Writeimage CEP Construction Company Speeds up Project Management with Next Generation Messaging

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Customer Solution Case Study

Construction Company Streamlines Project Management with New Messaging System

Overview “With Exchange Server 2007, we expect to save up Country or Region: Germany to 10 per cent of our present administration outlay.” Industry: Manufacturing Marc Slonek, Project Manager, Leonhard Weiss Customer Profile German construction company Leonhard Weiss specializes in the construction of For Leonhard Weiss, a leading construction company based in roads and rail tracks. It has 2,700 employees. Germany, completing projects on time and to budget is vital. To achieve this, Leonhard Weiss relies on good communications and Business Situation The company wanted to replace its effective collaboration among all employees. With the help of Microsoft® Exchange Server 2000 Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner Cellent, the company was invited messaging system with a modern solution that would provide more mobility, simplify to trial Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 as part of the Rapid administration, and reduce costs. Deployment Program. Leonhard Weiss implemented Exchange

Solution Server 2007, which provides on-site workers and project managers Through technology partner Cellent, with secure mobile access to e-mail, in just 14 days. Furthermore, Leonhard Weiss was invited to install Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 as part of with the solution’s improved management features and the Rapid Deployment Program. virtualization capabilities, the company expects to cut

Benefits administration costs by 10 per cent.  Improved remote access to information.  Simplified administration for IT people.  Faster project execution.  Reduced costs through server consolidation.  Ideal framework for supplementary services. Situation system that helped us become even quicker Founded in 1900, the Leonhard Weiss and more effective at executing our building company specializes in the projects.” construction of roads and rail tracks. To maintain its leading position in the Solution construction sector and contend with Leonhard Weiss chose Cellent, a Microsoft increasing competition, the company must Gold Certified Partner, as its IT solution complete complex construction projects on provider. Cellent recommended that time and to budget. Leonhard Weiss trial Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 to complement its server Communications and collaboration play a renewal project and participate in the Rapid central role in helping the company respond Deployment Program (RDP), which would to changing situations. Leonhard Weiss give the company access to Microsoft wanted to enhance the flow of information Exchange Server 2007 prior to launch. to improve collaboration and enhance “Because the system mobility. Slonek was impressed with the product operates smoothly in its presentation and saw opportunities for Construction site managers and builders virtualization, which would allow the default settings, there work mainly on building sites with no access company to reduce its server hardware. are no daily to offices. They need to communicate with Based on this, Leonhard Weiss accepted an head office at all times. To complete work invitation from Microsoft to join the RDP and maintenance tasks. It is efficiently, they must rely on corporate deploy Exchange Server 2007. satisfying when applications using the Internet, as opposed to a virtual private network (VPN) connection. The project began in August 2006. The installations take place domain preparation and installation of so quickly and To improve remote communications, the Exchange Server 2007 took just a few hours, company wanted to give building-site and the first 60 mailboxes were set up soon effortlessly.” employees mobile devices, such as personal after. Finally, mobile devices, including digital assistants (PDAs), fully integrated PDAs, were connected to the Exchange Kay Baron, Account Manager, Cellent with the corporate infrastructure. Leonhard Server 2007 environment. Because the Weiss also sought to give field employees entire solution was secured through better access to the head office and foster Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration the effective exchange of information. Server 2004, remote workers could access e- mails in real time from any location. This In early 2006, the company planned a first test environment was built by two routine server hardware update. At the same project members in two days. time, it began to investigate modernizing its messaging system, based on Microsoft® Kay Baron, Account Manager at Cellent, Exchange Server 2000. It wanted a new says: “Exchange Server 2007 is easy to messaging solution that would complement deploy—the Exchange Setup Wizard took us the project to integrate field employees with through all the stages very simply. Because the company. It also wanted to reduce the the system operates smoothly in its default overall number of servers and use the settings, there are no daily maintenance remaining servers more efficiently. tasks. It is satisfying when installations take place so quickly and effortlessly. It keeps Marc Slonek, Project Manager at Leonhard costs down, and everyone in the company Weiss, says: “We needed a messaging benefits from the new system sooner.” look and feel to Microsoft Office Outlook, with familiar functions such as task Benefits management, calendar, and notes. Employees at Leonhard Weiss can now share documents with the head office easily For Leonhard Weiss, the improved and update documents relating to a building communications features for workers project faster than before. The solution has outside the office are particularly important. not only improved collaboration, but helped In many cases, improved mobility and the company reduce server hardware. Outlook Web Access are the only ways for construction workers and site managers to Fast Collaboration with Better Mobility contact head office. Because Exchange For a large number of Leonhard Weiss Server 2007 provides optimal security, there employees, the worksite is the office. Project is no need to deploy an expensive VPN. managers and construction workers need to share and update the latest documentation Employees at