Weidner Is the IT Director at Pennoni Associates, an Engineering and Design Services Firm

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio Customer Solution Case Study

Engineering Firm Switches from Cisco to Lync Server, Estimates Savings of $1.5 Million

Overview “If we didn’t have Lync Server and clients, our help desk Country or Region: United States would be crippled and unable to function properly.” Industry: Professional services Markus Weidner, IT Director, Pennoni Associates Customer Profile When its Cisco telephony system began to show its age, Pennoni Pennoni is an employee-owned, full- service engineering and design services Associates knew that it would eventually have to replace it. firm based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “Eventually” became “immediately” when Pennoni acquired a with 28 offices throughout the eastern United States. firm that could not wait for an upgraded phone system. Pennoni adopted Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and the results, according Business Situation When the performance of its traditional to the customer, are striking: nearly 100 percent uptime, telephone system became a bit spotty, processes that have accelerated 300 to 400 percent, and an Pennoni needed greater performance and wanted new features such as estimated savings of US$1.5 million. presence, instant messaging, video, and more.

Solution Pennoni adopted Microsoft Lync Server 2010 for its integrated communications capabilities, mobile client software, and federation capabilities with Pennoni's customers.

Benefits Achieves nearly 100 percent uptime Reduces time on voicemail by 75 percent Enables spontaneous, flexible videoconferencing Accelerates IT provisioning by 400 percent Saves estimated $1.5 million Situation In 2005, when the performance of the The need to plan for growth became real telephone equipment at Pennoni and immediate in January 2011, when Associates became a bit spotty, Markus Pennoni acquired Patton Harris Rust & Weidner did not think that adopting more Associates (PHR+A), a seven-office, 180- of the same technology would solve the employee engineering firm with a 15-year- problem. And when he looked at the cost old private-branch exchange (PBX) system. for “more of the same,” he was sure of it. Suddenly, Pennoni needed to modernize the acquisition’s phone system, integrate Weidner is the IT Director at Pennoni that system with its own, and avoid the Associates, an engineering and design costs associated with using Cisco to meet services firm with 28 locations and almost these needs. 1,000 employees across the eastern United States. Collaboration technology has long It had a related challenge in played a part in its success. So, when videoconferencing: employees at PHR+A Pennoni adopted a new phone system in were accustomed to using the technology 2006, it chose Cisco Call Manager, in part for both internal and external meetings. for its ability to interoperate with Microsoft Employees at Pennoni were not. Pennoni Office Live Meeting, which Pennoni already needed to provide a consistent used. Next, the company upgraded to environment across the newly expanded Microsoft Office Communications Server company—at a potential cost of $200,000 2007, adding instant messaging (IM) and for proprietary hardware and system presence capabilities that magnified the software. impact of collaboration on productivity and profits. Solution In the months before the acquisition, Meanwhile, the Cisco solution for Weidner learned about Microsoft Lync interoperability with Office Server 2010, the successor to Office Communications Server was becoming a Communications Server. He believed that problem. When it didn’t function, Weidner Lync Server could lower the costs of would hear about it immediately in help- Pennoni’s communications hardware, desk calls. Beyond that, the costs software, and management, while associated with expanding the Cisco delivering broader functionality, more infrastructure made that option less hardware options, better interoperability attractive to Pennoni—especially in an with other parts of Microsoft Unified austere economic. For example, to support Communications, and simplified Pennoni’s nominal, organic growth, each management and use. It also provided new Cisco gateway at each new location Internet telephony capabilities via would cost the company about US$20,000. interoperability with commercial SIP New handsets and headsets could cost (Standard Internet Protocol) trunking $600 or more apiece, and Pennoni products from leading carriers. Weidner executives thought Cisco licensing was saw Lync Server as a potential replacement expensive, too. for Cisco, once the company fully

