Canadian Jewish News
Journalists Deliver the News Faster with Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003
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Company Overview
The flow of information is critical to a news organization. Whether it is communicating externally with advertisers or internally with writers and editors, it is important to have the right systems in place to facilitate the flow of information. With deadlines looming, there is no room for downtime.
CJN is Canada's largest weekly Jewish newspaper. With offices in Toronto and Montreal, CJN has correspondents across Canada and in Israel who report news from around the world that is relevant to the Jewish community. CJN has grown, since its inception in 1971, from a 25-page publication to a tabloid-sized 72-page publication in 2004, with a circulation of more than 100,000 readers across the country.
Business Challenge
With the publication’s growth, it became clear that the existing technology infrastructure was not able to handle the increased volume of e-mails, nor address the need for more team collaboration and stronger security. To meet its growing requirements, the organization decided to look for a more stable and more secure technology solution.
Additionally, CJN’s network was affected by a virus in the summer of 2003. The virus caused CJN to lose vital business information and stories, which delayed publication of a weekly issue. The fallout from this security breach caused them to re-evaluate their systems. They needed stronger security measures in place to ensure the safety of their computing environment.
“Our business is focused on selling advertising and publishing the paper on schedule to service the requirements of the Canadian Jewish community. If our e-mail system is down, it could lead to loss of revenue and delay our publication getting out the door,” says Carol Jamieson, Controller, Canadian Jewish News. “It was critical for our organization to find a solution that would provide us with a more stable and more secure infrastructure.”
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Solution
Working with the Experts
As a small business, CJN needed an IT solution that would offer the same features used by large organizations: an intranet site, remote access, more secure Internet connectivity, and an application platform for collaboration — at an affordable cost. CJN enlisted Mantralogix Inc. as its technology partner to assist with the deployment of a new infrastructure solution.
To determine the best solution for CJN, Mantralogix conducted a full review of the organization. During the assessment, Mantralogix considered Microsoft and Linux and did a total cost of ownership (TCO) comparison between the two platform solutions. The comparison results led Mantralogix to recommend Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003. CJN was impressed with the significant business value Mantralogix presented in opting for the Microsoft-based platform.
More Stable and More Secure Platform
The monitoring and reporting functionality included in SBS 2003 is one of the key drivers that led CJN to deploy the software. Having the ability to “look under the hood” of its systems through daily reports gives the organization with a quick overview of the status of the server. It helps the team proactively address any minor issues before they become serious. Should a critical issue arise with the server, Mantralogix is notified through e-mail. SBS 2003 automatically sends an alert when a service that is set to start automatically is stopped, or when a performance counter threshold is exceeded.
“The monitoring and reporting tools are invaluable because it helps ensure that the server remains healthy, and can help reduce downtime by enabling us to respond quickly should problems arise,” says Kerry Mann, President, Mantralogix. “CJN works with such tight deadlines, it is imperative that its infrastructure is reliable and stable.”
Lack of preventative maintenance in the past created a number of IT problems because CJN did not have a complete view of the health of its server. Now, if a problem occurs, Mantralogix can work to repair the problem remotely without traveling to CJN’s offices. Careful monitoring of the server's performance ensures problems can be fixed immediately, and the business does not experience any down time or lose important information. Further, the organization can now receive detailed information about overall IT usage, which can help identify where resources need to be allocated.
“Usage reports contain information to help us understand how the network is being used,” says Mann. “These reports provide detailed information about employee Internet, e-mail and remote connectivity. Usage data is gathered from application logs once a day, and statistics are displayed in a report. We receive usage reports via e-mail or view the reports from a Web page on the intranet. CJN can now track who is using the network and what resources are most frequently used.”
