Candor Engineering
Electrical Engineering Firm Migrates from Linux to a Microsoft-based Platform
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Company Overview
Based in Calgary, Alberta, Candor Engineering and Consulting is a Canadian-owned, electrical and instrumentation engineering firm specializing in the design of electrical and instrumentation systems for the booming Canadian oil and gas industry. This fast-growing company has approximately 25 employees who are situated for weeks at a time on job sites across Northern Alberta. When Candor Engineering first opened its doors it turned to an independent IT consultant to help set up its IT infrastructure.
Business Challenge
The consultant recommended an Ubuntu Linux-based solution with hopes to address cost and customization requirements. The original implementation was pieced from various Linux-based components to handle Web application serving, email, file and print. In the short term, this solution seemed reasonable while the demands on the IT infrastructure were low. However, as the oil and gas industry entered period of rapid growth and demand for Candor Engineering’s services grew rapidly, it became apparent that its Ubuntu Linux–based server infrastructure was no longer able to address demands of the business.
“Our network would go down and our unease would grow,” says Rick Dawes, office manager, Candor Engineering. “Email downtime meant our staff was challenged to fulfill client deadlines.”
This downtime also left Candor Engineering’s Project Managers (PMs), who work remotely in oil fields for weeks and months at a time, without email or network access. PMs were unable to synch their PCs to the main servers and share important documents with colleagues. Unable to upload the most recent document onto the network they began to save all their documents locally. This led to version control issues and a growing concern that valuable data could be lost. As well, Candor Engineering felt the Linux solution could no longer keep up with the more than 200 emails per user per day flowing in and out of the growing company, and mobile workers could not access messages when working offsite. As a result, the company became concerned with the cost of lost productivity.
“We had been under the impression that Linux was a cost-effective solution, but the network downtime was making it expensive to maintain and configure. In addition to IT support costs we were losing time in lost productivity.”
The company began exploring other platforms that would enable the automation of everyday business processes and help improve reliability and collaboration. It was clear to the company that a complete infrastructure migration was needed to improve the worker experience.
“With the tremendous economic boom in Calgary finding the right people for support is not easy. If you can’t get them on your job site, it doesn’t matter what they charge. There were fewer IT specialists trained on Linux and we worried that we would not get a rapid response during network outages,” Dawes adds.
After reviewing the requirements for supporting its IT functions, the company felt that Linux would no longer meet its business needs and technology requirements.
“When it came time to upgrade we looked at both Linux and Microsoft-based platforms, but we felt that Linux would be too costly to continue to configure and maintain,” says Dawes. “We looked at the long-term ROI, and although there is an initial cost with Microsoft, we felt there was value in the Microsoft-based platform and the comfort we took in knowing there was a vast network of certified partners who were able to assist us.”
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Solution
Candor Engineering worked with Microsoft Gold Certified partner IT Matters to find a cost-effective, easy-to-administer solution that would help meet its evolving business needs. IT Matters did an audit of its Linux system and provided the company with a blueprint of its current set-up. IT Matters leveraged the Microsoft Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit to gain a deeper understanding of Candor Engineering’s business and help it recommend the most appropriate solution.
According to Dawes, “when we received our IT blueprint from IT Matters we realized that our IT system had been implemented in bits and pieces to handle specific issues, rather than as a comprehensive business platform. We had concerns that we were extremely dependent on our IT consultant as he was the only one familiar with our system.”
The company decided to migrate from Linux and selected Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 operating system including Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 as its overall platform. ITMatters re-organized the entire network from a spaghetti network to a network based on solutions and best practices, including a disaster recovery solution using a combination of tape and hard disk snapshots.
The company was planning to move to a new building shortly after the migration, so IT Matters worked out a rolling migration plan to ensure that certain tasks would not be repeated after the move to help minimize costs. The first and largest migration took place over a weekend in August 2006 and took two days to deploy. IT Matters ensured a smooth transition so that the company was up and running on Monday morning with no downtime throughout the entire migration process.
With the help of IT Matters, Candor Engineering was also able to implement Active Directory® directory service, part of Windows Small Business Server 2003, as a repository for network-based entities such as files, printers and user account information.
