Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) offers classroom and online education to over 100,000 students. KCTCS is using Microsoft® System Center data center solutions in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Beta to improve e-mail availability and performance and to simplify e-mail management. KCTCS has reduced problem resolution times by 66 percent and can expand its messaging servers by 50 percent without increasing IT staff.

Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc. is a U.S.$1 billion global provider of manufacturing equipment and services. The company’s employees rely on up-to-date messaging technology to conduct business with partners and customers around the world. Barry-Wehmiller wanted to upgrade to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 e-mail messaging and collaboration software. However, in light of tough global economic conditions and a corporate culture that promotes a “Lean” organization, the IT department re-evaluated the cost of deploying an on-premises solution. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller chose Microsoft Online Services to deliver all the scalability, security, and functionality the company needs for desktop and mobile e-mail. The hosted communications and collaboration solution saved Barry-Wehmiller $200,000 in hardware and infrastructure costs, as well as another $100,000 on an archiving solution.

Crisis Call Center is a northern Nevada–based crisis-hotline service. For years, the nonprofit ran its entire operation on one aged server that was slow and unreliable, but there were no funds to upgrade it. Through a generous grant by local Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner IQ Systems, Crisis Call Center licensed the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, part of Microsoft Online Services, which gives employees access to the latest communications and collaboration software over the Internet. The strategy has trimmed technology management work by U.S.$20,000 annually and eliminated a recurring capital expense of $15,000. Online access to documents and modern communications tools gives employees more time to help individuals in crisis. And with data stored in Microsoft data centers, the nonprofit can provide uninterrupted service without fear of a server disaster.

Transelectrica is a power-grid company in Romania. To ensure the reliability of the power system, the company prides itself on continuously improving its IT infrastructure. In an effort to streamline information access at branch offices, the company upgraded to the Windows® 7 operating system. Transelectrica now benefits from streamlined access to corporate resources, easier IT management, enhanced security, and improved system performance.

Caltrol, a leading representative company for industrial process management and automation solutions, had a disconnected server environment and physical servers that were aging, unreliable, and inefficient. Caltrol implemented Windows Server® 2008 Hyper-V™ and virtual servers to reduce hardware and build a business continuity environment. As a result, it has reduced costs, optimized system performance, and improved its backup and recovery process.

Unicorn IT, a hosting company based in London in the United Kingdom (U.K.), wanted to reduce its operating costs by bringing its backup and disaster recovery solution in-house. In 2008, it introduced a new system based on Microsoft® System Center Data Protection Manager 2007. Now, employees can restore customers’ files in minutes instead of hours, and IT operating costs have been cut by 30 per cent.

Internet service provider LINKdotNET upgraded databases that support its mission-critical corporate services and hosted environments to Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 and Windows Server® 2003. With the solution, LINKdotNET has sped database queries by 800 percent, improved data security, automated customer orders, and scaled to support rapid growth. The company also expects to reduce the number of hosted database server computers by 20 percent with Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

An Enterprise virus protection system based on the family of Microsoft Forefront Security products has locks out viruses and malware and enables the Russian telecommunications retail chain, Svyaznoy to conduct its business without interruption.

Open Text, an enterprise content management (ECM) software provider, was an early adopter of the Office Business Application (OBA) approach to software development. Open Text currently offers OBA solutions that combine the rich functionality of its ECM products with the user environment and flexibility of the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. Over the past five years, the evolving Open Text OBA offerings have expanded the company’s business opportunities and delivered greater value to its customers. Open Text has successfully leveraged Microsoft’s significant research and development investment to create richer products and has used the Microsoft Partner Program to both market its products and connect with solution partners. Open Text views the Microsoft Office system and OBA paradigm as a cornerstone in its product development strategy.

Avanade, a leading business technology services provider, began upgrading to the Windows® 7 operating system. It did so to enhance its IT security and improve information access for its mobile workforce. It also sought hands-on knowledge of the operating system to prepare for customer deployments. As a result, Avanade benefits from improved system performance, streamlined remote access to resources, easier IT management, and enhanced security.