Technology never sleeps: summer in the West Grand school District is not entirely devoted to vacations. With students and teachers gone, the Internet technology staff at the school, which is located between Silverthorne and Steamboat Springs, bears down on special projects--with the significant help of a firm based in Broomfield.

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BUILDING A STRONG TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

A trip to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science allows visitors to be transported to a different time and place or to revel in the awe a child expresses when confronted by a life-size Stegosaurus. Over a million people enjoy the museum's exhibits every year without necessarily appreciating the work that goes on to make these experiences a reality. Behind the scenes, the museum uses the latest information technology to enhance the experience of visitors. "Our goal is to use technology to create a diverse and dynamic environment that provides our visitors a new learning experience with every visit," said Dave Noel, vice president, technology and chief technology officer.

This diverse environment includes over 400 interactive exhibits and programs that rely on information technology, ranging from a simple button that visitors press to light up an exhibit to a state-of-the-art planetarium that is run by a $3 million supercomputer.

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Enabling much of this innovation is a standardized, Microsoft-based infrastructure. Implemented late last year with the help of Interlink, the new infrastructure gives the museum expanded capabilities and provides for greater integration. "Our recent upgrade to Active Directory, Exchange 2003 and SMS provides us with the solid foundation we need to reach all of our technology goals," said Noel.

On the back-end, the IT department's ability to maintain and upgrade technology is greatly improved with the recent changes. Microsoft SMS, for example, allows them to perform regular software upgrades, as well as apply automated patch management to protect the museum's systems from bugs and viruses.

Choosing Interlink as the IT partner to help build that foundation was not a difficult decision. "Interlink has more experience with Microsoft technologies than any company in the region. They saw our vision," said Noel.

This vision has turned reality for the museum, dramatically improving communication between its 263 employees, 1500 volunteers, and 51,000 members. In addition to new email capabilities, the staff benefits from a SharePoint portal that stores its many images in a secure fashion and organizes them so that floor guides can create presentations that reflect up-to-the-minute information. It also provides improved research capabilities for museum staff.

This project touched every aspect of the museum's operations. "It wasn't just exhibits and email, but our ticketing, financial and...

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