Black Marble Events–now Online!

by Linda Hogg 26. January 2012 13:54

Do you enjoy our Black Marble events, but can’t always make it in person?  Busy day at the office, mean you can’t attend a full or even a half day event?  From 30 January 2012, we are introducing a series of online seminars – running most Mondays though to the end of June, we are covering a range of topics in bite-size sessions.  Follow the links for more information and to register – or call on 01274 300175 for more details.

30 Jan – Search Architecture

06 Feb – What is new in Azure?

20 Feb – Why Migrate from Visual SourceSafe to Visual Studio Team Foundation Server

12 Mar – Content Management with Avviso and SharePoint 2010

19 Mar – Visual Studio Team Foundation Server for Everyone

26 Mar – An Introduction to SQL 2012

16 Apr – Introduction to Azure

23 Apr – An Introduction to Lab Management

30 Apr – Microsoft Surface – It is not just Touch

14 May – Designing for SharePoint

21 May – How to Kickstart your ALM Process

28 May – Designing Applications for the Windows Phone

11 Jun – Creating Data Aware Visio Diagrams in SharePoint 2010

18 Jun – What is New in Azure?

Tags:

ALM | Architecture | Azure | BMEvents | Events | Microsoft Surface | SharePoint 2010 | TFS | Visual Studio | Windows 7 | Windows Phone 7 | Xmas | wp7

The Agenda for the Architecture Forum in the North

by Linda Hogg 2. December 2011 14:56

Eagerly anticipating our Architecture Forum in the North – now in its fourth year!  Taking place on 8 December here in Yorkshire, it is shaping up to be a great day!

We have a great range of speakers lined up and this is a sample of what you can expect from some of the Microsoft Speakers:

Andrew Fryer – Technical Evangelist in Microsoft DPE - All SQL, No SQL, Some SQL

The trusty old relational database has been around for forty odd years,  but will it survive another forty and if so in what form. In this session we’ll look at how the demands of modern business are changing the what and how of data management.

You can follow Andrew on Twitter.

Simon May – IT Pro Evangelist in Microsoft DPE – The Future of IT: making sense of Big Changes

We can all feel that IT is changing, be it the new devices we’re expected to support or the new “cloud” services we’re told to embrace or investigate.  In this session Simon May, Microsoft IT Evangelist will explain the big trends that IT are knocking on the door of the IT department and help you to start thinking about how you can respond in secure, managed and scalable ways.  Cloud, Consumerisation, Big Data and Social are explored during this session and you’ll be left able to see the wood from the trees and where Microsoft’s stack solves problems.

You can follow Simon on Twitter.

Steve ‘Planky’ Plank – Cloud Computing Evangelist in Microsoft DPE – Business Agility and the Cloud

In the 1950s almost no organization owned a computer: too expensive. They ran their computer programs on the computers of large “computer companies”. Calling on immense compute power helped them make more profitable decisions. Today, almost all companies use computers and so the playing field is more level: or is it? Some progressive organisations are finding that not only can it be more economical to use the compute and storage engines of specialized “cloud computing” providers, but also they can respond in an agile way to the organization’s needs. In some cases they can go from an architecture diagram on a whiteboard to a live deployed service in under 15 minutes. It can be de-deployed, when the business need has passed, in less than 5 minutes. Organizations can scale their environments to predictable and unpredictable waves of business activity within minutes. They can try business ideas out with only a fraction of the attendant financial risk associated with building and deploying a large app to support them. Cloud computing achieves this in the modern world by creating a separation between the app and its underlying infrastructure. This session discusses how that separation is enabling modern organisations to profitably respond to business needs faster than has ever been possible and so realize true business agility.

You can follow Planky on his blog.

Giles Davies – Developer Tools Technical Specialist in Microsoft DPE – What Architects need to know about Visual Studio 11

Giles will be exploring what’s new in the architecture tools in Visual Studio 11.

You can follow Giles on Twitter.

Plus, we will be joined by Black Marble’s Robert Hogg, nFocus’ Danny Crone, Microsoft's Simon Thurman and Gibraltar Software’s Gary Short!

Tags: , , ,

AIC | Architecture | BMEvents | Microsoft

Seasons Greetings! And the Return of the Black Marble Brigade

by Linda Hogg 2. December 2011 11:02

Ep01_2011We love Christmas at Black Marble and our Black Marble Christmas Adventure has already begun – please follow the NMC Logoadventure online to find out what peril has befallen Santa this time, and how the team can save him!  

Our website has it’s Christmas style on -  and our office is decorated from top to bottom!  Advent calendars are everywhere too Smile

Plus, once again we are supporting The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) and Bletchley Park with our Christmas Cards, and I encourage you all to do the same.

Merry Christmas!

BP Logo Red 07

Tags: , , , ,

Xmas | Bletchley Park | BPark | TNMOC | BMXmas

Can we Build-IT?

by Linda Hogg 27. September 2011 21:34

startBlack Marble’s Robert Hogg, Steve Spencer and Rik Hepworth flew all the way to Anaheim in California in order to bring you the highlights and key announcements build_logoaround Windows 8!

On 12 October, at The Holiday Inn in Yorkshire, we will bring our take on the news for IT Professionals in the morning, and for developers in the afternoon.

Come for the whole day – a great lunch is provided!

“We reimagined Windows,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, in his keynote address to the thousands of developers in attendance. “From the chipset to the user experience, Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise.”

