4-page Case Study - Posted 10/12/2007

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Lion Nathan

Australian Beverage Maker Improves Efficiency with Unified Communications Solution

Lion Nathan, a maker of fine alcoholic beverages in Australia and New Zealand, wanted to enhance its collaboration tools. Geographically dispersed team members needed a faster way to locate one another and to share information. To improve communication, the company became an early adopter of Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft RoundTable™. The company integrated its existing voice over IP (VoIP) telephony system with the new solution, and pilot users now can manage voice, e-mail, instant messaging, and conferencing through a single interface. These users are more efficient because they can locate one another faster and because integrated technologies mean more connections and fewer missed calls. Enhanced conferencing features improve internal collaboration, and the company looks forward to improving communication with external parties as well.

Situation

Based in Sydney, Lion Nathan is a leading alcoholic beverages company with operations in Australia and New Zealand. The company makes premium beers, wines, and spirits for the Australasian and international markets. It has more than 2,800 employees and is a publicly traded company on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges.

Office Communications Server 2007 brings all the different functions of devices and technology into a single interface…. It’s really taken communication to the desktop.  Brett Watkins Systems Manager Lion Nathan

The company's headquarters is also the IT support hub for all Lion Nathan sites. The IT support team manages systems that are critical for day-to-day business functions, and delivers help-desk support to the entire company. The IT groups at different locations used a variety of tools, including e-mail, instant messaging, and phone calls, for communicating with users and with one another.

Users relied on a variety of devices and technologies, including e-mail messages and landline and mobile phone calls, for communicating with one another. But locating colleagues, determining the best communication tool for each situation, and collaborating from disparate locations was often challenging and time-consuming.
“In our area we’ve got geographically dispersed team members and various departments that need to share information,” explains Mick Faber, Technical Analyst at Lion Nathan. 

Most users at Lion Nathan depended on the company's e-mail messaging environment to support workflows and communication with internal and external customers. However, users in some job functions also used other collaboration technologies. For example, the help-desk team relied heavily on Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005 for instant messaging and presence information to communicate quickly with users and with various support teams. Live Communications Server shows the availability of contacts through colored icons that are visible in business applications like the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client.

In contrast to the centrally located help-desk staff, the members of application support teams are scattered throughout Australia and New Zealand and they needed different tools to facilitate more-intensive collaboration. These teams used the Microsoft NetMeeting® conferencing software. Part of the Windows® operating system, NetMeeting was an affordable solution that small groups could use to conduct meetings from remote locations.

Missing from these solutions, however, was enhanced presence information and tighter integration with existing applications. To address these deficiencies, Lion Nathan needed a unified communications solution that could deliver audio and video conferencing, instant messaging, and presence information to all team members through a single interface.

In addition, the company hoped to take advantage of its investment in an Internet Protocol (IP) telephony solution from Cisco Systems. Lion Nathan wanted new collaboration tools with which its mobile users could manage and control their desk phones from their portable computers, from any location that has an Internet connection.

Solution

In early 2006, Lion Nathan began upgrading its corporate messaging system to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 as part of the Exchange 2007 Rapid Deployment Program. The upgrade improved remote access to the corporate messaging network, making it possible for users to connect through any device that has a Web browser, including smartphones powered by the Windows Mobile® operating system.

In the next phase of implementation, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner HP integrated Lion Nathan's Cisco telephony environment with Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging. HP recently won the Australian Partner Conference award from Microsoft for Information Worker—Unified Communications Partner of the Year 2007. The telephony integration provided Lion Nathan users with voice-mail capabilities and the ability to use a standard telephone and voice or touch-tone commands to manage their e-mail accounts.

From an overall IT perspective, Office Communications Server 2007 has been a massive improvement…. Having a tool in place that signals when a person is available to collaborate has dramatically improved resolution time.  Mick Faber Technical Analyst Lion Nathan

The company wanted to enhance communications further by integrating more collaboration options with its messaging system. “The next stage for us was to get more value and benefit from the Exchange Server 2007 implementation by showcasing additional features to the user community,” says Brett Watkins, Systems Manager at Lion Nathan.

