1. “There is no other platform that provides the flexibility
and creativity of SharePoint... It’s a deeply creative tool
with unlimited opportunities and we’ve now built a
social collaboration platform that really stands out.”
Niyas Abdulrahiman, Chief IT Advisor, Aspire Zone Foundation
Qatar-based Aspire Zone Foundation turns to Microsoft
SharePoint and Microsoft BizTalk Server to develop a
communication and collaboration platform that unites three
member organizations (MOs) and over 70 departments. The
platform, called SPRINT, is so cutting edge and inspiring that
other organizations are using it as a reference model for their
own portal strategy.
Business Needs
Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) is a
flagship sports organization in Qatar. Its
mission is to develop sports champions,
promote healthy lifestyles and galvanize
the country’s sports economy. It attracts
high-profile sports figures from around
the world and is central to Qatar’s
hosting of several high profile
international sports events.
AZF has three member organizations;
Aspire Academy, Aspetar and Aspire
Logistics. Aspire Academy was
established in September 2004 with the
intake of 90 students. The first
generation of students graduated in
2008 and the Academy, with its
groundbreaking programs, is now
recognized as a world leading elite sport
institute.
Aspetar, Qatar’s Orthopedic and Sports
Medicine facility is the first of its kind in
the Middle East providing an advanced
sports medicine facility to ensure that
athletes can perform at their fullest
potential. It is accredited as a FIFA
Medical Centre of Excellence.
Aspire Logistics was responsible for
building the award winning sports city,
now globally known as Aspire Zone.
Aspire Logistics is also the custodian for
Aspire Zone’s facilities and manages
Customer Solution Case Study
Middle East’s leading sports organization creates
new model for communication and collaboration
Customer: Aspire Zone Foundation
Web Site: www.aspirezone.qa
Customer Size: 2000
Country or Region: Qatar
Industry: Sports, Sports Education,
Sports Medicine and Entertainment
Customer Profile
Aspire Zone Foundation is Qatar’s
flagship sports organization dedicated
to developing sports champions,
promoting healthy lifestyles and
galvanizing the country’s sports
economy.
Software and Services
 Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010
Enterprise CAL
 Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010
 Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
 Microsoft ASP.NET 4
For more information about Microsoft
SharePoint Server 2010, go to:
www.microsoft.com/sharepoint

2. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
Document published March 2014
venues and international sport activities.
Aspire Zone gained international
recognition following the hosting of the
2006 Asian Games.
Information technology for AZF operates
as a shared service across the three MO’s.
The IT department’s overarching aim is to
deliver high performance and cost
effective services. Within this context, the
IT department worked to bring
employees across the three operations
under one platform to ensure better
collaboration and communication, and as
a result drive high performance.
Solution
To meet its objectives the AZF IT
department decided to build a single
unified platform. The platform would
need to integrate the many different
applications used across the units
including a CRM package and also its ERP
platform which is based on Oracle
technology. Niyas Abdulrahiman, Chief IT
Advisor, AZF, said: “Our vision was to
create an integrated portal that would
bring together independent departments
and MOs providing different employees
with the means to find information and
make their work a lot easier.”
AZF decided to use Microsoft BizTalk
Server, an integration tool that connects
apps such as payment processing, supply
chain management and reporting, to
bring together its ERP, CRM and other
apps. It also chose Microsoft SharePoint
as a web application platform to develop
a common intranet. Abdulrahiman added:
“These technologies are extremely
flexible, and ASP.Net, the coding
language, is also easy to use. In our
environment, and keeping in mind what
we wanted to achieve, both BizTalk Server
and SharePoint were ideal technologies.”
A Microsoft SharePoint based platform
was developed called SPRINT, which
provides each department with its own
portal and accompanying workflow. For
example, the HR and IT departments
have central portals for use by
employees in other departments, while
sub portals are used by employees
within each department. However,
SPRINT is also much more than a fusion
of portals. The organization also
developed Aspire CONNECT, which is its
own version of enterprise social
networking. It builds on the features of
Facebook and Yammer enabling
employees to post, create quick surveys,
events and develop groups for focused
discussions. Other platform features
include discussion groups, polling,
voting and instant messaging.
Benefits
The SPRINT platform has transformed
the way the three MOs connect and
communicate with each other, helping
create a single and unified business
community. It has speeded up working
processes, simplified complex processes,
connected previously disconnected
departments and created an invaluable
sense of cohesion within AZF. Niyas
Abdulrahiman said: “There are no other
products that provide the flexibility and
creativity of SharePoint. When
dovetailed with BizTalk, it has enabled
us to develop a powerful knowledge
capability within the organization. It’s a
deeply creative tool and we’ve now built
a social collaboration platform that
really stands out.”
• Used by all of AZF’s 2,000 people
across all MOs
• Brings together 70 departments and
three MOs helping AZF realize vision of
single cohesive operation
• SPRINT integrates with Oracle back-
end ERP applications and is used as the
front-end for ERP applications, making
ERP app usage far more straightforward
in an easy-to-use and familiar interface
• Encourages cross-department
collaboration for MOs, which are
working closer with each other
• Reduces work request processing time,
for example, a request for a laptop for a
new starter used to take three business
days using the approvals process. This
has been cut to one business day
• Enterprise wide medium for keeping all
staff up-to-speed with latest
developments within AZF from training
to events
• Platform for highly efficient working
mirroring AZF’s wider strategy of
delivering high-performance across all
areas of operation
• Other organizations in Qatar now want
to replicate SPRINT with AZF receiving
requests to build other collaboration
platforms