect our website?
The first ground rule is to have your website done by an experienced developer who will ensure your website is safe from the known and most common threats.

Since your website can never be 100% secured, the second most important thing is to ensure a rigorous monitoring of your site to be able to detect any unusual activity as quickly as possible.

You can also install specific software that will regularly scan your website and certify the authenticity of its content and ensure it is free from malware and harmful codes.

We recommend that any serious business, especially large corporations and financial institutions, opt for this additional security feature.

What should we do if we suspect our website has been hacked?
The key is to react fast. Any attack can be reversed quickly and efficiently if it is detected rapidly. The more you wait, the more time you give the hacker to do more damage, the more people access that wrongful information and the more risks you have of losing control.

If you suspect your website has been attacked, you should immediately call your service provider to report it.
We have a set of procedures for this kind of situation. Usually you would attempt to remove the flawed version of the website as soon as possible and restore a correct version. You would of course need to identify the source of the attack and remedy to it to prevent further similar attacks.

At eServices, we also have backups for our DNS servers so if anything happens to one of them, we can still rely on others and your websites keep being accessible while we work on restoring the servers.

Do online shopping websites or online banking interfaces face the same risks?
Yes they do but they typically have a far tighter security. The website itself and the interface where you do transactions are separated; there are additional encryption devices and security parameters. This is essential for this kind of businesses.

Are Mauritian websites well equipped to face online attacks?
Unfortunately, a lot of Mauritian websites can easily be attacked. While it is a risk for the company, it can also be dangerous for people who use this website and trust it with personal information.

Companies often overlook the security of the website due to a lack of awareness of the risks involved. It is often when it is too late, and your website has been hacked, that you actually realise how important it is to protect and monitor it.

Common mistakes include using only an in-house or freelance designer to create a website when they are often not qualified developers and cannot ensure a secured website. Using a software to publish a website also exposes the publisher to more risks as these software are typically known by hackers and more prone to attacks. Those companies using content management software for their website should ensure they are constantly upgrading their security patches.

Creating a website today is made to look so easy and simple that we tend to forget there is more to it than a nice design or a few functional pages. You need a solid basis and a reliable interface.

Avatars at Work

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:25:52 GMT

What if you could wake up tomorrow, switch on your computer and with a few clicks attend your board meeting in your pyjamas?

In three clicks, you've chosen a nice shirt and pair of shoes for your avatar. You run a program, open a window, and your avatar is in Port Louis. On your screen you select a building, click on the 6th floor.

You join your other colleagues' avatars in the boardroom; interact with each other, controlling your avatar’s movement and speech.

No traffic, no parking... you've just gained an hour or more. A virtual reality?

A new era in workplace communication might be coming our way.

The use of avatars and virtual workplaces are already common in many of the largest U.S companies. During the last three years, thousands of employees at companies like IBM, Cisco, SAP and Boeing have been using avatars to interact with colleagues and customers around the world.

While avatars are a practical way to work across physical borders, they could also represent considerable efficiency gains in terms of time and productivity.

The movie Avatar has fascinated over millions of people across the globe, and while it represented a world and technologies that might be light-years ahead of today’s reality, avatars themselves are nothing new.
The avatar, a cartoon or stylized likeness of an Internet user, has been around for years. It can take various forms: a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional picture or simply a one-dimensional username.

At the origin, Avatar is a Hindu term for the manifestation or appearance of a deity. The use of the term "avatar" as a user’s on-screen representation was coined in 1985 for the online role-playing game Habitat.
Avatars have taken front-and-center in the video game industry and the age of Twitter and Facebook has fueled an appetite for these personal renditions amongst users.

They’ve also been gaining popularity in the workplace. Virtual worlds might change the way people work tomorrow. It might even become a key factor in creating best employees and competitive businesses.

Working as avatars would require little training for those used to playing computer games. You have to log on to the software, you have to get an avatar, you may spend some time customizing and personalizing it, then you jump into a virtual world. Within minutes, you're manipulating your presence with a group of others in a virtual environment, scooting around left to right, up and down and walking around.

