Egypt and Middle East-based Internet service provider (ISP) LINKdotNET wanted a new customer relationship management (CRM) solution to support customers and expand its offering. It engaged LINK Development to implement Microsoft Dynamics® CRM integrated with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Portal Server and Microsoft Forecaster in Microsoft Dynamics GP for integration of financial data, saving hundreds of hours’ work daily.

TDC is the largest telecommuncations company In Denmark. The company plays a leadership role in utilizing the latest technologies to deliver telecommunication services. TDC needed to decrease inbound sales staff overhead, reduce call handling times, and enable more cross- and up-selling opportunities. TDC implemented the Microsoft Customer Care Framework, and was able to reduce sales overhead, handle customer calls more efficiently, and enable more opportunities for cross- and up-selling of services.

Telecom Italia is the leading provider of telecommunications services in Italy and one of Europe’s largest operators of fiber optic networks. In 2007, it started to implement a new IT infrastructure. During that process, the company decided to increase the availability of its e-mail system, lower its storage hardware and archiving costs, and give its remote workers more e-mail functionality. In September 2009, Telecom Italia began to deploy Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010. The company will use the new Database Availability Group feature to improve availability, and it will replace its five storage area networks with lower cost direct-attached storage. As a result, the company expects to increase system uptime to at least 99.99 percent and save €350,000 (U.S.$520,000) annually in maintenance costs. Telecom Italia also anticipates that new features will help improve employee productivity.

Turkcell, a leading mobile communications provider, is deploying the Windows® 7 operating system to 5,000 computers. Once deployed, Turkcell expects to lower support by 20 percent and to improve user productivity by 830 hours weekly. Turkcell also anticipates improved network security.

Telekom Austria TA AG, (Telekom Austria), is the fixed-net segment of the country’s principal telecommunications company, Telekom Austria Group. Telekom Austria wanted to increase employee productivity and enhance communication internally among teams and externally with customers. As a part of the Microsoft Rapid Deployment Program (RDP), Telekom Austria deployed Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 to take advantage of its improved communication capabilities. As a result, the company now has a unified communications solution that has increased productivity and improved communication. The company’s IT team also are able to take advantage of the simplified management and flexible deployment enhancements, while increasing network resilience and ensuring network availability for all Telekom Austria employees.

Mobitel, a subsidiary of Telekom Slovenia Group, provides advanced mobile telecommunication services for the Slovenian market. As a company that offers high-quality services at reasonable prices, Mobitel understands how technology helps businesses streamline processes and reduce costs. In its own technology environment, Mobitel had an aging messaging network that was expensive to maintain and cost-prohibitive to grow. After considering an upgrade from Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007, Mobitel decided to join the Rapid Deployment Program for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Mobitel was attracted to the solution for its high-availability architecture and range of storage options, but during the pilot it discovered additional benefits. With Exchange Server 2010, Mobitel expects to reduce hardware costs and administration and to offer an improved user experience.

Global Crossing provides IP-based telecommunications services to customers in more than 60 countries. With 5,000 employees around the globe, e-mail is a critical component of the company’s day-to-day business. In 2007, it implemented a unified communications solution based on Microsoft® software to help employees communicate more effectively. To build on that solution, the company sought to consolidate servers and data centers, increase employee mailbox size, retire its e-mail archiving solution, and update mobile and voice-mail services. Global Crossing joined the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Rapid Deployment Program to evaluate the benefits of the new architecture and capabilities. After deploying the pilot, Global Crossing found that it would be able to reduce costs, increase availability and performance, and offer employees better options for communicating anywhere, anytime.

Internap deployed Internet Information Services 7.5 in the Windows Server® 2008 R2 operating system to implement new capabilities in its content delivery network. As a result, the company can replace Apache Squid on its edge servers, cut costs, and improve scalability, reporting, and the users’ Web experience.

Cell C, a South African cellular telecommunications provider, needed to improve its e-mail system. The company lacked a disaster recovery plan for e-mail. Also, employees wanted larger mailboxes and better mobility support. In addition, the IT department wanted to reduce the administrative burdens of compliance and archiving activities. With help from Microsoft® Services consultants, Cell C is implementing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. The new software delivers automatic recovery from failures at the disk, server, or data center level. With the solution, Cell C can provide users with larger mailboxes and archives along with an enhanced Web client. The company will also be able to simplify administrative tasks associated with compliance and cut storage costs by about R1.8 million (U.S.$230,000).

Telecom Services Provider, Tata Tele Services Ltd., Cuts Costs By INR 10 Crore (U.S. 2 Million) Annually