KMA builds solutions based on Microsoft technologies - tools and solutions that are highly advanced for developing data-driven applications. Our team has core expertise in Microsoft tools, and is continually trained on the latest enhancements. Every day, we challenge ourselves to explore how new technologies translate into improved business processes and outcomes for our clients.

Here is an introduction to some of the Microsoft technologies that KMA has used to build custom solutions for our clients. (Additional information may be found on the Microsoft website.)

Windows SharePoint Services

Microsoft's Windows SharePoint Services is a Windows Server component that addresses the needs of collaborative teams.  With this technology, each project team can have its own project room (called a team portal). All team documents can be accessed and controlled through the portal:  document status can be checked, documents can be checked out and checked back in, and a revision history of the document can be viewed. Windows SharePoint Services is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office. For example, documents can be published and checked in and out from within Word, Excel or PowerPoint.

The portal provides a repository for key project documents, both work-in-process and finished. It replaces sharing folders on network drives and emailing versions of documents back and forth among team members with an easy-to-use location where team members can store and retrieve information.

Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and SharePoint Portal Server 2003

SharePoint is a core technology of Microsoft designed to support the creation and maintenance of Knowledge Management solutions. Using the technology, an organization can create a corporate portal that contains key information that all employees can access. The portal "sits on top" of the team portals built in Windows SharePoint Services. This allows managers, with the proper access rights, to search for information in the corporate portal and in all team portals. In addition, managers can post their expertise on personal portal pages, or internally maintained blogs or wikis. This capability, along with a rich search functionality, allows others within the organization to find experts (and expertise!) quickly and easily.

SQL Server Analysis Services

SQL Server Analysis Services is a powerful OLAP (online analytical processing) tool that is included in SQL Server.  Analysis Services provides fast access to key organizational data by creating multidimensional cubes.   These cubes can be accessed and manipulated in Microsoft Excel or via web parts in a SharePoint portal, producing graphs and reports for knowledge workers. 

SQL Server Reporting Services

SQL Server Reporting Services is a reporting environment that is included in SQL Server.  Reporting Services provides tools to create, personalize and deliver reports via browser, e-mail, inclusion in SharePoint web parts, or via desktop applications, so that knowledge workers always have the data they need close at hand via the medium they prefer.

SQL Server Integration Services

SQL Server Integration Services is a toolset for managing data integration and transformation, so that data sets from heterogeneous sources can be easily managed in a single data warehouse for ease of analysis and reporting.

Microsoft Office System

This familiar suite of tools has become the backbone of many enterprises, large and small. With applications such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, employees can be highly productive and effective in the analysis and presentation of business information. The solutions built by KMA often take advantage of the front-end processing capabilities of the powerful office suite, enabling for example, a Business Intelligence analysis presented through Excel spreadsheets or an Enhanced Data & Presentation Solution through Excel and PowerPoint.

In addition to the traditional Office products, Microsoft introduced InfoPath in Office 2003, providing a simple tool to build corporate forms and link them with a database. Microsoft has also tied Word, Excel and PowerPoint to SharePoint Portal Server, allowing knowledge workers to more easily share and manage their documents.

The .NET Framework

The .NET framework is Microsoft's next generation application development environment. It provides a set of tools that allow developers to more quickly build both Web-based and Windows-based applications. .NET enables a high level of software integration through the use of Web services-small, discrete, building-block applications that connect to each other as well as to other, larger applications over the Internet.