Keeping Information More Safe
For an organization such as CJN, which relies on technology to store its core business offerings such as articles, advertisements and graphics, it is critical to have a reliable yet easy-to-use back-up system in case anything is lost or misplaced. For this reason, SBS 2003’s Volume Shadow Copy service, accessible through the Backup wizard, is a vital component of CJN’s solution. Volume Shadow Copy creates a copy of the original volume. Data is then backed up to a tape from the shadow copy instead of from the original volume. This allows the original volume to change as the back-up process continues, but the shadow copy of the volume remains constant. Moreover, Volume Shadow Copy can restore an older version of a file, or a deleted file, within Windows Internet Explorer by setting aside a portion of the server’s data disk for saving changes to files.
“SBS 2003 helps provide support for server restoration from a back-up, without having to first install the operating system with Volume Shadow Copy,” says Jamieson. “This is important to our organization because it means that users in Montreal can access files when a backup is happening in Toronto. With so many writers working on different files, it is critical that we have a backup system in place that allows users to access files and work on them whenever they want, regardless of what is happening behind the scenes.”
Business Benefits
Improved Productivity
In a news organization, it is critical that staff members have access to information when and where they need it. With offices in Toronto and Montreal, it was important for CJN to have a central information repository. This need is met through a feature of Microsoft Windows SharePoint Team Services included in SBS 2003, which provides a centralized information repository in the form of an intranet site where employees can access information anytime.
“SBS 2003 provided our organization with a fully-configured intranet built around Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services. With areas for projects, presentations, discussion forums and other shared information, it is a natural network hub for employees in the office and working remotely,” says Jamieson. “We find it especially useful as team members in both offices can work on the same document and know that it is the most up-to-date version. This helps to save a great deal of time, and improves overall efficiency.”
Improved Security
After experiencing significant downtime due to a virus attack, CJN was determined to select a platform that was more secure. Working with Mantrologix, the team at CJN has implemented a patch management strategy to help protect its information and prevent future attacks.
“There are a number of e-mails being sent to CJN from advertisers, media and the general public, making patch management essential to their business. They don’t always know who is sending them what, so proactive preventative maintenance is very important,” says Mann. “SBS 2003 is providing a more secure infrastructure which, coupled with a patch management strategy, is working to help keep unwanted viruses out and information more safe and more secure.”
Increased Communication
In the field of journalism, having the right contacts and information is critical to the publication’s success. Many reporters rely on their contacts and calendars to stay organized by using Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 messaging and collaboration client. With interviews, editing and production cycles to work around, it is imperative that writers have the right tools at hand to communicate efficiently and effectively.
The Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access feature within SBS 2003 lets employees access their messages, calendars, contacts, tasks and public folders from any computer, using an Internet connection and a Web browser.
“We are delighted that employees can now remotely access their e-mail, check the intranet and connect to their desktop PC using the Remote Web Workplace in SBS 2003. It has helped make everyone’s job easier,” says Jamieson. “This has provided our workforce with the flexibility that they require, and helps ensure that everyone is able to communicate from any device at home, on the road, or in the office.”
Lower Total Cost of Ownership
With a small operating budget, it was important for CJN to select a solution that would provide it with a lower total cost of ownership. The organization has found SBS 2003 to be the perfect solution to fit its complex requirements. The new software has provided CJN with a myriad of features and functionality that would normally require multiple applications and acquisitions.
“The entry-level Standard package of Small Business Server 2003 includes five client licenses and retails for $849*, says Jamieson. “For a smaller organization, this is significant value as we can maximize our IT budget, and at the same time, SBS includes a number of features to help manage our business.”
*Actual retail price may vary. Price in Canadian dollars and current at time of printing.
Windows Small Business Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 enables your small business to be more productive with fewer resources. Now you can: automatically protect your business information in 15 essential ways; get 20% more done every day by making it easier for your employees to find, share, communicate, and remotely access information; reach more customers and serve them better, 24/7; quickly set up and easily operate a Windows-based server to run your small business.
For more information about Windows Small Business Server 2003, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/sbserver
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 Mantralogix Inc. products and services, call 905-629-3200 or visit the Web site at: www.mantralogix.com
For more information about Canadian Jewish News products and services, call 416-391-1836 or visit the Web site at: www.cjnews.com
