Press / 2007 / 31st August
BCS upgrade signals commitment to InfoBasis skills management products
Capability management experts InfoBasis announced today that the British Computer Society (BCS) plans to extend its set of five online skills and career development tools.
The services, which include BCS IT Job Describer, Skills Manager and Career Developer, are produced by InfoBasis for the Society, and currently run on version 4.2 of the InfoBasis Enterprise Skills Infrastructure (ESI) platform. Provided by the BCS to its corporate and individual members, the tools provide a range of services, from building IT job descriptions to managing the career development of entire teams of IT professionals.
"The upgrade is our opportunity to improve the services we offer," said BCS head of professional products Cliff Lineker, adding that it also includes a clutch of minor changes requested by users. "We polled users for the top ten changes they'd like in the services," says Cliff, "and have bundled the most popular of these improvements in with the upgrade."
Key changes focus on smoother usability, reflecting users' increased familiarity with the tool set. Workflows will be shortened in some places, and navigation altered to improve the user experience. In addition, pivot table functionality will be added to exported reports while e-mail reminders will help leaders manage their team members' career progression.
Also added will be a 'Smart Help' system, which is not only context sensitive but can be managed by the BCS themselves, enabling them to update the help system without relying on outside consultants.
"We have worked with InfoBasis since 2004," says Cliff, "and this upgrade is a natural part of our relationship. Together, we have a long-term commitment to providing our customers with tools that will increase their personal and organisational productivity."
"The BCS relationship has always been long-term," says InfoBasis CEO Ashley Wheaton. "That's why from the start we built all the tools on a single platform. As they have grown in complexity and value, we have seen the value of that single platform. It has enabled us to augment and develop the solution cost-effectively both for the BCS and its clients."
About BCS ( www.bcs.org)
The British Computer Society (BCS) is the Chartered industry body for IT professionals, the Chartered Engineering Institution for Information Technology and a Chartered Science Institution. With our rapidly growing membership, BCS is playing an increasingly pivotal role in leading the development and implementation of world class standards for the IT profession through innovative products, services and support.
Through our specific "Professionalism in IT" initiative, the BCS is leading and building IT professionalism to levels which are currently only seen in more traditional long-standing professions such as architecture and accountancy, but which will increasingly become the de facto standards for IT professionals
Press Contact:
Name Sarah Pounds
Title Deputy PR Manager and Press Officer
The British Computer Society
Tel: +44 (0)1793 417 637
Email: sarah.pounds@hq.bcs.org.uk
For further press information:
Donald Taylor
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 540 140
Fax: +44 (0) 1235 534 869
Email: donaldt [at] infobasis [dot] com
For sales enquiries:
Tom Sandman
Tel: +44 (0)1235 540 140
Fax: +44 (0) 1235 534 869
Email: toms [at] infobasis [dot] com
