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Microsoft Exchange Server 2010Customer Solution Case Study21590127000Leading Packaged Ice Company Increases Email Availability from 93 to 99 PercentOverviewCountry or Region: United StatesIndustry: ManufacturingCustomer ProfileReddy Ice is the largest manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice products in the United States. The company has approximately 3,000 employees and is based in Dallas, Texas.Business SituationThe company’s email environment—consisting of five instances of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 running on outdated hardware—delivered only 93 percent email availability.SolutionBy deploying Exchange Server 2010 running on Hyper-V, Reddy Ice increased email uptime to 99 percent. It also deployed Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and is deploying or testing several additional Microsoft technologies.BenefitsIncreased productivity and collaborationEnhanced securityGreater IT efficiencySimplified licensingReduced costs“Even though the size of our IT staff has decreased by 20 percent over the last year—from five people to four—we’re still delivering better service and getting more done.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy IcePrior to June 2010, Reddy Ice ran Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 on outdated hardware, resulting in frequent email downtime. After an unsuccessful pilot test of Google Mail, the company moved to a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement and upgraded to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, which ran better on the Hyper-V virtualization technology in Windows Server 2008 R2 than it did on VMware. Reddy Ice also deployed Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and is now focused on a pilot test of Windows Phone, wholesale replacement of VMware with Hyper-V, deployment of Microsoft Lync Server 2010, an upgrade to Windows 7 Enterprise, and the evaluation of Microsoft System Center products. These efforts have led to increased productivity and collaboration, enhanced security, greater IT efficiency, simplified licensing, and reduced costs.19050411480SituationWith origins dating to the early 1900s, Reddy Ice manufactures and distributes approximately 1.8 million tons of ice per year. The company has 58 manufacturing facilities and 67 distribution centers, which service customers throughout the United States.In June 2010, Reddy Ice had an IT environment consisting of about 40 standalone servers, most of which ran the Windows Server 2003 operating system on outdated, underpowered hardware—all relying on local disk storage. Five of those systems ran Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and were deployed one at a time whenever the company needed more capacity. IT staff spent most of their time on day-to-day system administration and responding to issues such as running out of disk space, which resulted in a reactive environment and high levels of email downtime. 5403852023745“After running some numbers, I was able to make the case that it would be 8 percent less expensive—and far better for users—to fix our existing Exchange Server environment instead of going to Google Mail.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy Ice00“After running some numbers, I was able to make the case that it would be 8 percent less expensive—and far better for users—to fix our existing Exchange Server environment instead of going to Google Mail.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy IceThe company’s previous Vice President of IT decided that the answer to email downtime was to outsource, which led to a pilot test of Google Mail. The problem, however, was that users didn’t want to give up the Microsoft Outlook messaging and collaboration client—and Google Mail didn’t work well with Outlook. “People couldn’t see each other’s calendars, appointments randomly disappeared, and some email rules didn’t work,” says Steven Williams, who joined Reddy Ice as IT Manager in the midst of the pilot test and was one of the participants. “We knew that, if IT personnel were having so many issues, Google Mail would never work for business users.”While the Google Mail pilot was underway, Reddy Ice moved its five email servers to VMware—a virtualization initiative that the previous Vice President of IT instated. However, the transition only made the situation worse. The company still experienced unexpected email outages, and VMware announced licensing changes that would require Reddy Ice to incur higher costs. System administration also became a larger issue because, although the IT department had five people, only one had the knowledge to administer and support VMware.Business users and IT personnel experienced additional productivity drains, including:Problems with antivirus software. The Symantec antivirus software that Reddy Ice had installed on its 600 desktop PCs wasn’t adequately preventing infections, and the Symantec server software used to deploy definition updates to the PCs required excessive administration.Lack of instant messaging. Because the company had to block consumer-grade instant messaging (IM) services for security reasons, employees could not determine the presence of others or send someone an IM to ask a quick