2 page Case Study - Posted 10/24/2008
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Highly Mobile Employees Stay Synchronized; Hosted Messaging Solution Saves Money
The employees of Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) set up and travel to many meetings in order to help link businesses with minority suppliers. They needed a way to access their e-mail and collaborate while on the road that didn’t require a large infrastructure investment. MSDUK deployed a Microsoft® Exchange Server hosted solution and Windows Mobile® 6.0 smartphones. With this cost-efficient solution, staff can now conduct business anywhere.
Business Needs
Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) is a small, two-year-old nonprofit organization in England. It helps create business relationships between companies and ethnic minority owned businesses to help foster a more inclusive supply chain. Three of the company’s five full-time employees work in an office in Leicester and two telecommute from home in London, which helps the company save money on office expenses. With staff members in multiple locations, they are rarely in the same place at one time.
To carry out the fundamental mission of building relationships, the staff at MSDUK coordinate and attend many meetings throughout London and southeast England with the organization’s member businesses and suppliers. They also set up and conduct numerous conference calls.
Staff members needed an efficient way to conduct their core business as well as to collaborate with each other in real time. They needed access to their e-mail, contacts, and calendars—whether they were working in the office, from home, or traveling to a business meeting. “Remote access to our e-mail is so important while we’re on the move,” says Mayank Shah, Director of Minority Supplier Development UK, who spends nearly 60 percent of his time traveling. As a small nonprofit with a limited budget, MSDUK needed a cost-effective, enterprise-class mobile messaging solution that wouldn’t require investing heavily in infrastructure. “With a small team, we don’t have the in-house capacity or technical know-how to manage a server,” says Shah.
Solution
MSDUK consulted with Ardent ISys, a Microsoft® Certified Partner, to develop an efficient, cost-effective messaging solution for its highly mobile employees. After considering various options, Ardent deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 e-mail messaging and collaboration software through Rackspace hosting, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
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Sometimes we need to finalize a contract or see specific quotations or requirements right before a meeting. This gives us the facility to make decisions while on the road. |
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Mayank Shah
Director, MSDUK |
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The hosted solution is a subscription service that provides customers with the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client on the desktop, access to e-mail via Office Outlook Web Access, and phone synchronization via Microsoft ActiveSync® 4.5 with Direct Push technology. The provider maintains the servers at its location. “It was much more cost-effective for us to pay on a monthly basis instead of buying an infrastructure,” says Shah. “It’s important that we don’t take on the responsibility of managing our own server when we can utilize our time much more effectively on core business.”
MSDUK supplied three of its staff with Orange E650 smartphones powered by Windows Mobile® 6.0. With Office Small Business Edition 2007 applications already running on staff computers and notebooks, Shah felt that Windows Mobile phones would provide staff with a familiar user experience.
Direct Push Technology lets users synchronize information in Office Outlook directly with Microsoft Exchange Server, so they can keep their e-mail, calendar, tasks, and contact information updated while mobile. “I think the biggest benefit of Windows Mobile is that it can simultaneously update everything, which makes it much easier to coordinate appointments and meetings,” says Shah.
“We considered an onsite server-based solution for MSDUK,” says Vijay Riyait, Technical Director of Ardent. “But a hosted Exchange solution gives them all the collaboration features associated with Outlook and Exchange without the infrastructure and support costs.” MSDUK plans to add additional Windows Mobile phones as the company grows.
Benefits
Without spending a great deal of money, now MSDUK’s employees can conduct their core business efficiently when they are mobile, and stay coordinated with each other no matter where they are. Using a hosted solution means the provider manages software updates, system security, and other administrative tasks—leaving MSDUK staff free to concentrate on fulfilling the company’s mission.
Saves Money
A hosted solution based on Windows Mobile 6 and Microsoft Exchange Server saves MSDUK the cost of renting additional office space. “If we were to have an office in London, we would look for managed office space, which can cost around 20,000 pounds a year,” says Shah. “With this solution, we don’t have to spend that money.”
Keeps Staff
Coordinated and Informed MSDUK staff can access e-mail whenever they need to, and share one another’s calendars and contacts in real time. “It’s nice because everyone has the complete database of contacts on their Windows Mobile phone, which is very useful,” says Shah.
Live synchronization helps staff better prepare for meetings. “We can see immediate confirmations of meeting requests and find out who is going to join that meeting, even if we’re mobile.” says Shah.
Supports a Mobile Work Environment
MSDUK staff members are using the Web browser in Windows Mobile to view a company’s Web site, driving directions, or other important information while traveling to a meeting.
Supports a Mobile Work Environment MSDUK Staff are using the Web browser in Windows Mobile to view a company’s Web site, driving directions, or other important information while traveling to a meeting.
Windows Mobile is also useful for accessing business documents while on the road. “When someone sends a presentation or a PDF file, we can download all the documents while we are traveling,” says Shah. “Sometimes we need to finalize a contract or see specific quotations or requirements right before a meeting. This gives us the facility to make decisions while on the road.”