Tags: , , ,

BMEvents | Build | Windows 8 | bldwin

Connected Development–Another great Northern Event!

by Linda Hogg 10. May 2011 13:11

WP7COMP WinnerCan’t make it to London for Microsoft TechDays?  Microsoft is running Connected Development in the heart of Yorkshire, with the top industry speakers from Microsoft and Gold ALM partners Black Marble and nFocus.

Highlights include Microsoft Developer Evangelist Mike Taulty on the latest news from MIX, TFS Product Manager Martin Woodward on TFS for Everyone and Black Marble discussing their Award-winning Windows Phone 7 application – TFS Phone Explorer.

This event takes place at our usual venue: The Holiday Inn Leeds/Bradford.

Visit the TechDays site for more details including how to register.

Date: 26 May, 9:30am – 4:30pm

image

image

Black Marble aids West Yorks Fire and Rescue Services with SharePoint 2010

by Linda Hogg 27. February 2011 21:06

wyfrs-logoIn case you haven’t seen it yet – we have had a Case Study published on the Microsoft Case Studies website, highlighting how our use of Microsoft Best Practices for SharePoint 2010 greatly improved the collaboration experience for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Services.  Initially carrying out a Health Check to improve the implementation of SharePoint 2007, Black Marble returned to assist in the migration to SharePoint 2010.

“Around 60 per cent of the brigade’s 1,900 staff are now using it through My Site portals in SharePoint Server 2010. They provide users in the organisation with a rich set of social networking and collaboration features.” 
– Katy Pinder,  ICT Project Manager, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service

If you are interested in migrating your SharePoint 2003 or 2007 to SharePoint 2010, why not get in touch with Black Marble?  You can reach us on +44 1274 300175.  You can also come along to our SharePoint Migration event on 24 March – attendance is free.

Tags: , ,

SharePoint 2010 | Case Study | BMEvents

Black Marble O7 Game in Windows Phone Marketplace

by Linda Hogg 9. February 2011 12:12

Update!

An update has pushed through on our O7 game that contains a vastly improved set of rules – 5 full screens, with animations to aid you play.

aiminfect

O7 in Marketplace

O7

Our O7 game is now Free to download from the Windows Phone Marketplace! 

Strategically take over the board by growing your pieces into the spaces around them.

Enjoy!

O7 SplashScreenO7 Screenshot

Tags: ,

General Interest | wp7

Black Marble’s Social Network

by Linda Hogg 2. February 2011 22:27

Consider this a reminder of all the different ways you can engage with Black Marble.

@roberthogg@richardfennell@sdspencer@rikhepworth You can follow us on Twitter.  Keep up to date with where we are, what events are running, what key staff are blogging about and generally any breaking news. @blackmarble
Do Programmers Dream in Byte Code? 
But it works on my PC!
Steve Spencer
When Software Attacks!

Read our blogs – Robert Hogg, Richard Fennell, Steve Spencer and Rik Hepworth (all listed on the left).

Plus all the BM-Bloggers in one place (right)

bmbloggers
  You can like us on Facebook – catch up with conferences and events we’re attending, as well as our Photo albums. facebook
Black Marble on LinkedIn You can join our Network on LinkedIn (right) – ask questions, start discussions, we’re around to answer any queries you have.  Plus keep up to date with our news and events.

Or follow Black Marble on LinkedIn (left)– any new services, staff changes and news.
Black Marble Network on LinkedIn

.

Tags: , , ,

LinkedIn | Facebook | Blogs | Twitter

Black Marble’s Annual Technical Update for Microsoft Technologies

by Linda Hogg 24. January 2011 11:40

We are delighted by the response to our Annual Technical Update for Microsoft Technologies this year.  The event is perfect as an introduction to Black Marble events, as well as providing a Roadmap for all-things Microsoft.  Ideal for planning your business’ IT needs for the next twelve months.

Having raised your interest, the bad news is that the event is actually full-up and we are running a waiting list, but the good news is we are running an overflow event in early February.  The demand for that session is also picking up so please get in touch soon if you want to secure a place! Email events@blackmarble.co.uk for more information.

Our afternoon event brings our ALM MVP and Ranger, Richard Fennell to the fore with DevExpress’ Gary Short – they will be exploring Agile Development with Cool Tools.  There are still some places available for this session.

Those of you already registered to attend – look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Holidays are coming … Part 3 of ‘Going Postal’ now live!

by Linda Hogg 8. December 2010 10:32

Banner01In case you hadn’t realised it, but at Black Marble we LOVE Xmas!  Not only have we decorated the office … but we’ve XmasJumpersalso added some festive fun to our website! 

The top banner looks great this year, and as ever the Managers have slipped into their Xmas finery ….

And of course, not forgetting our Xmas card … another 7-part outing for the BM Brigade, as they uses their Windows Phone 7s to spring into action and save Santa from Junk-Mail!Episode3

Plus Part Three of ‘Going Postal’ is now live on our website … this time, Windows Phone 7 proves its versatility in saving our heroes!  Can your app do that?

Plus, don’t forget we are supporting Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing with every card we send … please contribute too, and help maintain these great institutions for the future!

And finally … do you have Visual Studio TFS installed?  Think it could do with a check-up?  Invite one of our consultants on site in December and be in with a chance of winning an XBox with Kinect!  What better way to enjoy Xmas!

Tags: , , ,

BPark | TNMOC | BMXmas | ElfCheck