question.Inefficient document sharing. Reddy Ice had a few Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 team sites, but they were rarely used. “The sites had been set up without any planning,” says Erik Tillisch, System Administrator at Reddy Ice. “Incorrect permissions prevented many people from posting files, and a lack of search capabilities made it impossible to find anything, so everyone just continued to use network folders and email to share documents.”SolutionA catalyst for change came when staff reductions eliminated two layers of management and left Williams reporting directly to Angela Wallander, the company’s Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President, who is now the acting Vice President of IT. “After running some numbers, I was able to make the case that it would be 8 percent less expensive—and far better for users—to fix our existing Exchange Server environment instead of going to Google Mail,” recalls Williams.For Williams, that meant upgrading to Exchange Server 2010. He also had several other ideas about how Reddy Ice could use newer Microsoft software to boost productivity, improve collaboration, and reduce costs. 5403852023745“We recently finished moving our entire Exchange Server 2010 environment from VMware to Hyper-V, and now we don’t have any issues at all.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy Ice00“We recently finished moving our entire Exchange Server 2010 environment from VMware to Hyper-V, and now we don’t have any issues at all.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy IceWilliams’s first step was to contact his local Microsoft account manager. That led to a five-hour session at the Microsoft Technology Center in Dallas, Texas, during which Reddy Ice discussed with Microsoft and Microsoft Partner Network member Sparkhound what it wanted to accomplish during the next year. “Our goal was to build a strong foundation in a few key areas as soon as we could, and then continue to build on that foundation as budget allowed,” says Williams. In January 2011, to best position itself for the initiatives that lay ahead, Reddy Ice transitioned from a Microsoft Select Agreement to a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. “We’re a Microsoft shop, so an Enterprise Agreement just makes sense,” says Williams. “We get the best possible pricing, more flexibility in evaluating new software and deploying new solutions, enhanced support, access to resources such as Microsoft TechNet, and all the advantages of Software Assurance.”More Reliable EmailBy March 2011, Reddy Ice had migrated from Exchange Server 2003 running on five virtual machines (VMs) to Exchange Server 2010 running on two VMs—configured as a high-availability cluster and supported by a new, 32-terabyte Dell EqualLogic storage area network. While email downtime decreased, it was still at an unacceptable level. That’s when Reddy Ice decided to try replacing VMware with the Hyper-V virtualization technology in the Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter operating system.“We moved one instance of Exchange Server 2010 to Hyper-V and concluded that it ran a lot better than it did on VMware—and was easier to diagnose and fix if something went wrong,” says Williams. “We recently finished moving our entire Exchange Server 2010 environment from VMware to Hyper-V, and now we don’t have any issues at all.”Reddy Ice also replaced its Symantec antivirus software with Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010. “By using Forefront Endpoint Protection, we’re catching a lot more threats before they can infect a PC,” says Williams. “In addition, because Forefront Endpoint Protection uses Windows Server Update Services to deploy new definition updates, it’s wonderfully low-maintenance.”New Collaboration ToolsIn parallel with its move to Exchange Server 2010, Reddy Ice considered how it could improve employee collaboration. The IT department worked with Microsoft Partner Network member Statera to demonstrate Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 to a group of business users. “When we finished the demo and asked, ‘What’s the first thing you’d like?’ we received lots of different responses,” says Williams. “Even though their needs were diverse, all groups saw immediate value in the document management features of SharePoint Server 2010—especially in combination with its built-in search functionality.”In July 2011, Reddy Ice launched SharePoint Server 2010. “Everyone really likes how easily they can share documents,” says Williams. “People no longer waste time looking for the latest version of a file. Instead, they can look in one place and receive automatic email notifications when a new version of a document is posted.”To make the most of the company’s new collaboration environment, web developers at Reddy Ice—who focus primarily on internal business apps—upgraded from the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 development system to Visual Studio 2010 Premium. The development group also deployed Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, giving it a comprehensive solution for all aspects of application lifecycle management. Continued MomentumWith SharePoint Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2010 now deployed, running smoothly, and delivering new business value, the IT department at Reddy Ice is busy 5403852023745“Even though their needs were diverse, all groups saw immediate value in the document management features of SharePoint Server 2010—especially in combination with its built-in search functionality.