GTconsult - Blog #A-Team

Sujata Excels in MS 900 Exam!

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 09:06:48 +0000

Sujata Excels in MS 900 Exam!

With six years of experience in testing and quality control, Sujata has become highly skilled and knowledgeable in her field. Her tenure at GT for nearly two years has demonstrated her immense value as an asset to the team.

Driven by her desire to enhance her skills, Sujata recently embarked on a journey to improve herself further by taking the MS 900 Microsoft Fundamentals exam.

The MS 900 exam is specifically designed for individuals seeking to demonstrate their foundational understanding of cloud-based solutions that enhance productivity and collaboration in various settings, including on-site, at home, or a combination of both.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/ms-900/

You might be wondering how Sujata fared in this exam. Well, it would be rather awkward if we were to write about an exam she didn't pass, wouldn't it? Fortunately, not only did she pass, but she did so with flying colors!

When asked about her motivation to pursue this certification, Sujata expressed her belief that it would enable her to better serve clients.

“If a client asks me anything about SharePoint, I can answer them smartly and confidently. Previously, I was a little bit confused when it came to the differences and the functionalities under SharePoint. Now, I know it better.”

She also emphasized how the certification has benefited her testing process, particularly in understanding requirements and finding improved ways to optimize SharePoint.

Sujata's commitment to achieving her goal was evident in her rigorous exam preparation. She attributed her success to the comprehensive 500-page book "Microsoft 365 Fundamentals" by Craig Zacker, noting that studying this resource helped her gain a deeper understanding and ultimately pass the exam.

“Because I’m a tester, I don’t work in the back end, so I don’t know the coding and other stuff. That’s why this book was really helpful.”

Sujata also expressed gratitude towards her colleagues for their contributions to her success, including recommending study materials, offering study strategies, and providing encouragement.

Upon learning of her results, Sujata described her elation, admitting to feeling a bit nervous before the exam, unsure of what to expect.

“When I finished, I closed my eyes, opened them a little and saw, OK, I passed. I was literally dancing. And then I realized, OK, the camera is still on, they are still recording.”

Sujata's unwavering dedication to her work and constant pursuit of self-improvement are truly commendable. It is no surprise that she already has her sights set on the next certification, which we will undoubtedly be eager to share here.

Sujata, your hard work, and commitment to excellence are truly inspiring. Keep shining brightly! We eagerly anticipate witnessing your future accomplishments.

Sthe believes in excellence

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 08:24:32 +0000

A write up on Sthe's recent achievement- passing his Microsoft PL 400 exam!

Ever heard of the Microsoft PL-400 exam?

It’s an exam that focuses on the designing, development, testing, security, and troubleshooting of Microsoft Power Platform solutions. Candidates are expected to implement components of a solution that include application enhancements, custom user experiences, system integrations, data conversions, and custom process automation.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/pl-400

While the exam requirements may seem daunting at first glance, it is less challenging for experienced developers who work with the content regularly.

One such developer who recently passed the PL-400 exam is Sthe, a talented senior SharePoint creator who has been with GTconsult for over five years. Despite his lengthy tenure, Sthe has not become complacent in his work. On the contrary, he remains committed to getting things done well and becoming the go-to person in his field.

“In the area that you're in, if you become the best, you become the go to person and that's how you become valuable.”

Sthe's commitment to excellence and his determination to succeed drove him to prepare rigorously for the exam. Despite the pressure and limited time, he managed to pass the exam with flying colors.

When asked about his feelings on his achievement, Sthe was quick to point out how his faith, His relationship with God, plays a critical role in all he does. He pointed out that even in moments of panic during the exam, he experienced little miracles. He is unapologetic about this conviction.

“When I passed, I was over the moon and really grateful to Jesus for helping me.”

Although the PL-400 exam qualified Sthe as an associate, his end goal is to become a specialist. He is already setting his sights on the next step towards his goal and GTconsult is committed to supporting him in his aspirations and helping him achieve his full potential.

