Special Olympics Canada
2006 Summer Games jumps remote access hurdles with Windows Small Business Server 2003
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Company Overview
Special Olympics Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Canadians with intellectual disabilities through sports training and competition. The premier event is the summer and winter games which are hosted every two years in selected cities across Canada. These events are planned and organized by Games Organizing Committees in each host city. The most recent event was the 2006 Summer Games held in Brandon, Manitoba. The competition hosts more than 1,000 Special Olympic athletes, coaches and volunteers from across Canada.
Business Challenge
Organizing an event of this magnitude is a massive undertaking especially with only four full time staff. Leading up to the 2006 Summer Games, the Games Organizing Committee (GOC) recognized that its current IT infrastructure was hampering productivity and information management.
“The GOC was made up of more than 50 volunteer board members, and the biggest issue was centered on remote access to email and collaboration between the team,” says Cory Gross, General Manager, 2006 Summer Games.”
With an existing and outdated peer-to-peer network, GOC members had no remote access to files, no collaborative capability and poor email access. As a result, their level of collaboration was restricted. Staff spent a large amount of time on data entry and synchronizing the latest business information, like athlete registration and event logistics between members. Also, not only did the environment lack a central repository to store information, the GOC was unable to effectively back up data and was concerned about data loss and security attacks.
“I was always emailing stuff home, and would then forget what file was updated,” Gross recalls. “There was no plan in place for saving data or any contingencies if we lost a hard drive.”
Additionally, the GOC wanted its IT environment to seamlessly integrate with the Games Management System (GMS), a Microsoft® SQL Server-based database licensed to the Special Olympics. The GMS business application tracks data records for the more than 1,000 athletes and volunteers participating at the event, with all the information inputted manually on one stand-alone computer.
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Solution
Lacking the resources and technical expertise to upgrade the IT environment on its own, the GOC of the 2006 Special Olympic Summer Games turned to Brandon, Manitoba-based C-Five Ltd., a Microsoft Partner and recognized Microsoft Small Business Specialist.
Since members of the GOC were not particularly tech savvy and their busy schedules could not accommodate a lot of training time, the technology implementation needed to be quick and uncomplicated. C-Five quickly determined that the GOC shared the same requirements as the average small business with respect to storage, collaboration and a central data repository. With a committee largely made up of volunteers, the organization also needed to set up a remote access, allowing committee members to access to email, business information and resources outside of the office.
Working with C-Five, the GOC implemented Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition and Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003 Standard Edition. The organization also wanted to run a terminal server to connect their donated laptops and PC’s to the Games Management database so they installed Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 and Windows Server 2003.
The actual implementation took less than a week. C-Five installed a virtual server on the SBS and ran a virtual machine using another Windows Server, effectively turning it into their terminal server. According to Les Connor, President of C-Five Limited, installing the virtual server component to allow remote access was crucial to the project’s success.
“The GOC now had one piece of server hardware but with two machines running on it,” says Les Connor, President of C-Five Limited. “With the terminal server now in place, the organization was able to remotely connect its Windows-based desktops and laptops – meaning that several committee members could be more productive by simultaneously working on the GMS database.”
Business Benefits
Remote Access anytime, anyplace
The new Windows Small Business Server 2003 implementation enabled the GOC to not only get more done with less; it also successfully addressed the it’s biggest technology hurdle – having remote access to information. With Remote Web Workplace, which comes with Small Business Server 2003, committee members could access business information and resources when away from the office, including their e-mail, internal Web site, network files, and business applications from any PC with Internet access.
“Since many of our committee members had full time jobs on top of their work for the GOC, convenience was essential to productivity,” says Gross. “After implementing Small Business Server communication became easier. The fact that we have remote access gave us an unbelievable advantage - it is what tied the committee together.”
Enhanced file sharing and synchronization
Before the Windows Small Business Server 2003 implementation, the old peer-to-peer network hindered productivity and file sharing between committee members. The SBS solution has enabled a virtual office, one where members can work on GOC business documents at any time, regardless of physical location. They were also able to develop a central repository to store business information, making it easy for members to find and access information at any time.
“The information management synchronization feature of Windows Small Business Server changed the way we worked,” says Gross. “It has helped promote collaboration and allowed us to be more efficient with our time.”
Increased collaboration and productivity
As with most not-for-profit organizations, the GOC needed to do a lot with the limited resources they had. Working with one physical server and six donated computers, C-Five provide GOC with terminal server capabilities, allowing volunteers to access and update the GMS database from anywhere with an Internet connection.
C-Five installed Virtual Server 2005 on top of the Small Business Server 2003 and then installed Windows Server 2003 as a virtual machine, essentially creating a second server and allowing for terminal server capabilities.
This resulted in huge time savings for the GOC. With its old system, only one person could access the GMS system for data entry at a time.
“The Remote Web Workplace feature of Small Business Server really helped us extend our network. Our volunteers could use donated and personal computers to access the database via Remote Web Workplace. This allowed for easy collaboration via Exchange and SharePoint from anywhere with an internet connection,” says Gross.
Superior security and data backup
The 2006 Summer Games also saw business value in the enterprise-class security and information backup capabilities of Windows Small Business Server. Outside of irregular back up to a CD Rom, there was no contingency plan for saving data before the SBS implementation. According to Gross, having that information in a safe location provided a high level of security.
“Previously GOC had no plan in place for saving data or any contingencies if they lost their hard drive,” says Connor. “Microsoft Small Business Server enabled them to manage their network from a central console so updating and storing business information was done more efficiently and securely.”
Moving Forward
According to Gross, the implementation of Small Business Server 2003 ensured the technology behind the Special Olympics Canada 2006 Summer Games operated with optimum efficiency and productivity. The enterprise-class capabilities of Small Business Server allowed the GOC to overcome communication barriers and reduce planning cycles.
“Microsoft Small Business Server changed the way the GOC operated,” says Gross. “It helped us connect as a committee as well as organize and execute a better event. I will definitely recommend it to the next planning committee of the Special Olympic Games.”
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:
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 C-Five Limited products and services, call 204.729.7860 or visit the Web site at: www.cfive.ca