Leonhard Weiss are now “We will continue to on a building quickly to counter delays in the productive and can access up-to-date construction process. Exchange Server 2007 information, no matter where they are. The expand our use of provides Leonhard Weiss with the best company can make decisions and act on Exchange Server 2007 possible link between employees’ mobile incidents more quickly, which helps projects so our project devices and Exchange Server 2007. run smoothly. management becomes ActiveSync® technology offered in Exchange “Exchange Server 2007 has made our Server 2007 pushes messages to mobile employees independent of the office,” even more efficient in devices, ensuring that critical messages Slonek says. “Information that is important the future.” reach employees at any location almost for a building project can be exchanged with instantly. For employees who use more than head office from any Internet connection— one device—a laptop/home computer and a from home, a public computer, or a mobile Marc Slonek, Project Manager, Leonhard PDA, for example—enhanced synchronization device. This is considerably faster and more Weiss ensures that, if they respond to a message efficient than having an employee travel to or update their calendar on one device, their head office to attend meetings. This other devices will automatically update at flexibility is especially important in the the same time. building industry, because building sites are not equipped with convenient offices.” “Using Exchange Server 2007, we have brought our employees in the construction Simplified Administration Cuts Costs projects much nearer to head office by IT administrators at Leonhard Weiss now integrating the mobile devices,” says Slonek. enjoy the new command line tool Windows® “We will continue to expand our use of PowerShell, which comes with the Exchange Exchange Server 2007, so our project Management Console and simplifies management becomes even more efficient administration. With the well organized and in the future.” easy to understand graphic user interface (GUI), even “non-experts” can perform the Access from Internet-Connected Computers basic settings. Users can also access their e-mails through any Internet-connected computer, including Slonek says: “Exchange Server 2007 their home computers. Microsoft Office provides the best of both worlds: graphic Outlook® Web Access 2007 offers a similar interface for straightforward settings and a text-based shell for IT experts. The GUI employees collaborate more easily and provides a consistent and powerful execute projects faster. experience for our employees. For instance, it is possible to create scripts that The new infrastructure also paves the way automatically provide users with mobile for supplementary services that will help device accounts and create mailboxes. With Leonhard Weiss maintain its position as the previous GUI, it could take hours, but this market leader through greater project is far easier with the new GUI in Exchange management and real-time collaboration. Server 2007. Exchange Server 2007 provides better support for Web services, accelerating “If we want to go into greater depth, we can development for custom and third-party use the text-based shell, which provides applications. Exchange Server 2007 also excellent traceability and documentation of offers a robust messaging system that will settings. This means our administrators can not falter as developers continue to build automate these tasks for next time. Because new features. Leonhard Weiss is already “Because of the of the improved clarity in Exchange developing integrations with SAP Enterprise Management Console, IT administration has Portal and planning to add a CRM module. improved clarity in become far easier. With Exchange Server Exchange Management 2007, we expect to save up to 10 per cent of Because all developments are to be based our present administration outlay.” on this new platform, Leonhard Weiss no Console, IT longer needs to maintain isolated administration has Server Consolidation Reduces Costs standalone solutions that become untenable Because Exchange Server 2007 is based on over time. Instead, the company has chosen become far easier.” 64-bit architecture, it offers Leonhard Weiss to standardize its systems on Exchange new possibilities for server virtualization. In Server 2007. As a result, the entire system is Marc Slonek, Project Manager, Leonard turn, this means impressive performance no longer vulnerable to breakdowns in areas Weiss gains and more storage space with less difficult to service. hardware. Using Exchange Server 2007, the construction company virtualized its existing servers.

Consequently, fewer input/outputs take place on the physical disks, and, as a result, the system becomes faster. This translates into reduced hardware requirements, lowering administration costs and relieving the burden on the budget. Leonhard Weiss has already saved more than €60,000 (U.S. $77,900) in hardware and software costs. It has also estimated that associated maintenance costs could be reduced by €6,000 per annum.

System Supports Project Management From the moment Exchange Server 2007 was deployed at Leonhard Weiss, it helped For More Information Microsoft Server Product Portfolio For more information about Microsoft For more information about the Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft server product portfolio, go to: Sales Information Center at (800) 426- www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- For more information about Microsoft 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of- Exchange Server, go to: hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone www.microsoft.com/exchange (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com

For more information about Cellent products and services, call +49 (0)7361 974 0 or visit the Web site at: www.cellent.de

For more information about Leonhard Weiss products and services, call +49 (0)7951 33 0 or visit the Web site at: www.leonhard-weiss.de

Software and Services  Microsoft Server Product Portfolio  Technologies − Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 − Active Directory − Windows Server 2003 Enterprise − Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access Edition − Microsoft .NET Framework

 Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published January 2007