For Stanford University Professor Byron Reeves avatars are extremely appealing for businesses because they allow employees to cross continents and time zones for work interaction but also because they are a lot of fun to manipulate. The notion of self-representation in media is incredibly interesting and gives users a new sense of power. Professor Reeves believes that the use of avatars on the job will boost interest and engagement in work activities resulting in increased productivity and satisfaction for employees.

Businesses are becoming more and more open to letting their employees experiment with virtual alter-egos. “That notion of doing something serious, but with an element of gaming and playful representation, is what's interesting to many companies right now”, Professor Reeves explains. “Three years ago, the notion of having fun at work wasn't widely accepted. You could get fired for having fun at work. But fun is not the opposite of work. Fun comes from engagement and it's the reason you work well. When you add the game element, you add a big sense of collaboration. You feel like you're playing with a team. To win in these games, you've got to encourage your colleagues. You can't win by yourself.”

A lot of questions still remain though on feasibility, ethics and technology reliability. We would need an extremely reliable and fast internet connection to interact seamlessly in the avatar workplace.

Will using avatars at work redefine social codes, or just reinforce the rules of real life in a virtual world? How do you monitor and control the actions of avatars and their operators at work?

How will we represent ourselves as avatars: Is it OK to be taller and more attractive? Is it OK to make my face look a little bit like your face? Studies show that you're more likely to like me if we look alike, but is it fair to take advantage of that with an avatar?

What will happen to human interaction? Will we be going out for virtual cups of coffee?

These are all questions that will need to be figured out as this concept develops.

In any case, the avatar wave has already spurred a new profession. Avatar artists are already in demand as people start looking for original, engaging and unique virtual representations of themselves.

Windows Server 2008

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:17:36 GMT

Harvard ManageMentor

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

eServices Latest Website

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Sending eCards

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

eCards are a great way to send your end of year and Christmas greetings to your colleagues, clients and partners. But there are often restrictions on design, size, spamming…

eServices expert Ahsinah Koossa answers your questions about designing your eCard, personalising it, and all the Do's and Don’ts you should know about…

What format should we use to send an eCard?
If you want your eCard to appear with all the nice graphics directly into the receiver’s mail, the best way to do so is using what we call HTML codes. This enables you to insert graphics and text into the mail. You need to use a special system to create your mail, like our eMailing Pro system or other equivalent system.

Do not send the card as an attachment. It is less visually appealing and you have more chances of being identified as spam.

Can the eCard be animated?
Not directly in the mail itself. You would then have to send out a link to see the eCard online. On the Web, you can do your eCard in a flash which will enable it to be animated. However, you reduce the number of viewers for your card by doing so – a limited number of recipients will bother to click to see the card online.

Can you personalise your eCard with the recipient’s name?
Yes you can include “Dear John” or other types of messages at the beginning but you need to have the information in your database with the names of the persons corresponding to each email address.
If possible, it is best to personalise emails as it increases the chances of being read.

What is the limit of email addresses I can send my eCard to?
Do not copy-paste a lot of email addresses and e-mail in bulk. It is less personal and more importantly you risk to be blocked as a spammer. Being identified as a spammer could potentially be dangerous as you lose the ability to send mails for a few hours and you could in worse cases be blacklisted on servers. Not only will your email address be blacklisted but all users with the same domain name (ex: frci.net) will also be blacklisted. Again, using the professional mailing system, there is no restriction on the number of email addresses and it is specifically designed to mass mail.

Can I know how many people read my card?
You cannot if you sent it from your mail account unless you asked for read receipts. On the eMailing Pro you can get complete statistics report for the eCards sent. You can identify how many mails were delivered, how many people opened the mail and whether they clicked on any link in the mail. You can also see who opened the mail and who did not.

Can I use any database of email addresses?
Do use a list of email addresses you know. Do not use email addresses you found or copied from other mails or purchased. It is unethical to send emails to people who did not request to receive them. By sending emails to people you don’t know, you increase the risk of emails bouncing, being unread and risk your company’s image. If you are unsure about your email addresses, do always provide to recipients the possibility to unsubscribe/opt out from the list.

What is the size limit for an email?
The mail should not typically be more than 100KB to decrease chances of being identified as spam. Do not send large graphics from your mail account. If you are sending your mail from a specialised mailing system, all the graphics you send remain on the server and are not sent directly in the recipients inbox, thus reducing the mail size. The graphics are downloaded straight from the Internet.