As there is no full-time IT support staff at Candor Engineering, IT Matters uses the built-in remote management tools included with Windows Small Business Server 2003 to remotely manage the company’s server from its office. Using the server management console, the partner can quickly deploy security updates and perform network management tasks such as setting up new users
The Linux-based MyMail email client was replaced with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 messaging and collaboration client. With built-in centralized management and robust security, Exchange Server 2003 has provided the company with a reliable email solution that allows staff to communicate effectively with their clients and collaborate with each other in the field. Using Microsoft Office® Outlook® Web Access (OWA), which is based on the same look and feel of Outlook® messaging and collaboration client, provides remote workers with a rich experience in a Web-browser that can be accessed anywhere there is Internet access. And with no VPN or network tunnel required, it is quick and simple to access.
“Our employees spend weeks, sometimes months in the field. Email is the lifeline between the office and our workers. With Microsoft Exchange Server, they now have a reliable and easy way to always remain connected,” says Dawes.
Business Benefits
The deployment of Windows Small Business Server 2003 is helping Candor Engineering improve productivity, efficiency and collaboration. The company is experiencing a dramatic increase in network and remote access reliability and the new, email platform keeps employees better connected with their customers and colleagues.
“When we had Linux, we felt like our car was always in the shop. Instead of taking it to the car dealer for repairs we were relying on a mechanic who seemed more interested in tinkering than providing value,” said Dawes. “As a midsize business with no dedicated IT person in house we really appreciate the out-of-the box value that Microsoft provides. We have been able to install a solid, reliable network and are already planning on building upon this base with more Microsoft software.”
Reliable Infrastructure
Windows Small Business Server 2003 provides flexible tools that allow IT Matters to manage Candor Engineering’s network remotely. This level of proactive maintenance helps with ongoing uptime. In addition, with the combination of built-in security features in the Microsoft Windows® operating system, new security software and a firewall, the company could now feel more confident that their valuable data is helped be protected.
“With the Linux-based platform we felt like our IT infrastructure was disjointed and unreliable,” says Dawes. “In our client-centric, fast-paced line of work, e-mail is mission critical. Since deploying Exchange Server 2003 we have seen an increase in e-mail server reliability.”
Consistent, Professional Support
Prior to installing Windows Small Business Server 2003, Dawes handled the creation of all new accounts on the network. Now, IT Matters can handle this remotely, allowing Dawes to focus on his core responsibilities as an office manager. In addition, with a strong Calgary job market, the company no longer struggles to find the proper support for its IT infrastructure and anyone brought in can easily acclimate themselves with the familiar Microsoft Windows Server-based environment.
“We found it difficult to find qualified Linux trained professionals and many charged a high hourly rate. When your network goes down, your business is paralyzed and an infrastructure that cannot be fixed in a timely manner can have a tremendous impact on your bottom line,” adds Dawes.
“We were truly impressed with the vast network of Microsoft certified partners we had to choose from,” says Dawes. “We sought an IT support vendor that bears the Microsoft Certified Partner designation.”
With the remote management tools built into Windows Small Business Server 2003, IT Matters can handle almost all maintenance remotely with only monthly visits required for inspection and reporting. The company’s network maintenance costs are also more predictable and controllable.
Scalable Solution
The Microsoft-based platform is designed to be scalable so Candor Engineering can be confident its IT environment can support its continued growth. From adding further collaboration software to mobile handheld devices, the Microsoft-based platform makes it easy to add new functions seamlessly on top of the network. This helps employees spend more time serving clients or working on strategic areas of the business and less time on administrative tasks.
“The Windows Server System™ provides us with the core framework on which to build our new information technology infrastructure. We look forward to building on it with new software, such as Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007. This software will help us to manage the extremely complex engineering projects that we undertake, everything from work schedules to finances to guided planning,” says Dawes.
Increased Productivity
With Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 employees can easily share real-time information with their customers and colleagues, regardless of their location. With so many employees working remotely for weeks and months at a time, keeping these lines of communication open are essential for ensuring document collaboration, up-to-date calendars and email and helps prevent the loss of data should a worker’s laptop or PC become unavailable.
“Our PMs need only an Internet connection to synchronize all their files on the network. The employees in the office receive the most up to date information from the job site,” says Dawes. “And with Outlook Web Access, even if they don’t have access to their own PC, they just need the Internet and they can have full access to their email.”
Windows Small Business Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 is a powerful advantage for your business success. Improve the security of your data and help your network run dependably. Release new productivity from your desktops while empowering your employees to do more. And connect to your customers like never before.
For more information about Windows Small Business Server 2003, please visit: www.microsoft.com/sbs
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com
For more information about IT Matters products and services, call (403) 710.4357 or visit the Web site at:www.itmatters.ca
For more information about Candor Engineering products and services, call (403) 250-8007 or visit the Web site at: www.candorengineering.com
