Singer Recaptures $40,000 in Lost Productivity Costs with Hosted E-Mail Filtering

Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services Customer Solution Case Study

Singer Recaptures $40,000 in Lost Productivity Costs with Hosted E-mail Filtering

Overview "At no cost, we tripled our virus protection by adding Country or Region: United States two additional engines to our current in-house system. Industry: Manufacturing To date, we've never experienced a virus outbreak Customer Profile using Exchange Hosted Filtering service." Singer Sewing Company, founded in 1851, is a world leader in the Brian Elton, Network Administrator. Singer Sewing Company manufacturing and distribution of sewing products. Singer Sewing Company manufacturers and distributes its

Business Situation sewing products worldwide. As a global manufacturer, Singer Singer found its productivity hampered depends on its e-mail system. But, in 2003, the company found by the need to deal with 100,000 spam e- mail messages a month. its corporate e-mail network threatened by an overwhelming amount of spam messages—about 100,000 per month. Worried Solution The manufacturer signed up for about productivity losses involved in handling the spam, Singer

Microsoft® Exchange Hosted Filtering signed up for Microsoft® Exchange Hosted Filtering service. With service. this service, Singer quickly recaptured about U.S.$40,000 in lost Benefits productivity costs. The company has also experienced no false  Recaptured approximately U.S. $40,000 in lost productivity costs positives—legitimate messages incorrectly identified as spam—  Experienced zero false positives and its e-mail system is working well. Singer has blocked  Assured delivery of all e-mail messages thousands of spam messages and viruses each month, and now  Blocked thousands of spam messages has a backup that keeps e-mail messages from being lost when and viruses each month its usual e-mail system is out of service. “Probably the biggest Situation dollars in lost productivity. Employees In 1851, with borrowed capital of U.S.$40, would spend more time dealing with spam benefit from an IT I. Merritt Singer began a company to and less time working on important tasks. perspective is that e- manufacture and sell a revolutionary product: a machine to automate and assist mail messages are in the making of clothing. Little did he Solution never lost during realize that his newly formed I.M. Singer Elton knew his network's spam problem and Company was destined to become the needed an immediate fix. At first, Elton planned maintenance world leader in the manufacturing and evaluated a software-based product but outages.” distribution of sewing-related products, and found it extremely limiting. "The software that the SINGER brand name would approach requires a lot of manual tuning Brian Elton, Network Administrator, Singer become famous around the world. and still delivers less-than-expected Sewing Company results," said Elton. The spirit of practical design and creative innovation that characterized the company He then turned to a recommendation from at its beginning continues today as Singer an acquaintance in the IT field. The Sewing Company develops products for acquaintance praised the Microsoft® every level of sewing. The company has Exchange Hosted Filtering service, which celebrated many firsts, including the world's stops spam and viruses before they can first zig-zag machine, the first electronic negatively impact a corporate network. machines, and recently the world's most Elton took advantage of the free 30-day advanced home sewing and embroidery service trial and signed up for an machine. Singer is consistently in the evaluation. He performed a simple return- forefront of all technical innovations, on-investment (ROI) analysis at the trial's including ensuring that its employees are end. His trial account blocked safeguarded from e-mail–borne workplace approximately 125,000 spam messages. intrusions. Elton multiplied this total by an estimated 4.5 seconds spent dealing with each In the summer of 2003, Brian Elton, Singer message, at an overly conservative Network Administrator, noticed a steady average of $12 an hour per employee as a increase in the amount of spam clogging productivity measure. According to Elton's the network. He had seen volume levels calculations, spam cost Singer a rise monthly by the thousands and Singer conservative estimate of $20,000 annually employees were beginning to voice their in lost employee productivity. In work objection to the obscene material and hours, the problem totaled approximately scams being peddled through the corporate 1,800 lost employee hours annually. e-mail system. "I had one user alone receiving 1,000 spam messages a week. For a company such as Singer Sewing Company-wide spam was reaching levels Company, this problem was significant and of 100,000 e-mail messages a month." contributed to immeasurable losses on the Elton knew something had to be done. At bottom line. Elton presented his findings to the rate spam was growing, the problem the management team and his analysis would cost the company thousands of “Microsoft Exchange more than justified the purchase of an anti- outbreak using Exchange Hosted Filtering Hosted Filtering just spam solution. service." never incorrectly tags Security Against Loss Exchange Hosted