Lion Nathan had consolidated its server computer architecture as part of the Exchange Server implementation. It also decided to replace its aging collaboration server computer, which acted as the directory service for NetMeeting. The company saw an opportunity to upgrade its conferencing capability along with other communications tools, and in February 2007 decided to become an early adopter of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

Office Communications Server 2007 is the next version of Live Communications Server 2005. It streamlines communication by integrating tools such as e-mail, instant messaging, on-premise audio, video, and Web conferencing, and presence information. Presence information is shown with colored icons that are integrated in Outlook and other Microsoft applications. By looking at the icons, users can quickly see who is online and available for communication. The product also supports federated communications and software-powered voice over IP (VoIP). 

The company turned once again to HP to help implement its unified communications solution. “It was just a natural progression to use them in the Office Communications Server 2007 implementation,” says Watkins. “It’s a big benefit to us that they know our environment— because they were involved in designing it, they don’t have a big learning curve for each new implementation.”

With help from HP, Lion Nathan began a pilot program in March 2007. The team installed Office Communications Server 2007 on HP ProLiant DL365 server computers running the Windows Server® 2003 R2 operating system. By April, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 was deployed to 100 users and their computing devices. The company reports that the pilot deployment went very well. In particular, Faber commends the product’s tight integration with the Active Directory® service. “We have the ability to configure user settings within the directory service, and Office Communications Server 2007 gives us further options for migrating users and implementing capabilities—it’s a really simple step-by-step process.”

The pilot includes mostly IT support team members, executives, and mobile users who use instant messaging and Web conferences to stay in touch with one another and to rapidly respond to business needs. HP successfully integrated the Cisco Systems IP telephony solution at Lion Nathan with Office Communications Server 2007. The pilot group now can make, receive, and manage phone calls from their computers by using Office Communicator 2007.

Lion Nathan expects to deploy the solution in a phased approach to a broader user base when Office Communications Server 2007 is released to market. The company will install the server software on three HP ProLiant DL365 server computers at its Sydney headquarters.

Faber comments that the new solution has been easy to manage. “HP performed the design and integration services, and most of the work for us has involved migrating users off Live Communications Server. After the users  were on board, very little ongoing maintenance or support has been required. It’s been very stable.”

Mobile users can connect by using Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on devices running Windows Mobile software. These users have the same presence information and instant messaging tools available as their office-based counterparts. “HP provided the expertise to seamlessly integrate the Cisco and Microsoft environments and to provide a truly unified communications experience,” says Darryl Warren, Chief Information Officer at Lion Nathan.

The pilot group required little training, but Watkins says that his team has put together a short access guide to help users get familiar with more of the communications solution’s features. He has had little difficulty persuading people to use the new product. “Users are very comfortable with the tools and are willing to use the Office Communications Server 2007 solution on their own initiative. It’s an intuitive interface, and they can find their way around easily.”

Meetings are more personal, and there’s a lot more interaction because people can see each other, and they aren’t  staring at a phone. You actually feel more engaged in that meeting.  Mick Faber Technical Analyst Lion Nathan

The company has also deployed the capability for external federation. Federation allows multiple enterprises to communicate more securely across corporate networks by using tools like instant messaging.

By using Office Communicator 2007 and Office Communicator Mobile, Lion Nathan users can connect to corporate e-mail and to Office Communications Server 2007 from outside the firewall, which further extends the company's communications capabilities. When users don't have access to an Internet connection, they can also use a standard phone to dial in to hear e-mail messages and to check their calendars.

In addition, Lion Nathan is testing the Microsoft RoundTable™ conferencing and collaboration device, which has a built-in 360-degree camera and advanced voice recognition capability. RoundTable connects to a standard personal computer and will be used by teams across Australia and New Zealand instead of voice-only telephone conferencing. Faber reports that the device was easy to install and use, and that its panoramic display mimics a more natural meeting environment. “Microsoft RoundTable gives participants the feeling of being in the same room with one another,” he says. “We like that it follows the conversation and that the speaker becomes the main focus.”

