Social Network to help North East firms CoPe with e-business

A new Community of Practice website – www.copebusiness.com – has been launched to help North East firms make choices and informed decisions about best practice in e-business.

The Community of Practice for e-business (CoPe) is a free online resource and aims to help businesses in the region collaborate, share ideas and find solutions to common problems. It will help them learn from each other to develop and refine best practice in e-business.

Backed by regional development agency, One NorthEast, CoPe was developed by Sedgefield-based firm deBurca and e-business development agency, The North East Regional Portal.

Stephen Carey, e-business Specialist Advisor at One NorthEast, said: “The CoPe resource is available to all firms in the region, particularly those interested in learning more about best practice for IT and e-business.

“CoPe is designed to help firms analyse their current e-business requirements; acquire new e-business skills while sharing their experiences along the way. It aims to help them understand the technologies available and make informed decisions about what is right for them.”

James Burke, managing director at deBurca, explained: “CoPe is an online environment where members can create communities, connect with each other, and share their knowledge and expertise relating to e-business.

“It is free to register and members can share their knowledge by posting a wide range of content, including text, audio or video files; by participating in online discussions and by creating relationships between content, discussions and people.

“It’s a kind of ‘social networking’ for businesses to encourage and improve the adoption of e-business in the North East.”

CoPe is powered by Tomoye ecco. Eric Sauve, Chief Executive at Tomoye, said: “CoPe is an excellent example of how communities can foster connections and informal learning. Communities of Practice such as CoPe bring the enterprise learning and knowledge sharing

experience to a whole new level by providing not only connections, but ongoing value to the organisation. Congratulations to deBurca for making CoPe a reality.”

Get involved and be a part of the community – it’s free to join and video case studies and tutorials to help you get started are available at www.copebusiness.com