Whitecap Canada Inc.
Customizing Highly Collaborative SharePoint Platforms

In 1997, in the early days of the internet and the .COM boom, Robb Carmichael recognized the tremendous opportunity the internet would represent to highly skilled software developers and system integrators. Having enjoyed a successful management career at Hewlett-Packard, Apple and Toshiba, Carmichael, President and CEO established Whitecap Canada Inc. Driven by the goal— to build custom web-based applications and e-commerce portals, Whitecap enjoyed a steady growth and financial success from the very beginning. It wasn’t long after start-up the company decided to focus solely on Microsoft-based technologies, becoming a Microsoft GOLD certified partner.

Many companies today face real challenges in collaborating effectively on projects and important initiatives across different divisions and geographies. SharePoint can solve many of those challenges and is a near perfect solution for addressing that “pain-point.” Catering to mid-sized and large corporations, Whitecap builds custom software solutions for companies who wish to serve their customers, employees and suppliers more effectively and efficiently. Stating that, “SharePoint is far more than just a file-sharing service,” Carmichael and his team of experts leverage the far-ranging functions and features of SharePoint to facilitate streamlined interactions and drive productivity higher within an organization. Working with the client throughout the process of analysis, design, and deployment, Whitecap customizes Microsoft’s SharePoint to achieve a result optimal to their needs. Carmichael adds that, “The document management capabilities of SharePoint make it a great fit for markets like healthcare and the legal industry, where documents abound and collaboration is essential.” Whitecap works with many firms in these markets using SharePoint as a foundation for their organization’s intranets and extranets.

The Law Society of Upper Canada, which regulates licenses and disciplines Ontario’s more than 46,000 lawyers, had Whitecap recently design and develop an intranet to help facilitate collaboration and document management within the society.

SharePoint is far more than just a file-sharing service

“Having worked with SharePoint for many years, we have learned how incredibly helpful it can be, significantly contributing to productivity and efficiency,” expounds, Carmichael. He further reveals that Whitecap’s own teams use SharePoint 2013 to concurrently work on RFP’s, proposals, contracts and other important document deliverables. Devry Smith Frank LLP (DSF), a law firm with 50 lawyers in Toronto needed a ‘window’ into the activity that is required to bring a file, or “matter” from inception to a successful conclusion. By leveraging SharePoint collaboration tools, Whitecap created an extranet portal wherein DSF staff members and their clients can all contribute collectively to achieve a common winning goal. With the customized solution provided by Whitecap, DSF and their clients are able to see the activity on matters as internal team members post status, add calendar events, upload document and request status updates.

Most recently Carmichael observed that many organizations are making the move to Microsoft Office 365 cloud platform and therefore gain access to SharePoint Online as part of their subscription. “These days with the weakness in our Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar, we are seeing a growing number of custom software development projects, as well as SharePoint portal opportunities coming our way from our friends south of the border. Companies in the U.S. can “nearshore” development to their Canadian cousins operating in the same time zones and speaking the same language, while saving close to 30 percent on the dollar.” Referring to the SharePoint platform as being “like a box of Lego. You can build the picture on the box, but in most cases the best solution for an organization is something tailored precisely to their specific business requirements.” And that’s where Whitecap shines!