Services also made legitimate e-mail Benefits Elton's administrative role significantly messages as spam, Since implementing the Exchange Hosted easier. During routine maintenance of his Filtering service in November 2003, Singer mail server, e-mail messages are stored while at the same time has kept, on average, more than 250,000 and forwarded. Previously during it keeps the real spam maintenance outages, mail would be e-mail messages a month off its corporate bounced back to senders. Singer has found out.” network, recapturing approximately that the queuing function is essential during Brian Elton, Network Administrator, Singer $40,000 in lost employee productivity planned network outages, ensuring that no Sewing Company annually. messages are lost while the server is down. “Before switching to the service, my Microsoft Exchange server was being "Probably the biggest benefit from an IT hammered by spammers. I could see the perspective is that e-mail messages are messages in the mail queue waiting to never lost during planned maintenance reach my users. Now, I only allow outages. All the company's mail is stored, connections from the Hosted Filtering queued, and forwarded to the respective server,” says Elton. “By locking down Port boxes in a flow-controlled fashion. This 25, my users only get clean e-mail, and all feature has made taking down the network the unsolicited material never touches my a fairly painless process,” Elton says. servers." Content and Policy Enforcement While it was the service’s spam-fighting The content and policy enforcement abilities that initially impressed Elton, he service of Exchange Hosted Filtering has also grown to be a fan of the virus enables Singer to monitor inbound and protection, content, and policy outbound e-mail communications to stop enforcement, as well as the mail-queuing sensitive and inappropriate messages from and disaster-recovery features of Microsoft entering and leaving the Singer network. Exchange Hosted Filtering Elton was able to set policies for questionable words that had a high Virus Protection likelihood of being spam. Exchange Hosted Filtering includes virus protection from leading anti-virus engines— "Some of our users were receiving Sophos, Symantec, and Trend Micro. "At offensive material on a daily basis,” Elton no cost, we tripled our virus protection by says. “They would log onto their systems in adding two additional engines to our the morning only to see completely current in-house system,” says Elton. “To inappropriate images. I'm now able to set date, we've never experienced a virus policies that block for specific words or for ex-employee e-mail addresses. By doing For More Information so, I've significantly cut back on the amount Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services For more information about Microsoft of spam that touches the network." Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services products and services, call the Microsoft (formerly FrontBridge Technologies) offer Sales Information Center at (800) 426- Zero False Positives an easy-to-use way for enterprises to 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Exchange Hosted Filtering not only blocks actively ensure the security and availability Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- spam and viruses, but it also enables the of their e-mail environment, while instilling 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- safe passage of legitimate e-mail confidence that their e-mail processes of-hearing can reach Microsoft text messages. Elton proudly claims that the satisfy internal policy and regulatory telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) service has never identified a false positive compliance requirements. A seamless 892-5234 in the United States or (905) —messages incorrectly marked as spam. extension of Microsoft Exchange Server 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 that operates at the Internet-level, the United States and Canada, please "When users are concerned that a complete line of services includes hosted contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. message was incorrectly blocked by the filtering for active spam and virus To access information using the World filter, they can access their quarantine protection; hosted archiving to satisfy Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com folder to retrieve any messages. In all compliance requirements and internal instances, when an e-mail message is policies; hosted encryption to preserve e- For more information about Singer missing, the problem has always been on mail confidentiality; and, hosted continuity Sewing CompanyCompany, products visit the Weband services,site at: the sender's side,” says Elton. “Microsoft for ongoing access to e-mail during and visitwww.singerco.com the Web site at: Exchange Hosted Filtering just never after disasters. Microsoft Exchange Hosted www.singerco.com incorrectly tags legitimate e-mail messages Services provide value to corporate as spam, while at the same time it keeps customers by requiring no upfront capital the real spam out." investment, minimizing IT management overhead, and removing incoming e-mail threats before they reach the corporate firewall.

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Document published FebruaryMarch 2006 2006