Benefits

By implementing Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007, Lion Nathan team members can collaborate more effectively and solve problems faster. Because telephony is integrated with other technology in a single interface, users save time and have more control over their communications and data. Web conferencing with video capability makes meetings more dynamic, and people are more engaged as a result. Lion Nathan continues to add new capabilities, with federated communications and remote access to Office Communications Server 2007 tools and e-mail inboxes.

Increases Efficiency

Integrated presence information has helped Lion Nathan IT support teams to improve efficiency and deliver better service to users. For example, users can tag contacts who are momentarily unavailable, so that they are alerted when those colleagues are ready to talk. This feature helps the Lion Nathan support team save time and focus on other tasks.

Even at this early stage of deployment, Lion Nathan estimates that the solution is helping IT Service Desk team members to recover at least 30 minutes from each work day. “We save a lot of time and effort by reducing the need for ‛phone tag’ and for leaving messages,” says Faber.

He continues, “From an overall IT perspective, Office Communications Server 2007 has been a massive improvement. We’ve got development teams that we work quite closely with. Having a tool in place that signals when a person is available to collaborate has dramatically improved resolution time.”

Jane Howard, IT Systems and Applications Manager at Lion Nathan adds, “HP has helped us to completely modernize the way we communicate and collaborate with our peers and partners with the Microsoft unified communications solution.”

Adds New Capabilities, Increases Return on Investment

By integrating its messaging and telephony environments with Office Communications Server 2007, Lion Nathan can build on its investment in its technology environment. The integration helps the company to add new capabilities to its existing infrastructure. “Office Communications Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging help Lion Nathan to take advantage of the significant investments it has made in its Cisco environment, to bring unified communications capabilities to users’ workstations,” says Anthony Vitnell, Unified Communications Architect at HP.

Improves Communications Control

Before implementing Office Communications Server 2007, the company's communications were often fragmented by its disparate tools. It was difficult for users to know the best way to reach someone, and missed phone calls resulted in delays. Now, Lion Nathan team members can use a presence icon to choose the best way to get in touch. Moreover, with Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging, voice messages are delivered through Outlook along with e-mail messages. Mobile users in particular benefit from the solution because they can use either a phone or a computer to connect with their mailboxes from any location. “With Office Communications Server 2007, you don’t need to be in the office to see the flashing red light on your phone,” says Watkins.

He adds, “Office Communications Server 2007 brings all the different functions of devices and technology into a single interface. For example, we can drag one user name onto another to start an instant messaging conversation, instead of needing to arrange a phone call. It’s really taken communication to the desktop.”

Enhances Collaboration

Geographically separated IT team members in New Zealand and Australia have traditionally used telephone conferences for their weekly talks. However, a team that recently began holding Web-based conferences by using Web cameras at individual workstations and the RoundTable conferencing device in groups reports a significant improvement over the old method of collaboration. “With RoundTable, meetings are more personal, and there’s a lot more interaction because people can see one another and aren’t staring at a phone,” says Faber. “You actually feel more engaged in the meeting.”

Warren adds, “HP and Microsoft gave us early access to pilot test RoundTable, which has the potential to turn previously simple audio conference calls between cities and countries into immersive meetings containing rich audio, video, and data. The RoundTable device is the best representation of a 360-degree room I have seen.”

Improves Partner Communication

The company is currently using the unified communications solution mostly for internal support by IT staff, but Lion Nathan looks forward to broader use of the technology. Users are already connecting to the solution with portable computers and smartphones. Watkins believes that the solution has the potential to improve communication with business partners. “In IT there can be an exchange of eight e-mail messages between Lion Nathan and a supplier within half an hour,” he says. “Office Communications Server 2007 will be a real advantage to speed up and improve that communication.”

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 by using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com

For more information about HP products and services, call (61) (3) 8877 5000 or visit the Web site at:
www.hp.com.au

For more information about Lion Nathan products and services, call (61) (2) 9290 6600 or visit the Web site at:
www.lion-nathan.com

Microsoft Office System

The Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to:
www.microsoft.com/office

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published October 2007