The Elcom Blog

Press Release - Elcom continues growth with two new Australian accounts, Wine Bloc and Asset Super

JoshA — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:15:00 GMT

SYDNEY, Australia – 4 November 2009 – Elcom, one of Australia's leading and most prolific web application development companies, today announced two new client wins, Wine Bloc and Asset Super.

Wine Bloc

Elcom was chosen by Wine Bloc to create a website and content management solution for its innovative wine storage project. Wine Bloc recently converted 127 cells in the historic Pentridge Gaol into state of the art, climate controlled wine cellars. The company needed a website that introduced the concept of virtual wine storage to potential customers. They also needed a robust content management system that would enable all Wine Bloc customers to virtually manage their wine. Additionally, it was important for Wine Bloc to liaise with their customers and vendors through the site. This solution needed to be in place, tested and functioning prior to the official launch.
www.winebloc.com.au

Asset Super

Elcom was chosen by Asset Super to provide a cutting edge content management system that could be managed entirely in house. Asset Super is an industry super fund with $1.4 billion funds under advice. The company has been providing superannuation services for more than 20 years. Asset Super’s previous website included a content management system that could only be modified by a third party supplier. Although this reliance had served Asset well in the past, the company’s web presence is now key to its marketing strategy. This meant that Asset Super needed to gain more control over its online presence to manage delivery to market and third party costs.
www.assetsuper.com.au

Elcom

Elcom continues to take on new clients and projects utilising web applications that have been developed in house and utilised by some of Australia’s top businesses. John Anstey, CEO and founder of Elcom says, “We have been lucky enough to work on some exciting and challenging projects this year, and I am continually impressed by what we are achieving as a company and the many ways that CommunityManager.NET has been implemented to solve the needs of these organisations. I am looking forward to expanding upon this success moving forwards.”
www.elcom.com.au

Click here to go to the Elcom website and read the full press release.

For interview opportunities and further information, please find the appropriate contact details in the attached press release.

October User Groups a Success!

JoshA — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:31:00 GMT

October User Groups a Success!

We are happy to announce that the Sydney and Melbourne October User Groups were a great success!

The Sydney User Group featured a presentation by Jeans 4 Genes and the Melbourne User Group featured a presentation by Lend Lease. Lisa Herrod from Scenario Seven also gave an insight into usability and user experience.

Attendees of the user group saw demo's and previews of new modules that we being released, as well as some useful features of the product.

The feedback from the user group was very positive, and we look forward to announcing the dates of our next User Groups. Thank you to all those that attended.

If you are interested in attending or presenting at the next user group, email usergroup@elcom.com.au

Elcom September E-Newsletter and Upcoming October User Groups

JoshA — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:25:00 GMT

This is a summary of the September E-Newsletter and the upcoming October User Groups that are taking place in Sydney and Melbourne.

Product News

Sneak Peak

We are launching a new WYSIWYG Editor and an enhanced Resource Booking calendar. These will be officially launched at the next CommunityManager User Group. Click below to watch the sneak peak video.

Product Release Notes

With each new version of CommunityManager.NET, release notes are published, covering product enhancements and issues resolved.

Click here to view the latest release notes.

If you would like to upgrade to the new version, or view notes prior to version 6.0, please contact your Account Manager.

October CommunityManager.NET User Groups

The popular CommunityManager.NET User Groups will be taking place in Sydney and Melbourne in October.

Join us at the events to hear interesting case studies, learn about new product enhancements and useful industry information. You will also see a hands on demonstration of the new WYSIWYG content editor and resource booking module.

We are very excited about an industry expert who will be speaking at the user groups. This will be announced shortly.
You can register for the User Groups by clicking the links below.

Elcom at Microsoft Tech.Ed Australia 2009

JoshA — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:57:00 GMT

Elcom will be exhibiting at the Microsoft Tech.Ed Australia 2009 conference which is taking place from Tuesday 8th - Friday 11th September.

At Microsoft Tech.Ed, Elcom will showcase the CommunityManager.NET Platform and its successful implementations.

This year Microsoft Tech.Ed is being held in the Gold Coast. If you are going to the event, come past our stand and say hello.

Enhanced Link Management

anthonym — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:49:00 GMT

We are excited to announce the release of the enhanced link management service in CommunityManager.NET 6.6. Whenever a piece of content is created in the rich text editor the links contained within are harvested, indexed and stored in the link repository. If a URL is edited, moved or deleted the system will first notify you of all pages that currently link to it. If your intention was to remove the link you can still proceed however if you were unaware of the impact you can direct the link management service to automatically update the pages with the new URL.