Sthe's success story is a testament to the importance of hard work, dedication, and commitment in achieving one's goals. As he continues to reach new milestones, we are honoured to be a part of his journey and to celebrate his achievements with him.

Keep soaring, Sthe!

GTconsult are proud to sponsor ESPC22

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 06:28:05 +0000

See you in Denmark Copenhagen

We are super excited to be attending European SharePoint Conference as a sponsor in November 2022, and this will be our 4^th time sponsoring and attending the event.

What might you ask is ESPC?

“ESPC provides Microsoft 365 & Azure professionals with the expert content and connections to help you achieve professional success.

We do this through our independent, market-leading annual conference and throughout the year with free, educational resources at our online resource centre.

ESPC22 returns live and in-person in Copenhagen from 28 Nov to 1 Dec. The ESPC22 Programme consists of 4 Microsoft Keynotes, 9 Tutorials and 120 Sessions which will enable you to leverage Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, Azure, Power Platform, SharePoint and more to your greatest ability.“

What can we say about the European SharePoint conference that you might not already know?

Its one of our favourite events of the year as it gives us the opportunity to send our team to the other side of the world to learn from the best of the best and grow our European business that we started in 2015.

We believe in challenging the status quo and not settling for what has always been done, simply because it has always been done that way. We are striving to be the best SharePoint company in the world and the only true way to achieve that goal is to build off the great work of the community who are all gathering in Denmark this year.

You can find us as stand 38, very close to the community area, where we will most certainly have one the best prizes this year. As we are GT, we thought it would be fitting to have a GT race set as a prize to the tournament winner. How do you win, well its pretty straight forward, head round to the stand, say hi to the team and enter the competition. Each day make sure to come back to challenge the winners from the previous day for the top spot. The winner on the final day goes home with the prize.

We look forward to seeing our clients, partners and all the attendees at the event. Please come past the stand and see how we can assist you with our A Team managed services. And if you want to book time with Craig Tarr our CEO who will be very keen on sharing a meal of local brew and Smørrebrød in the beautiful city of Copenhagen you can do that by booking his time below.

Book a meeting with Craig

GTconsult 2022 Roadshow

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 13:27:22 +0000

Back on the road again!

Last month we finally held our in-person GT roadshow again, and this time we only managed to get Durban and Cape Town involved. Joburg lost out due to the pandemic limitations, however, watch this space for something special.

It was just fantastic to see our clients and break some bread and talk tech and business in person again.

We also had a special presentation by Milney who showcased how Smart Offices can be managed by SharePoint with scenes, automations, and dashboards.

Our Durban event took place at the spectacular Oyster Box Hotel.

And our Cape Town venue was none other than the FNB Portside building downtown.

Our schedule was as follows

· What we have learnt from 15 years of making intranets
In 15 years of experience making intranets we have learnt some valuable lessons. In this session we highlighted the most important aspects of any intranet role out we always prioritise to ensure a successful deployment..

· What’s the latest and greatest Office Productivity features that really add value
We all love new features but sometimes they are not ready for everyday use. We cover what is new that works and what is not as new but still works.

· A real-world ransomware scenario and what would have stopped it
Ransomware is everywhere these days and keeps a lot of us up at night. In this session we discuss who is being attacked, how they are attacked and what they can do to make their environments that much safer.

· How smart automation is now part of the office
Milney Smart Automation has done an amazing job making homes smarter. However making a smart office is just as important, from power management for load shedding, climate control for the best office experience to an amazing Boardroom automation based off a SharePoint calendar management system

Our Hack Van also made a short showcase at our Durban event.

A fully kitted out Wi-Fi/RF/Bluetooth war driving machine that we use in our Red Team penetration tests. We can show you how the bad guys get into your car park, hack your Wi-Fi and your network during office hours. Of course, we will show you how to protect against these attacks too.

Once again it was a great event and turn out. We cant wait to see you again for our next roadshow.

Want us to setup a private Blue Sky event for your company, where we showcase a tailor made roadshow for your company? No problem, contact us to set it up.