If you use a specialized mailing system, like your eMailing Pro, how will the receivers know the mail comes from me?
You can choose to display any email address you like as the sender of the mail. You can also choose any sender’s name you want to display. The recipient makes no difference whether the mail has gone through a system or comes straight from your mail account. Do use a known name and email address for your recipients.

Fighting Software Piracy

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Maurice Publicité Ogilvy, first enterprise in Mauritius to obtain Adobe’s Certificate of Compliancy

Maurisoft, official representative of Adobe in Mauritius, has presented the first Adobe Certificate of Compliancy in Mauritius to Maurice Publicité Ogilvy.

“It’s a new milestone in the fight against software piracy,” rejoices Maurisoft General Manager Nicolas Le Maire. “Maurice Publicité Ogilvy opened its doors to Adobe and we encourage all Mauritian enterprises to follow this example. We are proud to recognise Maurice Publicité Ogilvy as a genuine partner of Adobe in Mauritius.”

Maurice Publicité Ogilvy Managing Director Jean Jacques de Robillard said he was proud to receive this certificate which embodies the company’s philosophy to be honest and respectful towards its partners, clients and the public at large.

“Pleased to celebrate 85 years this year, Maurice Publicité Ogilvy proudly nurtures its culture of “pioneering new ideas” whilst respecting the company’s values. This certificate is a case in point as the agency is the very first company in Mauritius to receive it,” adds M. de Robillard.

For Maurisoft and Adobe, we must go beyond crackdown campaigns on software piracy by promoting enterprises that are legal and transparent. Adobe partners benefit from different privileges and value-added services such as advice and training, by Adobe certified experts.

According to Nicolas Le Maire, many enterprises in Mauritius wish to be compliant and legal. However there is often a discrepancy between the managers’ will and the reality.

Managers often have little control over the software and licenses installed on each workstation. The larger an organisation, the more complex the control and audit are. Furthermore, users sometimes remain unknown because Adobe software is wrongly associated to designer jobs only whereas these can be used in a variety of different jobs such as textile, marketing, law, finance, government etc.

Maurisoft proposes to conduct a Software Asset Management (SAM) for enterprises. An audit of all computers provides an inventory of Adobe software being used. Other than licenses’ legitimacy, you must also verify that software are properly installed and up-to-date. Appropriate recommendations are then made for a complete update which, once done, will enable the company to receive a certificate of compliancy, as well as have better control and management of its software and increase its productivity.

“We are already working with several companies in this aim and are confident in the results, but there is still a lot to be done,” says M. Le Maire.

An official study from the BSA (Business Software Alliance) indicates a 57% piracy rate in Mauritius in 2008, resulting in estimated losses of around Rs.150 million per year for the country. Mauritius is considerably above the international average (41% in 2008).

During the past year, we noticed an increasing will from the government and regulatory bodies to fight more efficiently against piracy with new copyrighting laws, the association of the BSA and MASA in June 2009, awareness campaigns (including several scheduled for 2010) and the alliance of software editors such as Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk and Symantec.

However, for Nicolas Le Maire, the support and contribution of all Mauritian enterprises are also essential to win this fight.

“Everyone has a role to play in the fight against software piracy and we should all take a part of responsibility,” underlines M. Le Maire. “It’s good to be legal but we must go further and insist on a proof of genuineness from suppliers as well.”

“By choosing to work with genuine companies, we support the economical development of our country and its vision of becoming a key player in the ICT sector in the region and internationally,” explains M. Le Maire. “We must work together to achieve our ambitions of becoming a Cyber island by promoting and encouraging Genuine enterprises.”

» Télécharger la version française de cet article :
Lutte anti-piratage : Maurice Publicité Ogilvy, première compagnie à Maurice à obtenir le certificat d'authenticité Adobe.

Training with Trevor Neil

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Trevor Neil, Europe’s leading investment manager and technical analyst, and the presenter of Thomson Reuters' Friday Technical Analysis Surgery Webinars, is back in Mauritius for some more training sessions at our training centre, Nuclei.

From the 26 to 28 November 2009, Trevor Neil will deliver courses in market timing expertise for financial professionals.

