Minnesota-based Security-Victor Insurance needed to replace its aging server hardware. When considering a new solution, the agency decided to improve its disaster recovery capability and simplify server management. After consulting with Mytech Partners, a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, Security-Victor deployed Windows Server® 2008 R2 Foundation. At the same time, it moved its e-mail system to Microsoft Exchange Online, managing the authentication and access for both the e-mail service and a hosted proprietary application with the new operating system. Now, the agency has a reliable server solution that improves disaster recovery and lowers costs. Along with ease of installation and management, Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation offers the right-sized solution for the agency today and an easy upgrade path as the business grows.

Super Group is a supply chain management business that handles all activities involved in sourcing, procurement, and logistics management. Based in South Africa, Super Group has 10,000 employees and owns companies in numerous African countries, Australia, and New Zealand. The company is always looking to reduce costs while providing the latest communication and collaboration capabilities to employees. To enhance its unified communications platform, Super Group chose to deploy Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 as a part of the Microsoft Rapid Deployment Program. Benefits of the upgrade include expanding e-mail service to employees without computers, reducing IT administration, and cutting storage costs. The move to Exchange Server 2010 will also make it easier for Super Group to transition some or all user e-mail accounts to Microsoft Online Services in the future.

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.

Two Degrees, LLC, a professional services firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington, planned to upgrade its key messaging and collaboration solutions and boost its disaster recovery and data privacy practices. Instead of paying for on-premises migrations, new hardware, and a more secure data center, Two Degrees, LLC became an early adopter of Microsoft® Online Services. Its autonomous technology solutions division, Slalom Consulting, deployed the hosted solution to deliver the security, communication, and collaboration functionality that Two Degrees, LLC consultants need to focus on customers and work productively onsite or at the office—at a 44 percent lower cost per person than it originally budgeted for. After successfully deploying Microsoft Online Services for its parent company, Slalom Consulting can now offer Microsoft Online Services to customers ahead of its competitors.

For many years, Munich-based infoWAN Datenkommunikation GmbH has wanted to provide a true enterprise-class online messaging and collaboration option to clients. It first explored such an offering 10 years ago, but the costs were too high. Today, though, the cost of an online solution can be lower than the cost of an on-premises solution, and this change has renewed interest in online messaging and collaboration services. Because of its considerable experience with Microsoft® Exchange Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server, infoWAN has chosen to offer its clients an online messaging and collaboration option based on the Business Productivity Online Suite from Microsoft Online Services. As a result, infoWAN anticipates a significant expansion of business over the next several years.

French IT service provider Exakis wanted to bolster its service offerings with an enterprise-class messaging and collaboration solution that it could offer to clients who did not want to build out new infrastructure or who needed to deploy a solution rapidly. In the Business Productivity Online Suite from Microsoft® Online Services, Exakis found a solution that could meet client needs and open doors for the delivery of additional value-added services. And clients have been embracing it enthusiastically: For Crédit Immobilier de France—which had looked at Google Apps to meet its branch office messaging needs before deciding that it did not want to risk its business on a service that was not enterprise-ready—Exakis is deploying the Business Productivity Online Suite to more than 3500 users in 300 offices around France.

Realtor Kris Anderson was using a smartphone running Windows Mobile® 6 to respond to client needs and conduct business while out in the field. For more agility and speed, she decided to try a Windows® phone with Windows Mobile 6.5. The software provides new touch features and a new Web browser that Anderson uses to help her work smarter, respond faster, and save up to three hours a day, which could translate into a savings of U.S.$35,000 a year.

Computacenter is one of Europe’s leading independent providers of IT infrastructure services. The company had long delivered a range of managed services to large clients, but had become aware that the on-premises services that it could offer clients were not the right fit for many smaller companies that did not want to build or maintain an infrastructure on their own. Computacenter executives in Germany sought a flexible, enterprise-class messaging and collaboration solution that it could offer to smaller clients and soon found the Business Productivity Online Suite from Microsoft® Online Services. With the Business Productivity Online Suite, Computacenter has been able to expand its service offerings in new ways, opening new doors and creating new opportunities for growth.

Binary Tree has helped millions of IBM Lotus Notes users migrate to Microsoft® software. With the launch of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, the company’s CMT for Exchange solution fully supports migrating to the new release. CMT for Coexistence with ZApp also supports the coexistence of Lotus Domino and Exchange Server 2010 environments. Together, these and other CMT solutions simplify and speed migration and reduce its costs.