27 depreciated its Cisco licenses. When the Server using Windows Server 2008 R2 acquisition of PHR+A occurred, Datacenter with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and implementing Lync became Pennoni’s Hyper-V technology. Four Lync Server roles obvious choice. are virtualized as separate guest machines. The virtual machines are isolated from the Pennoni tested Lync Server and its rest of Pennoni’s infrastructure within a management packs and, in May 2011, server pool, ensuring that the Lync Server moved the solution from its test lab to a components don’t have to compete for production deployment for about 25 pilot resources with the rest of the Pennoni users across Pennoni and PHR+A. Over the environment. following seven months, Pennoni expanded the Lync deployment within PHR+A to The architecture also furthers high cover two offices and 75 employees. reliability with failover clustering. A second Pennoni also deploys the Lync client to PCs virtualized Lync Server server pool—or at the parent company, to avoid the cluster—exists at a second location, 30 expense of additional Cisco licenses, miles away. The two clusters fail over to hardware, and operating costs. All Pennoni each other in the case of resource service employees now use Lync Server for IM, disruption, keeping Lync Server up and presence, and videoconferencing. When its running. Cisco lease expires, Pennoni expects to extend Lync Server telephony to these Many Ways to Use a Consistent Solution employees too. Employees with Lync clients enabled for Enterprise Voice use a Lync–enabled Building in High Availability handset in the familiar form of a desk Pennoni had typically deployed much of its phone. Some use USB or Bluetooth software infrastructure using internal IT headsets instead. Weidner plugs a compact staff. The approach was cost-effective but Plantronics Blackwire headset into his traded off the deployment expertise that portable computer when he needs to make presumably would have come with the use calls from the road or when he works from of deployment specialists. Weidner external locations, including private or reconsidered that trade-off. He foresaw public Wi-Fi hotspots. that Lync Server could only meet the high hopes that he had for it if it operated at the Pennoni created a consistent, feature-rich highest practical levels of reliability and videoconferencing solution across the resiliency. To help build that high combined company through its use of Lync availability and business continuity into its Server. The video solution complements use of Lync Server, Pennoni turned to an the expensive, aging proprietary system outside consultant to help design and now used at PHR+A and provides deploy the new infrastructure. videoconferencing at Pennoni without resort to expensive video hardware and That design bakes high reliability into the software. Along with the Lync Server infrastructure through the use of software that has already been deployed at virtualization. Pennoni virtualized Lync Pennoni, the company uses standard, low-

37 cost video hardware, such as webcams and “We recently replaced our BlackBerry low-cost desksets, for peer-to-peer devices with a mixture of smartphones, videoconferencing. It also uses a pair of including iPhone and Windows Phone, so Polycom HDX7000 Video Conferencing the release of mobile clients for Lync Server Stations for group conferences between really enhances the value of our two major hub sites. Videoconferencing has smartphone investment,” says Weidner. been deployed to executives, regional vice “The value of a mobile version of Lync is presidents, office directors, help-desk obvious. We have so many staff on the personnel, and others. road and in meetings at any one time that the ability of these people to chat and Pennoni uses Lync Server together with make and receive calls with their desk Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 to put phone identities is big. ‘One-click join’ for audio and transcribed voicemails into Lync-based conferences is also a big plus unified inboxes. To extend collaboration for us because we’ve increased our use of beyond its borders, Pennoni adopted the Lync-based audio conferencing.” open federation capability in Lync Server. The company’s engineers have begun to Weidner sees the importance of Lync use open federation for IM, checking mobile clients to Pennoni only increasing as presence, speaking, and conducting peer- the software develops. “It’s likely that many to-peer videoconferencing with their Pennoni employees will use Lync mobile clients, vendors, and strategic partners. clients as much or more than they use their Lync-based desk phones and clients,” he “We use open federation of Lync Server to says. bring the company’s client services to an entirely new level,” says Weidner. “We can Pennoni’s Lessons Learned provide faster and fuller answers to our After more than seven years of experience clients’ questions and requests. We’re there with several generations of Microsoft in real-time for them from wherever they Unified Communications, Weidner and his are with an Internet connection. It department have insights into what promotes client loyalty and business contributes to a successful deployment. growth.” “Don’t expect everyone to adapt and adopt the technology as rapidly as you, the IT The Future of Mobile Communications person implementing the product, do,” says Pennoni is now deploying the newly Weidner. “Users will settle on what is released Lync mobile clients for Windows comfortable for them. That’s part of the Phone, iPhone, and Android, which deliver reason we used desktop handsets in our push notification and other Lync Server implementation.” features to the broad mobile market. So far, the reception of Lync Mobile has been very And when it comes to handsets, Weidner positive and enthusiastic, according to advises his counterparts at other Weidner. companies to stick with what works. “Once you select handsets that work well for your organization, keep buying them as you

