Desjardins Group Finds a Solution It Can Bank On with Microsoft ISA Server 2004 SP2
Canada's largest cooperative financial group optimizes bandwidth utilization and helps improve customer service with the latest Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server
MISSISSAUGA, ON - June 20, 2006 - Microsoft Canada Co. today announced that the Desjardins Group (Desjardins) has deployed Microsoft® Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 SP2 across its network of over 1,500 service points. Replacing a data compression tool developed in-house, ISA Server 2004 SP2 has helped Desjardins improve access to critical Web-based applications for its remotely located sites and helped reduce operating costs.
With 5 million member-owners, a network that covers Quebec and Ontario, as well Manitoba and New Brunswick, Desjardins is Canada's largest integrated cooperative financial group. As a significant number of its service points are situated in small or remote communities, Desjardins encountered bandwidth availability challenges. Isolated service points with under-developed IT infrastructure were experiencing network speeds as low as 56 kilobits per second. This limited staff access to key Web-based applications and raised concerns about the company's ability to service all customers quickly and efficiently. To overcome the challenge, Desjardins implemented Microsoft ISA Server 2004 SP2 across its entire organization to optimize bandwidth performance through data compression and traffic prioritization.
"Servicing all of our service points without benefiting from optimal network speeds represents a hefty challenge. Microsoft ISA Server 2004 SP2 gives us an affordable solution that helped optimize network use and allows us to postpone the purchase of additional bandwidth," says Josée Corriveau, Applications Architecture and Infrastructure Manager, Desjardins Group. "We considered other solutions but felt that none came close to offering the capabilities of the Microsoft software at a comparable cost. Helping to reduce operating costs is a definite advantage for our network, and ultimately, our members."
Microsoft ISA Server 2004 is most recognized as an integrated Firewall, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and content caching technology. With the launch of Service Pack 2 in February, 2006, ISA Server 2004 functionally expanded to include a range of new features, tailor made for organizations with service points facing bandwidth availability challenges, including HTTP compression and traffic The ISA Server prioritization capabilities allows Desjardins to mark transactional data, such as Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) sales and account transfers, as high priority, ensuring it bypasses less time sensitive network traffic such as email.
"The vast geography of Canada and the continually growing importance of Web-based transactions and applications have meant that demand for bandwidth has outgrown its availability in smaller, more remote communities. This can often have a direct effect on the bottom line of companies doing business in those areas," says Derick Wong, Senior Product Manager, Security/Management, Microsoft Canada Co. "As purchasing additional bandwidth can quickly turn into a huge expense; Microsoft is very pleased to work with companies like the Desjardins Group to help address this challenge effectively and cost-efficiently."
About Microsoft Canada
Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Co. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq "MSFT") the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both French and English. Microsoft Canada is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario with MSN.CA offices located in Toronto, and eight regional offices across the country dedicated to empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Visit Microsoft Canada's Web site at www.microsoft.ca
About Desjardins Group
Desjardins Group is the largest integrated cooperative financial group in Canada, with overall assets of more than $118 billion. It comprises a network of caisses, credit unions and business centres in Québec and Ontario, and some twenty subsidiary companies in life and general insurance, securities brokerage, venture capital and asset management, many of which are active across the country. Drawing on the expertise of its 40,000 employees and the commitment of 7,600 elected officers, Desjardins offers its 5.5 million individual and corporate members and clients a full range of financial products and services. Its physical distribution network is complemented by leading-edge virtual access methods. To find out more, consult www.desjardins.com
©2006 Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
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