Click here to view a short video which demonstrates the functionality.

We have also produced a Link Management report which will provide web admins with a detailed view of link statuses. It is our hope that together with the new functionality and reports, web admins will have a much easier time managing links in their websites, intranets and training platforms.

Tamworth Regional Council Bolsters Online Services With Elcom

JoshA — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:24:00 GMT

Tamworth Regional Council Bolsters Online Services With Elcom

Regional council using Elcom’s enterprise content management and web design platform to improve online service delivery and simplify access to information.

Sydney, Australia (June 22, 2009) – Tamworth Regional Council (www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au) is rebuilding its website with the help of Sydney-based enterprise content management company Elcom in an effort to improve its service delivery and offer better information resources to its customers.

Using Elcom’s CommunityManager.NET development environment, the new website will allow for certain services – such as rate payments – to be made available online in the future. It will also simplify the process of publishing and retrieving information, allowing multiple personnel that aren’t familiar with web publishing or HTML to publish content that adheres to the design and formatting guidelines set out by the Council’s internet committee.

Click here to read the full press release - 'Tamworth Regional Council Bolsters Online Services With Elcom'.

For interview opportunities and further information, please find the appropriate contact details in the attached press release.

Melbourne CommunityManager.NET User Group

JoshA — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:59:00 GMT

Elcom is holding its Melbourne CommunityManager.NET User Group today (Wednesday 10th June 2009). The event is being held at The Sebel & Citigate Albert Hotel.

The User Group will feature information about the CommunityManager.NET Platform and Web Applications, client case studies, the CommunityManager.NET Roadmap as well as demonstrations of some featured modules.

There has been a really high level of interest in the Melbourne User Group and the list of registrations has continued to grow.

You can register for the Melbourne CommunityManager.NET User Group here.

If you are interested in attending or presenting at the next user group, email usergroup@elcom.com.au

Read the Elcom News article on our website here.

Press Release - Signature Security Helps Customers Stay Safe with Elcom

JoshA — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:12:00 GMT

New Web-based Services Provide Flexibility and 24-hour Accessibility

Sydney, Australia (April 7, 2009) – Sydney, Australia (May 28, 2009) – Signature Security, the largest Australian-owned electronic security company, has selected Sydney-based web application developer Elcom to provide a web content management system to support five new websites.

The new sites will use Elcom’s CommunityManager.NET development environment and will be designed to increase Signature’s revenues and improve competitive positioning through increased customer satisfaction and lead generation.

Click here to read the full press release - 'Signature Security Helps Customers Stay Safe with Elcom'.

For interview opportunities and further information, please find the appropriate contact details in the attached press release.

May CommunityManager.NET User Group Summary

JoshA — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:46:00 GMT

Yesterday (Wednesday 27th May 2009), we held another successful CommunityManager.NET User Group at the Australian Technology Park which enabled our clients to learn about our Platform, hear case studies and interact and contribute to the roadmap of the product.

The User Group began with an overview of Elcom's CommunityManager.NET Platform and Web Applications and an update on some of the Marketing activity and Elcom's coverage in the Media.

Read more about the May CommunityManager.NET User Group on the Elcom Website News Page.

May CommunityManager.NET User Group

JoshA — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:16:00 GMT

The new date for the next CommunityManager.NET User Group is Wednesday 27th May at the Australian Technology Park from 8:15am-10:00am.

Elcom's extremely successful and popular user groups are great places to meet others users, learn about new features, contribute to the CommunityManager.NET Roadmap and learn some tips and tricks.

Reasons to attend

At the user group you will:

Learn about the CommunityManager.NET and the Web Applications that have been built on the platform
View a case study presentation from UTS:INSEARCH and get an insight into CommunityManager.NET's implementation from a clients perspective
Network with other users
Discuss and contribute to the CommunityManager.NET Roadmap
See a demo some of the latest features
Walk away with practical tips and tricks that can be used with CommunityManager.NET

Click here to register for the CommunityManager.NET User Group.

We look forward to seeing you on May 27th.

Press Release - Austrade Goes Multimedia With Elcom

JoshA — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:49:00 GMT

Australian Government portal for exporters and investors adds advanced multimedia and training resources to its website, along with a fresh new look.

Sydney, Australia (April 7, 2009) – The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), the Australian Government’s trade and investment development agency, is adding a raft of new multimedia training, information and social media content to its website (http://www.austrade.gov.au/) with the help of local enterprise content management company Elcom.