47 need more,” he says. “Don’t create a mixed infrastructure” says Weidner. “We get that environment, because then you have that reliability with our virtualized, clustered many more models to support with deployment.” Uptime for Lync Server has warranty, firmware, and other ancillary been nearly 100 percent at Pennoni, which services.” is important since the company makes heavy daily use of the software’s voice, Pennoni configured its Lync Server collaboration, and IM features in all of its environment with two SIP trunks: one to Virginia offices. All other locations use IM the existing Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) and collaboration. cluster, and a second connected directly to the carrier. A lesson that the Pennoni team “We’re not in reactive mode anymore, tying gleaned from its work is the importance of up our people to keep the system running,” interoperability testing for a SIP trunking says Weidner. “And we’re confident that solution. ”You can’t do enough Lync Server will meet our needs over time interoperability testing,” says Weidner. “The because we see how reliably it works pieces may be there to make it work, but today.” sometimes the more quirky areas of the SIP language—such as the way media-bypass Reduces Time on Voicemail by 75 behaves—don’t translate well.” Percent “We use Lync Server to coordinate activities Finally, Weidner says that training is on a level we didn’t even think about important to help employees to accept and before,” says Weidner. Gone are the adopt unified communications. “Even in a centrally located sign-out boards that firm like ours, with a strong user formerly provided the only available community, outreach is a continuing presence information—and fairly primitive effort,” he says. “Once staff are comfortable presence information at that. Instead, with Lync, you can use that to spur other Pennoni now relies on Lync Server training and mentoring opportunities presence, which is available to employees throughout your firm. You will always have through any computer or device that can technologically curious and ambitious connect to the Pennoni network. people; get them comfortable with Lync Server and they will help promote and train “We use Lync Server presence to improve others, informally—and effectively.” every way that we communicate,” he says. “If my presence shows I’m in a meeting, Benefits people trying to reach me save the time Pennoni uses Lync Server and clients to and trouble of sending IMs, voicemails to spend less, increase productivity, and my cell and land lines, and emails. They can support continued growth. find available resources that much faster. And I don’t have to wade through the Achieves Nearly 100 Percent Uptime clutter of multiple voicemails and emails “We need absolute reliability from Lync that are just a waste of time.” Server because it is essential to the way we communicate; it is part of our tier-one

57 Nor does Weidner have to wade through from one form to another as the needs of even the smaller group of relevant the conversation change.” voicemails he receives—now, it’s more like surfing. He used to take 20 minutes at a Weidner says he’s impressed that Lync time to listen and respond to voicemails. Server provides its feature-rich Now, he reviews them as text messages in videoconferencing without the need for his Outlook mail software in five minutes, expensive hardware or software. “We deleting, forwarding, and filing them as wouldn’t have invested hundreds of rapidly as he does his email—a time- thousands of dollars in a proprietary savings of 75 percent. He estimates that the system,” he says. “With Lync Server, we company saves one thousand hours a year didn’t need to—and we have a system in this way, by using Lync Server. that’s more interoperable with the rest of our communications services than we’d “We’re getting back so much of our time have seen with a proprietary system.” with Lync Server that ’we've become much more productive and efficient,” Weidner Accelerates IT Provisioning by 400 says. “And I don’t think we want to imagine Percent what it would be like to go back to life Although Pennoni’s business and line-of- before Lync.” business staff have both expanded, its IT department has not. Four full-time staffers Enables Spontaneous, Flexible and one half-time staffer use Lync Server to Videoconferencing help manage the increasing numbers of Certainly, life before Lync Server would employees and technology assets at the mean that Pennoni employees would have company. For example, they provision Lync little or none of the videoconferencing Server users four times as quickly as they capability that they now use, often on a did Cisco users. And help-desk personnel daily basis. They would miss it. use Lync Server peer-to-peer videoconferencing to add an impromptu One of Pennoni’s C-level executives, for visual element to support calls—such as example, uses Lync Server holding up a webcam to demonstrate how videoconferencing extensively while a particular technology asset should be traveling between company offices. “Lync configured or used. Server is the way that this CxO holds spontaneous conversations with other C- “If we didn’t have Lync Server and clients, level execs and with his regional vice our help desk would be crippled and presidents each day,” says Weidner. “It’s unable to function properly,” says Weidner. quickly become his preferred method of instant communication, because a visual Saves Estimated $1.5 Million conversation conveys far more nuance and Pennoni estimates it will likely save more information than an audio exchange. And than $1.5 million in capital spending, videoconferencing is an integrated choice operating expenses, and increased among IM, voice, email, and voice productivity by using Lync Server. The messaging—employees can easily move estimated savings include reduced

67 expenditures for handsets and headsets Microsoft Server Product Portfolio ($400,000), infrastructure ($180,000), For more information about the Microsoft videoconferencing ($200,000), consulting server product portfolio, go to: ($30,000), and voicemail ($50,000). The www.microsoft.com/servers company estimates savings of $600,000 in greater productivity, plus $120,000 in IT productivity.