Trevor Neil has been a trader for over 30 years and a daily user of technical analysis. He was the celebrated head of technical analysis at Bloomberg LP and prior to that a floor trader for Merrill Lynch. He has served on the board of the STA in London. Today, the top investment firms and funds throughout Europe choose him to train their staff.

Trevor Neil is a respected experienced trader to institutional traders, portfolio managers & analysts. He is concerned with the practical application of technical analysis and realises one answer does not fit all. This is a mistake made by most other trainers and authors. The technical analysis you should use will be determined by your job. Some technical analysis will be wrong, even harmful to you. Each attendee will be asked in advance of the course to complete a Client Questionnaire to ensure Trevor Neil knows in advance what your individual learning objectives are, what you do and in what timeframe.

Here is what some had to say about training with Trevor Neil:

"An exceptional day of learning from someone that knows precisely what they're talking about and has the experience to back it up, brilliant"
J.B-B, Davinci Invest Ltd, Zürich

"One day with Trevor Neil beats reading ten books. Now just imagine, spending two or three days with Trevor..."
Albert Klein, Euronext

“I would definitely recommend doing this course and I intend to do some more of his courses in the future”.
S. O’K. NCB Stockbrokers Ltd, Eire

"Excellent stuff!"
Adam Kaszynski, Citigroup

“It was great to me following your TA course. It really has opened my eyes and I must say I enjoyed your explanation. … I started setting up my screens..did my first trade this morning and guess what....IT WORKED!!!”
Maurice Bours, WE Equity Trading, Amsterdam

“I really enjoyed the course very much. I really thought it was presented in a practical way. Learned a lot!”
Jonine Mostert, Bank of International Settlements

View more information about the Market Timing workshop >>
Or contact us for more information by filling in our online form or by phone: (230)286 9636

WINDOWS 7

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Windows 7 : What should we look forward to ?

Expected to be Microsoft’s most successful operating system, allying highly refined user experience, exceptional performance and integration of the latest technologies, Windows 7 will be officially released worldwide on the 22nd October.

Isys Managing Consultant Clarel Constance says many organisations that chose not to upgrade to Vista are now planning to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7.

“We have deployed Windows 7 on several computers, up to 2 years old, and can say that user experience is great”, adds M. Constance.

While many criticisms of Windows Vista pinpointed compatibility issues, Windows 7 should not disappoint users. Not only has most compatibility issues been addressed but Microsoft also proposes an exciting new feature: the Windows XP Mode, which allows a portion of Windows 7 to operate as a Windows XP computer and run non-compatible applications.

The upgrade to Windows 7 should be much smoother than it was with Windows Vista. While Vista required new hardware to be deployed, it is not the case with Windows 7. Nonetheless, for medium to large scale migrations, M. Constance recommends planning and assistance from experienced IT consultants.

“The first step before migrating to Windows 7 is to test it on a computer and explore the new features and constraints. This will allow IT executives to make a more informed decision” underlines M. Constance.

In this optic, FRCI is organising this week presentations of Windows 7 for enterprises. The aim of these free interactive sessions is to introduce Windows 7 new features and address any concerns users might have.

Nuclei’s manager Mary Jane Perrault says she is enthusiastic to present this new operating system.
“Enjoy working! That’s what Windows 7 can do for you. It’s sexier, faster, more efficient… it’s really all about user experience.”

Some of the new features include improved taskbars, speedy access to your favourite documents, improved search and a new way to compare windows on your desktop.

Other features will particularly interest businesses: Windows Touch (native support for touch screen PCs); Problem steps recorder (enhanced support from helpdesk); direct access (New VPN technology for mobile users to seamlessly access their corporate applications); Branch Cache (greater user experience for users from remote offices when using files server and intranet sites hosted in the head office).

Although the new platform is extremely user-friendly, Mrs. Perrault still recommends a training session. “There are so many possibilities and options you might miss, we decided to offer short training sessions for those who wish to learn everything about Windows 7 and maximise their user experience”, she explains. “When users are presented with a new platform, they often waste a lot of time looking around and often remain ignorant of a lot of available options. Training is all about encouraging efficiency.”

Following the success of our first Presentations of Windows 7, future presentations will be scheduled at Nuclei’s training centre, component of FRCI. Those interested by these sessions should contact us.