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy Ice00“Even though their needs were diverse, all groups saw immediate value in the document management features of SharePoint Server 2010—especially in combination with its built-in search functionality.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy Iceexploring how else it can use Microsoft technology to benefit the business. Initiatives include:Evaluation of Windows Phone. In August 2011, Reddy Ice began evaluating Windows Phone as a replacement for its BlackBerry devices. “Our BlackBerry Enterprise Server is another moving part we’d like to eliminate,” says Williams. “It takes only a few seconds to connect a Windows Phone to Exchange Server. People love how it supports multiple email accounts, provides seamless access to their contacts and calendars, and enables them to view and edit Microsoft Office documents on their phones. Windows Phone is extremely easy to use, and all of the feedback we’ve received has been very, very positive.”Standardization on Hyper-V. Reddy Ice also runs Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 data management software on Hyper-V—and plans to replace VMware with Hyper-V by September 2012. “Hyper-V is less expensive and easier to manage and administer,” says Williams. “We especially like how we can run as many VMs as we’d like on a single host by using Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter.”Unified communications. Reddy Ice recently returned to the Microsoft Technology Center to discuss with Microsoft and Sparkhound how it could best take advantage of Microsoft Lync Server 2010. “We see Lync Server as an affordable option for voice over IP and plan to roll it out as part of a voice over IP pilot in 2012,” says Williams. “Of course, we also plan on taking advantage of its instant messaging, presence, and voice and web conferencing capabilities.”Desktop refresh. As desktop hardware is refreshed, Reddy Ice will continue to replace the Windows XP Professional operating system and older versions of Microsoft Office with the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system and Microsoft Office Professional 2010. “We see many opportunities to take advantage of features in Windows 7—such as BitLocker encryption technology and DirectAccess connectivity—and plan to be fully on Windows 7 within the next 18 to 24 months,” says Williams. New system management tools. Reddy Ice will soon start testing Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 as a replacement for Symantec Backup Exec. The company also plans to deploy Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager to manage its Hyper-V environment and to evaluate Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.BenefitsBy taking advantage of Microsoft software, Reddy Ice has improved employee productivity and collaboration. The company’s IT team is also more productive because it spends less time troubleshooting issues and maintaining standalone servers. Reddy Ice has also simplified software licensing and reduced its licensing costs. 5403852023745“People no longer waste time looking for the latest version of a file. Instead, they can look in one place and receive automatic email notifications when a new version of a document is posted.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy Ice00“People no longer waste time looking for the latest version of a file. Instead, they can look in one place and receive automatic email notifications when a new version of a document is posted.”Steven Williams, IT Manager, Reddy IceIncreased Productivity and CollaborationA significant decrease in email issues and downtime has helped boost employee productivity and collaboration. “Across the company, people rely very heavily on email,” says Tillisch. “Email availability used to be about 93 percent—equivalent to about 20 hours of downtime per month. Today, considering both planned and unplanned downtime, we’re at about 99 percent email availability—a reduction in downtime of about 85 percent.”New document management tools provided by SharePoint Server are also boosting productivity and collaboration. “People now spend a lot less time looking for files or determining who has the latest version,” says Williams. “And the document libraries people use today haven’t increased the workload of IT personnel because we’ve been able to delegate their administration to power users across the company.”Ongoing initiatives, when completed, will deliver further productivity and collaboration gains. “With Lync Server, we can give people a wealth of tools for efficiently working together—including presence information, instant messaging, and audio, video, and web conferencing,” says Williams. “We’re also planning to start developing SharePoint workflows that will streamline processes such as onboarding a new employee.” Enhanced SecurityThe IT team has seen fewer PC infections since transitioning from Symantec AntiVirus to Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010. The use of SharePoint document libraries instead