Customer Solution Case Study
/ / ANTRAM Trades in Linux for More Capabilities, Collaboration, and Communication
Overview
Country:Portugal
Industry:Transportation
Customer Profile
The mission of ANTRAM, Portugal’s National Association for Public Railway Goods Transport, is to contribute to the development of this transportation sector.
Business Situation
ANTRAM's Linux-based e-mail system was purchased because of its low investment cost. However, its quality proved less than desirable, because of too much dependence on the system provider, high maintenance costs, and limited functionality, sending and receiving e-mail.
Solution
ANTRAM needed to migrate to another environment, and Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 was its choice.
Benefits
Access to a collaboration tool
Higher security level
Greater know-how built into the system
A more reliable and robust system / “It's very difficult to make a linear analysis between Linux and Exchange Server 2003. One offers only the ability to send and receive messages. The other offers a lot more, with far superior capabilities.”
João Madeira, Advisor to the Secretary General, ANTRAM
ANTRAM has always had an interest in using technological advancements to improve its efficiency and level of service to members. It has, therefore, followed the strategy of seeking solutions that guarantee the maximum quality at the lowest cost. It was the cost factor that led ANTRAM to choose a Linux-based e-mail system about three years ago. Cost was the same factor that led the association to the decision to migrate to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003.
Situation
The main objective of ANTRAM, the National Association for Public Railway Goods Transport, is to defend the interests of its members: more than4,000 Portuguese transportation companies in the transportation sector. It provides a broad array of services, ranging from technical and legal assistance to professional training, among a variety of others.
Its philosophy of quality service has kept it close to its members and led it to maintain regional offices throughout the country. Over the years, this same philosophy has fueled its constant interest in technological advancement. Of course, such decisions must be based on sound business practices and are always approved at the headquarters or regional level. Where the association's systems are concerned, such decisions will have an impact on the entire organization. Systems that facilitate collaboration in general, and e-mail in particular, illustrate this reality.
As an association in a sector that is slow to introduce and explore new technologies, ANTRAM's policy has been to try to take a competitive position and innovate whenever possible. Not only does it try to stay ahead of its counterparts, but it also attempts to serve as somewhat of a guide for its members, seeking out and testing solutions that will make it a more internally efficient service provider. ANTRAM's services help improve its relationships, and in some cases these services can also be applied in the organizations it works with.
E-mail is an excellent example of this. Its history at ANTRAM has been short, but quite eventful. Most importantly, its future possibilities are much different from those of the past. Although the association has had outside e-mail accounts for only about three years, the increasing importance of this mode of communication led it to seek another type of solution. Because cost was a major factor at the time, the decision was made to use Linux.
According to João Madeira, Advisor to the Secretary General of ANTRAM, this situation illustrates the difference between an asset's initial cost of purchase and its total cost.
“In terms of purchasing equipment and the technology, it is actually less expensive to implement Linux. However, there are various costs associated with maintenance that greatly exceed the initial cost,” Madeiraexplains.
Because of the expanding use of e-mail and its increasing importance within the organization, it became a nuisance to request outside services whenever problems arose, especially because of their frequent occurrence.
ANTRAM found itself faced with two possibilities: It could train an employee in Linux, or it could continue being dependent on the Linux provider's knowledge and availability.
The first option did not make sense for the IT department because of its small size and the fact that its staff was already knowledgeable about the Microsoft® products being used in various areas. Adding staff would have meant higher costs but would not have guaranteed success, because, as Madeira points out, “The Linux world is a patchwork quilt, where each supplier defends and dominates the little piece of the solution that he or she developed.” Although the source code is theoretically available, it is not always simple to get what is needed within the time available.
As for the second option, that would have meant sinking even more money into the initial investment. And that was not all—it would have also been risky.
Madeira readily states that being dependent on a sole provider who knows and dominates the system used in a business is a risk that most organizations cannot afford to take today, especially in critical operations. If support is needed, it is very difficult to find alternatives in the marketplace. It is also impossible to guarantee that the original provider will stay current on the necessary product development, continue to provide an adequate level of service, or maintain the desired relationship.
Limiting itself to cost considerations, ANTRAM began to realize that the more immediate options for maintaining the Linux system held no advantages for the association. It gradually came to the conclusion that it would need to find another alternative.
Other factors also played a role in the decision. One was the need for a more reliable system. According to Madeira, situations had occurred in which users stopped receiving e-mail, even though there were messages in their inboxes. Requesting support from the supplier did not always result in quick problem resolution, because it could take hours of work to conclude that the solution was to delete stored messages and have them resent if possible. The response was not the best.
“With Linux, one of our big problems was that even the company that had provided us with the system had trouble managing Linux system problems. Although their people were competent, the number of errors was so high that it wasn't always easy to solve problems,” he recalls.
Another element that played a major role in the decision was security, which was not the best. Madeira illustrates this with a small example: “For remote access to e-mail, one user password was shared among several people.”In addition, the system's functions were limited to sending and receiving messages. Because the association wanted to move toward a more comprehensive system that facilitated collaboration, it decided to drop Linux. Its new choice was Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 communication and collaboration server, which is part of Microsoft Windows Server System™ integrated server software.
Solution
In 2004, ANTRAM decided to invest in the Exchange Server 2003-based system, which was implemented at the beginning of 2005. According to Madeira, Microsoft provided support during the migration, which was expected to be completed in July, but was finished early.