Elcom was recently placed on the ‘Whole of Government ICT suppliers list’ until February 2012, one of only 200 local companies to successfully apply for the position. The company is also working on a new module for CommunityManager.NET that enables Government organisations on a Federal, State and Local level to manage content and documents, share information and collaborate.

Read the full press release, 'Austrade Goes Multimedia With Elcom' here.

April CommunityManager.NET User Group

JoshA — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:51:00 GMT

The next CommunityManager.NET User Group will take place on Thursday 16th April at the Australian Technology Park from 8:15am-10:00am.

Elcom's extremely successful and popular user groups are great places to meet others users, learn about new features, contribute to the CommunityManager.NET Roadmap and learn some tips and tricks.

Reasons to attend

At the user group you will:

Learn about the CommunityManager.NET and the Web Applications that have been built on the platform
View a case study presentation from UTS:INSEARCH and get an insight into CommunityManager.NET's implementation from a clients perspective
Network with other users
Discuss and contribute to the CommunityManager.NET Roadmap
See a demo some of the latest features
Walk away with practical tips and tricks that can be used with CommunityManager.NET

Click here to register for the CommunityManager.NET User Group.

We look forward to seeing you on April 16th.

UPDATE: Please note that the CommunityManager.NET User Group has moved to Wednesday 27th May 2009. Click here to read the news article about the new date for the CommunityManager.NET User Group.

Press Release - Elcom And StoneBridge Systems Take .NET To The Masses

JoshA — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:52:00 GMT

Australian enterprise content management (ECM) specialists Elcom and StoneBridge Systems have entered into a partnership that will see StoneBridge Systems extend its range of content management solutions for medium-to-large organisations with Elcom’s CommunityManager.NET products.

Press Release - Web 2.0 Event Survey Results - Australian companies unconcerned about Web 2.0 security

JoshA — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:41:00 GMT

Press Release - Australian companies unconcerned about Web 2.0 security.

Survey shows majority of companies give users access to Web 2.0 applications despite acknowledging security threats.

Read more about this on our website and download the press release.

Improving Redundancy, Stability and Performance

Angus McDonald — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:45:38 GMT

We believe very strongly in continuous improvement at Elcom as it forms a core value of our Agile development process. Anthony hinted at the significant changes to our website hosting infrastructure we have been making as part of our commitment to continuous improvement. These changes are mostly transparent to our clients, and have so far involved larger uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), more powerful servers and a rollout of Windows Server 2008 across our hosting servers.

The largest changes are still ahead of us and will involve measures designed to greatly improve the redundancy, stability and performance of our hosting infrastructure. The aim is to give clients a hosting service that is more fault tolerant, so that equipment failures do not affect website serving, user sessions or client data.

The first step is to create a completely redundant network infrastructure that supports transparent failover so that if one part of the network infrastructure (a cable, router, switch, firewall, Internet connection or network card) fails, there is a seamless transition to using the redundant hardware/software, with at worst a slight drop in throughput or peak capacity. In fact performance overall will improve as we remove some redundant network layers from our infrastructure. This step will be completed in the next few weeks, unfortunately with one or two very brief (2-5 minutes) outages across all hosted websites. (Key gains: additional redundancy, performance improvements)

The next step is to implement a high-availability, load-balanced web server cluster that will serve all Community Manager.NET websites that are in our current shared hosting servers.

High-availability
When you can lose a server from a cluster without it affecting the overall job of that cluster then it is said to be "high-availability". We will start with three servers in this cluster which means that even if two of the servers have a problem simultaneously we will still be able to serve client websites as if nothing happened.
Load-balanced
Load-balancing across servers means that peaks and troughs in traffic and workload are shared across servers. This means that if one client's website gets a sudden deluge of traffic the load can be shared across all three web servers, meaning there is less net effect on the capacity to serve client's websites (both their's and others).

Another big bonus of this change is that it includes implementing "out of process" user session handling which means we will be able to upgrade Community Manager.NET websites without requiring an outage as users' sessions will not be affected by a re-start of the website on any one server. This is an exciting development, as it will mean less need for website outages in the future as we continue to grow and expand on our hosting service. (Key gains: additional redundancy, greater stability)

The last step is for us to upgrade the current server that mirrors our main database server to have the same specification as that server (which is by far the biggest server we have). This will help ensure that database performance in a failover situation is maintained at the same level it is normally. (Key gains: additional redundancy, performance improvements)

Our strategy in the future will be to add web servers to the cluster, and bring online new mirrored database servers as demand for our hosting services continues to grow. We will also be upgrading our staging environment to have a similar (but less powerful) web server cluster to improve the performance of staging sites.

Do you want to know more about Elcom's website hosting service?