QuartzWeb (the Quartz Portal)
A modern awarding body needs a comprehensive system with
extensive functionality to provide high-speed and highly effective
management of their operations and customer relationships for their
internal staff. However, awarding bodies also need to be able to
reach out through the internet, to their external stakeholders:
centres/providers, EVs/moderators, and students/learners.
The needs and skills of these two groups are different, and
Quartz recognises this by providing two methods of accessing the
system:
- A 'smart-client' which provides all the sophistication of a
full Windows application for internal staff using the system every
day.
- QuartzWeb (the Quartz Portal) provides browser-based access for
external users, securely delivering just those functions which
external stakeholders need, and using as simple an interface as
possible recognising that they are likely to be occasional users.
Either interface can be used from PCs connected to the internet:
from the office, home, centres/providers, etc. For example, awarding
body staff who are home workers can still use the full client
interface.
This approach provides key benefits for awarding bodies:
- Regular users do not have to compromise and have the benefits of
a fully functional windows interface
- Staff can access the full system (and interface) when away from
the office
- Access for external users is made very easy, encouraging use and
minimising training and support required
- External access to data is tightly controlled to specific
facilities and to only that data which is directly relevant to the
organisation and the individual user’s role
- QuartzWeb enables additional services and information for
external users to be readily added to by Portico as the need arises
QuartzWeb can be easily branded for the awarding body and can be
provided as a component for inclusion in your web-site or as a
separate web application.
This approach taken in Quartz, using industry best-practice
regarding interfaces, gives awarding bodies the best of both worlds
- whereas other approaches compromise on functionality or user
efficiency by providing only a web browser interface or a local
application.
Quartz can also ‘reach out’ to external stakeholders through
system-to-system integration, for example we can provide automated
real-time data flows between Quartz and Learning Management Systems
or provider MISs if this is required.
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