Even though technical staff and end users could not be trained before the new environment was introduced, due to the early completion, response to the system was excellent. Employees and other users expressed a high level of satisfaction, agreement with the choice of system, and confidence in its ability to resolve future difficulties. These responses were good indicators of the success of the investment.
For ANTRAM, Exchange Server 2003 helps provide greater security in several ways.
Guaranteed support. If problems arise, it will be easy for ANTRAM to select a provider with the right capabilities from among a large group of companies. This is no minor issue, because it guarantees the organization a minimum level of independence.
System security.Users are now able to change their own passwords, something they could not do before. Even administrators have no need to know user passwords, unlike the previous situation, which made this knowledge mandatory for account configuration.
System evolution and expandability. The third yet equally important component of security is guaranteed system evolution, something that could not be taken for granted in the past. In fact, some rules are now being refined as a result of another migration from Linux to Microsoft—the association’s recent adoption of Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA) 2000, which is also part of Windows Server System, and is an advanced firewall solution that has improved network security and performance.
For ANTRAM, the wider variety of functions available with Exchange Server 2003 was a determining factor in its decision. Today, its needs go beyond simply sending and receiving e-mails.
Schedule management is just a small but important example, because of its usefulness to the association. One scheduling activity was meeting room reservation. The traditional process meant that someone had to serve as coordinator, contacting all the different parties and verifying room availability. Unfortunately, because there was no centralized system, availability could change from one hour to the next. It was not unusual to arrive for a meeting to find the room occupied. Nor was it uncommon to have difficulty arranging meetings that involved several people. These processes have been sped up by taking advantage of the functions in Exchange Server 2003. The scheduling capability has resulted in less time wasted on tasks that add no value, and, of course, has resulted in higher productivity.
In today's world, where, according to Madeira, an organization’s most important asset is information, it is important for that information to be delivered quickly to the right person. Although ANTRAM's members work in a sector where technology advances slowly and e-mail is still not in general use, it is actually becoming increasingly important for companies.
Currently, one of the most popular means of data transmission is the fax, even for more time-restricted messages, such as reports of adverse regional weather conditions in Portugal or Europe, possible shutdowns of roads or borders, or other events that could affect traffic planning. Exchange Server 2003 system also makes an important contribution in this area. “By implementing Exchange Server 2003, we are going to overcome problems at the fax server level, since e-mail system users have the option of sending their messages by e-mail instead of fax. Integrating fax server products is easier with Exchange Server 2003,” says Hugo Teigão, Systems Administrator at ANTRAM.
In ANTRAM's view, the e-mail system of today is much more than that—it is truly a tool for collaboration. Madeira says, “It's very difficultto make a linear analysis of Linux and Exchange Server 2003. One offers only the ability to send and receive messages. The other offers a lot more, with far superior capabilities.”
“It would be like comparing a text editor to Office. They're not comparable," agrees Teigão. In his view, the value that the Exchange Server 2003 environment adds to the organization more than compensates for the greater initial investment, so that in a total cost analysis, the Microsoft technology comes out ahead.
The association's investment in Exchange Server 2003 and ISA 2000 reflects the normalization and standardization policies it is adopting. “All of the technology behind our management was Microsoft, but our e-mail server was not, and that situation didn't make sense,” says Madeira.
Benefits
As Madeira points out, higher security levels, more efficient communicationand information processes, a wider variety of functions, the potential for increased collaboration, the guarantee of more choices in service and support, and the benefits of technology evolution based on a strong, reliable environment are just some of the benefits of the Exchange Server 2003 investment.
Along with these obvious advantages comes a reduced risk of dependency on a sole provider. Madeira comments, “Costs are better controlled now, not only because of fewer problems, but also because when problems arise, the organization is likely tohave documentation on the easiest ways to resolve them ourselves. No less important is that we tend to have better internal knowledge of Microsoft, so the system can be maintained without always resorting to outside services."
In addition, e-mail access is now becoming easier for those laptop users who need to stay mobile, some of whom rarely return to their desks. “It was important for people outside the building be able to access their e-mail just as if they were working at the association,” says Madeira.
Although the current benefits alone justified the investment, the decision to adopt the solution was actually also made based on the future. Together with Microsoft, ANTRAM is studying e-mail communication solutions for its members. Madeira emphasizes, however, that no solution will leave the company without having undergone proper internal testing.
One of the topics under study is the possibility of making a personal digital assistant (PDA)-based solution available, should conditions allow. Since one of the most important forms of communication for people on the road today is the cell phone, ANTRAM management feels that in many cases, it would make sense for professionals to carry PDAs, which would let them access information about their itineraries, for example.
“The availability of technology today and the greater need for communication in nearly real time allow us to think about new ways of evolving," concludes Madeira.
Microsoft Windows Server System
Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server infrastructure software is designed to support end-to-end solutions built on the Windows Server™ operating system. Windows Server System creates an infrastructure based on integrated innovation, Microsoft's holistic approach to building products and solutions that are intrinsically designed to work together and interact seamlessly with other data and applications across your IT environment. This helps you reduce the costs of ongoing operations, deliver a more secure and reliable IT infrastructure, and drive valuable new capabilities for the future growth of your business.
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