PKF Littlejohn Case Study

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 20:13:40 +0000

PKF Littlejohn delivers accountancy services and advice to a broad range of business, corporate, not for profits and private clients.

Statistics.

Name: PKF Littlejohn

Location: London

Industry: Accountancy

Size: 300

Website: https://www.pkf-littlejohn.com

Contact: Andy Konieczko

PKF Littlejohn is an independent firm of chartered accountants and business advisors.

From their base at Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands, they serve a wide range of business and private clients. Through their independent membership of PKF International, the global network of accounting firms, they are represented across the world.

What problem was the customer facing?

“We needed to replace our aging intranet, which was difficult to update and poorly used.” – Andy Konieczko

What have they done to resolve the issue ?

“GTconsult created a new SharePoint-based intranet for us. The site was heavily customized, with a user-friendly design and numerous workflows to allow for quick and easy updating.” – Andy Konieczko

How did they find GTconsult?

GTconsult were recommended by PKF International.

Why did they go with GTconsult Services/Solution?

GTconsult offered a cost-effective and highly customized intranet.

Enabled By GTconsult

PKF Littlejohn approached GTconsult to help deliver on their vision to create an intranet. The idea behind the new intranet was that it would become the central hub for the company. From the start of the project, working with PKF Littlejohn was an absolute pleasure. The discovery and analysis phase highlighted the fact that PKF Littlejohn was open to ideas and suggestions. The open communication has lead to the site having has some great customized features and functionality.

Due to the successful implementation and amazing feedback from PKF Littlejohn, further enhancements and workflows are being added to the intranet. This means that the site is being utilized as envisaged by PKF Littlejohn. We are confident that we will continue to meet the needs of PKF Littlejohn going forward and we are excited about our growing partnership with them.

Timeline:

The intranet project took a total of 12 days to roll out and was delivered to PKF Littlejohn within a one month period from GTconsult receiving the green light to proceed with the migration and development.

Team Used:

GTconsult A Team Dev elopment.

The Modern Experience:

The PKF Littlejohn intranet site project consisted of a file migration from their old site, which was used as document storage, to a new Modern Experience SharePoint site. The new site has news feeds which also pull important content from their website. Calendars were created so the entire company can be made aware of important events and training. A searchable staff directory was added so they may find a colleague went needed. Quick links to important applications were added on the homepage for ease of access, Popular documents that are being used by staff members were also made available on the homepage. These are just some of the new features that were added to the new intranet.

Return On Investment (ROI).

We have seen a significant increase in usage and positive feedback about the site. We have since asked GTconsult to quote for a number of add ons based on feedback from users

Thoughts on GT

“We set high standards of design, functionality and usability for our new intranet. The GTconsult team were able to meet our brief, drawing on their expert knowledge of the SharePoint platform and applying creative thinking.”

– Andy Konieczko, PKF Littlejohn

GTconsult Team Quotes

“It has been an absolute pleasure working with PKF Littlejohn. The project was a success because we have formed a great partnership. I’d like to thank our A Team for their expert level design and development that was leveraged to make this project successful. Just another example of how we enable productivity. We are looking forward to a great future ahead with PKF Littlejohn”

– Grant Ellis | Sales Manager, GTconsult

Get into contact with us and lets enable productivity together!

We are Hiring

Mon, 25 Apr 2016 15:04:36 +0000

GTconsult is looking for a highly motivated SharePoint Genius to drive, manage and grow the services offering within the Johannesburg region.

We are seeking a Senior SharePoint specialist with strong technical skills, problem solving abilities, deep customer affinity and communication skills, to assist, lead and bolster the team of SharePoint specialists.

This is a highly visible role that requires business acumen when working with senior management, a strong understanding of Microsoft SharePoint and supporting technologies, and technical depth for troubleshooting front-end configuration and development issues.

You will interact with the A-Team delivery team across the organisation as you work on different projects to ensure that project timelines are met and support queries are dealt with as per service level agreements.

Are you a SharePoint Genius, Click here to apply.

Click here to view the Job Description: SharePoint A-Team Genius