A broad-based black economic empowerment portal has been developed by 3fifteen that provides executives with a unified portal application that facilitates the process of planning, measuring and tracking an organisation's performance in terms of BBBEE codes.
The system enables scorecarding for empowerment and was developed to coincide with the launch of Microsoft Office 2007, utilising components of the software suite.
"The solution provides access to a company-wide, consolidated scorecarding, with the ability to drill down into more specific information," says Rian Durandt, Business Unit Manager for business intelligence at 3fifteen. "It allows for effortless compliance reporting and is even able to conduct scenario simulations according to codes of good practice specified for BBBEE."
Whereas traditionally, reporting on compliance could be a cumbersome task with questionable results, 3fifteen's portal allows for rapid and accurate reporting. Planning is also enhanced thanks to the solution's ability to provide simulations. The solution also has an optional preferential procurement management module.
"This system was built for the launch of Microsoft Office 2007 as it utilises Microsoft Excel Server, Excel Web Services, InfoPath and Business Scorecard Manager," explains Durandt. "Using these, the solution enables business users to maintain their own business logic."
Durandt says the system performs calculations via Excel Web Services, which allows for calculation formulae to be changed and updated by simply amending the formula from within the relevant Excel spreadsheet. Excel Server and InfoPath 2007 are used to build and maintain data capture forms, while an Office-integrated dissemination dashboard and reporting portal is facilitated by decision support panel and reporting services.
The solution was marketed and displayed at the Microsoft Office 2007 launch held at Vodaworld in Midrand, Johannesburg, where it was met with a strongly positive reaction from attendees who repeatedly remarked at the power and simplicity of the system.
"3fifteen is committed to developing powerful and effective solutions to meet the unique demands of South African customers," concludes Durandt. "As such, the broad-based black economic empowerment portal aims to facilitate this vital component of doing business in South Africa by providing professionals with an industry-leading tool for planning, measuring and tracking performance in terms of meeting BBBEE requirements."
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