of file shares has also helped improve security by making it easier to ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive files. “The permissions model in SharePoint Server is a lot easier to manage than individual permissions for dozens or hundreds of file shares,” says Williams. “Individual departments can create their own document libraries and determine who should have access, and they’re in a much better position to know who needs access to those files.”Greater IT EfficiencyThe move to virtualization over the past year has enabled Reddy Ice to reduce the number of physical servers it must support from 40 to 15. Today, that number includes four VMware servers, five Hyper-V servers, and six standalone systems. “We’ve already eliminated about 40 hours of IT effort per week that were being spent maintaining, supporting, and backing up standalone servers,” says Tillisch. “Standardization on Hyper-V over VMware will result in additional IT time savings—with the added benefit of anyone within the IT department being able to administer the servers.”Adds Williams, “Even though the size of our IT staff has decreased by 20 percent over the last year—from five people to four—we’re still delivering better service and getting more done.” Simplified LicensingThe company’s move from a Microsoft Select Agreement to a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement has simplified licensing, enabling IT staff to get new systems up and running without having to purchase a new license every time. “In the past, we spent significant energy on licensing every time we bought a new system,” says Williams. “With an Enterprise Agreement, a lot of those hassles just go away, which means we can deploy new solutions faster. Plus, with an Enterprise Agreement, we’re getting better pricing, two free support incidents, and 30 credit-hours for 5403852023745“Today, considering both planned and unplanned downtime, we’re at about 99 percent email availability—a reduction in downtime of about 85 percent.”Erik Tillisch, System Administrator, Reddy Ice00“Today, considering both planned and unplanned downtime, we’re at about 99 percent email availability—a reduction in downtime of about 85 percent.”Erik Tillisch, System Administrator, Reddy Iceeducation, which means we can keep our IT staff current on all the new Microsoft software we’re deploying.”Reduced CostsCompared to the direction it was headed a year ago, Reddy Ice will save a significant amount of money by standardizing on the latest Microsoft software. Williams has already calculated that the company’s new Exchange Server 2010 environment will be 8 percent less expensive than had Reddy Ice moved to Google Mail, and Tillisch estimates that the transition from VMware to Hyper-V will result in an additional 7 to 10 percent cost savings. “With the latest Microsoft software, we’re delivering more business capabilities with fewer IT headcount and lower costs,” says Tillisch. “We’ve made major progress over the past six months, and everyone within the IT department is excited about the new opportunities that lay ahead as we work to get the most out of our Enterprise Agreement.” 28575006527800Software and ServicesMicrosoft Server Product PortfolioWindows Server 2008 R2 DatacenterMicrosoft Exchange Server 2010Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010Microsoft Lync Server 2010Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2Windows 7 EnterpriseMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Office Professional 2010Microsoft Lync 2010Windows Phone TechnologiesHyper-VWindows Server Update ServicesServicesMicrosoft Technology CenterPartnersSparkhound00Software and ServicesMicrosoft Server Product PortfolioWindows Server 2008 R2 DatacenterMicrosoft Exchange Server 2010Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010Microsoft Lync Server 2010Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2Windows 7 EnterpriseMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Office Professional 2010Microsoft Lync 2010Windows Phone TechnologiesHyper-VWindows Server Update ServicesServicesMicrosoft Technology CenterPartnersSparkhound5549908255000This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published December 201100This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published December 20115403852056765For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:For more information about Sparkhound, visit the website at: For more information about Reddy Ice, visit the website at: 00For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:For more information about Sparkhound, visit the website at: For more information about Reddy Ice, visit the website at: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 can help you achieve better business outcomes while controlling the costs of deployment, administration, and compliance. Exchange Server 2010 delivers the widest range of deployment options, integrated information leakage protection, and advanced compliance capabilities, which combine to form the best messaging and collaboration solution available.For more information about Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, go to:exchange For more information about Microsoft Unified Communications, go to:uc ................
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