Situation:

Inrea Research had a basic Server which was used mainly to share Internet . Since it worked extensively with overseas Customers, Email was the preferred mode of communication.

The Email infrastructure consisted of mail boxes configured for every user on ISP Server. This mailbox was then configured with every client PC . With increase in workload and staff, managing the email system and regular backups was just not possible.  Spam was a  major irritant.

Another pain point was that user files were on My Documents of every user.  There was little collaboration and no backups of the files.

Since research was the primary work, Internet access was crucial. The Internet access was unrestricted which posed Security hazard.

Inrea Research invited Techgyan, an award Microsoft Certified Small Business Specialist to offer a Solution.

Solution:

Techgyan  proposed a Solution based on Windows Small Business Server Premium 2003 R2 along with Software Assurance .

In addition , to ensuring  a more secure Infrastructure , Techgyan suggested that the Desktop Operating System should be Vista Business . And considering the heavy duty analytics  work , Techgyan suggested Office 2007 for the Desktops so that there can be seamless integration of the Data between Office 2007 at the Desktop and SQL Server on the Server.

All the recommendations made by Techgyan were accepted and the project was green lighted.

Solution Overview:

*File & Print:

Since  the entire data is stored in the server, users from different departments  can access only such data that is relevant to them. To improve security, users are provided ‘least privilege rights’ with a password  policy conforming to  pre - determined guidelines . Central storage of Data ensures  regular  backup which  is automated via native backup service available in Windows Server.

*Proxy:

By enabling proxy services of Microsoft Internet Security and  Acceleration (ISA) Server ,  Techgyan has optimized Internet  connectivity . The  caching features of the ISA Server  ensure a high-speed  connectivity while providing easy access to frequently accessed Web sites.

*Firewall:

The server blocks viewership of unwarranted sites . Techgyan  has  set  up  site  monitoring  to administrator access and usage . This allows the administrator to learn which  user was  accessing which site and for  how long. This  ensures  effective  and  productive  usage  of the Internet and eliminates wasteful indulgence.

*Shared Contacts:

All  the  business  contacts  are stored  under the Public Folders of Microsoft  Exchange Server 2003  providing  a common resource to all employees. However, an editorial right  to  the  Shared Contacts is  restricted to  a select few. All new contacts are entered into the database by designated  persons . This  ensures  the  contacts  are   recorded in the central database and not lost.

*Group Calendaring: Inrea uses group calendaring and meetings  effectively . If  an  internal  meeting has to be scheduled, it is possible to set up the appropriate date and time verifying the calendars of the concerned employees.

*Task Creation and Assignment: Inrea uses the tasks effectively to manage task assignment and tracking. By adopting  Microsoft Outlook based task implementation process, Inrea has increased accountability with reduced errors caused due to verbal communication.

Benefits:

 *Provides Framework for Internet Access

Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server  ensures high speed, secure and shared Internet access. It also manages Web access by monitoring and blocking unwanted sites. 

 *Improves Customer Satisfaction

Several features of Windows Small Business Server 2003 have helped Inrea improve customer management. Better connectivity has improved communications. Features such as network faxing, and centralized databases, shared contacts, anytime, any place, any device email access have all contributed towards better, faster and quicker response time.

 *Enhances Employee Productivity

Employee productivity has also improved dramatically. Centralized resources ensures that time is not wasted on mundane tasks such as hunting for a customer’s telephone number . Spam filtering has improved productivity.