Technology Consulting Firm’s Award-Winning Software + Services Project Embraces Rich Internet Applications and Showcases Web 2.0 Expertise

LOS ANGELES, August 17, 2009 -- Sieena, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and IT consulting firm specializing in Microsoft technologies, has been selected by Microsoft as winner of the 2009 “Innovate on the Web” contest in Mexico. The award was presented in recognition of Social Mirror, Sieena’s Software + Services (S+S) platform designed to facilitate hiring and employee evaluation practices for organizations, as well as career advancement for individuals.

 “Sieena’s Social Mirror represents the very essence of innovation, incorporating rich Internet technologies and demonstrating creative use of the Microsoft.NET framework and other cutting edge tools,” said Arturo Vazquez, Business Development Manager ISVs, Microsoft.  “We are very pleased to recognize Sieena as our 2009 winner of the Innovate on the Web contest in Mexico.”

Sieena operates a world-class development center in Monterrey, Mexico and serves businesses across North America with a wide range of technology-based services for Rich Internet Application (RIA) development, collaboration portals and mission-critical systems support. One of its specializations is building SharePoint-based collaboration portals for specific organizational departments, such as HR, marketing, customer service and finance. The portals offer features that save time and improve process automation, information exchange and decision-making.

“In developing Social Mirror, our goal was to showcase Sieena’s expertise in the use of the most advanced Microsoft technologies, as well as our capabilities for designing software that specifically addresses the changing needs and collaboration requirements of HR departments,” said Mauricio Duran, president of Sieena. “We are honored to have been selected by Microsoft for this prestigious award, and we will use it as a stepping stone to future innovation as we serve our customers throughout North America.”

As a tool for individuals, Social Mirror paves the way to better insight into career growth requirements. The purpose of the product is to help individuals achieve higher levels of awareness with regard to how others perceive their strengths and weaknesses. It works by allowing users to anonymously comment on the skill sets of others through a simple survey, which includes questions about job performance as well as personality traits.

As a tool for organizations, Social Mirror helps HR departments leverage the Web to assess candidates’ social media footprints for recruiting purposes. The tool’s powerful reporting feature provides a mirror into an applicant’s use of social networking tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, which aids in not only the ability to conduct a more efficient interview, but also in the ability to select the right candidate for the job.  And once that candidate is selected, Social Mirror continues to serve HR as an appraisal tool that can be used in conjunction with formal evaluation procedures to help employees develop in specifically identified areas.

Microsoft has presented Sieena with prizes valued at US$25,000 for coming up with the winning entry for “Innovate on the Web.” Sieena is taking advantage of these prizes, which include business incubator services, international research and Web Developer 2.0 certification training, to further enhance Social Mirror, which has not yet been released for general availability.

For more information, call Sieena at +1 (310) 455-6188, or visit www.sieena.com.

About Sieena

Serving businesses across North America, Sieena is dedicated to helping organizations achieve their most important business and technology goals. From custom SharePoint implementations that transform collaboration processes, to Rich Internet Applications and mission-critical systems support services, Sieena is passionate about infusing innovation and quality into everything it does. Sieena was founded in 2004 with the goal of building the highest quality Microsoft-based technology practice.  Today, the company has more than achieved that goal.  As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Sieena has won numerous awards for its design work while also earning four Microsoft competencies. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Sieena maintains a state-of-the-art development facility in Monterrey, Mexico. For more information, please visit www.sieena.com.