About 7C Alliance Limited

Overview
The 7C Alliance (aka “7C”) is a social media enterprise providing better and more structured ways to use the leading business and social networking tools (such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter). The structure of 7C’s social media environments, combined with value-added networking techniques and tools, make it easier for achieving a particular set of goals and add greater value in sourcing and focusing members on achieving a common understanding, objective or purpose.

Current Business and Social Networks
Currently the 7C Alliance supports two social media environments as follows:

• The Open Practice Technology Network (OPTN), a business network for independent technology professionals to share and compare best practice in managing, supporting and using information and communications technology (ICT) as well as to engage the best individual technology professionals who understand those practices
• London Charm, a social network for bringing people together who want to discover where the best live music is played around London and meet others online to go out to enjoy it with

The 7C Alliance integrates use of social media tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to work in conjunction with traditional Web products such as blogs and web-sites so that needs of members are understood, and information or knowledge required to meet them channelled through the network medium in convenient and user-friendly ways. This includes facilitating opportunities to meet up, where interpersonal communication is determined as the best way to help members meet others and find who, as much as what, they need or require.

Background
The 7C Alliance has just completed two years of reengineering itself, since December 2008, from being an organisation that solely supported IT contractors in being able to meet and compare notes about the market, share contacts and leads for work, group together to save costs on getting trained in industry standards such as ITIL, PRINCE2 and TOGAF, as well as get certified in them and technical certifications such as LICP, MCSE and OCP.

Support for IT contractors to get cost-effective training and other support for their work is still available through the OPTN, however these same services have now been extended to anyone who considers themselves an independent technology professional and is not restrained in what information and communications technology (ICT) they can manage, support or use for business by the company they work for.

7C Business, Career and Life Coaching
The business coaching services that were formerly offered through the 7C Alliance to its members are now an optional service that members of the OPTN can take up and will be offered through 7C Coaching Limited. This coaching can now also be provided independently to any individual or business operating in technology who needs structure that helps them focus holistically on what they want to achieve from work in ICT. This service is known as 7C Coaching, and now includes the option to receive traditional career coaching as well as life coaching too.