“With the ActiveMail hosted Exchange Server 2007 solution, the company’s e-mail expenses are fixed and we receive expert support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Cy Williams, Finance Director, BlueStream Aviation

Flight operator BlueStream Aviation has grown rapidly since it was established.Finance Director Cy Williams used to manage the company’s e-mail issues, which took about five hours a week. In 2007, he implemented a cost-efficient hosted e-mail solution based on Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007 through Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ActiveMail. Williams has since gained more than half a day each week, the company has resolved its junk e-mail problem, and support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published July 2008


Business Needs

BlueStream Aviation is a flight operator based just outside London, United Kingdom (U.K.). Established in 2000, the company has grown rapidly from a small-scale operator to a premier charter company with a large corporate and celebrity customer base. With the recent acquisition of four luxury business jets—Challenger 604s—it forecasts a U.S.$29 million turnover for 2008.

When the company started out, it had only five employees, and Cy Williams—Finance Director at BlueStream Aviation—managed all IT operations. But he soon found himself working around the clock to resolve problems associated with the company’s e-mail server. He says: “Our previous solution was suitable for the first few years, but it couldn’t accommodate the increase in users. Employees received hundreds of junk e-mail messages every day, and their sent e-mails were frequently classed as spam by recipient mailboxes.”

Williams spent more than five hours a week dealing with the problem, but in spite of his efforts, he realised the company needed a new solution. In 2007, he began looking at options for a reliable new business e-mail environment. “I wanted to upgrade our e-mail server and software, but without introducing unpredictable expenses—such as software licences and maintenance—into the business,” he says.

With the company’s plan to double its pilot team by the end of 2009, Williams also needed to find a more efficient method of updating pilots with flight schedules. He says: “We used to call pilots with their flight details, which took hours. It also made it difficult when we had to change details at the last minute—for example, amending a route or planning sickness cover.”

Solution

In February 2007, Williams contacted Microsoft Gold Certified Partner ActiveMail, which suggested a move to a hosted e-mail solution based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging and collaboration client. Williams says: “With the ActiveMail hosted Exchange Server 2007 solution, our e-mail expenses are fixed and we receive expert support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” The solution takes advantage of features in Microsoft Forefront™ Security for Exchange Server antivirus software and Forefront Spam Manager to effectively manage the company’s junk e-mail.

The e-mail service hosted by ActiveMail can support small and medium-sized businesses by removing many of the financial burdens associated with their e-mail solution. Rob Pierre, Director of ActiveMail, says: “Our service is based on the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration, which means we can deliver secure, user-centric messaging environments for all of our customers.” With the solution hosted byActiveMail, customers also receive the latest virus protection, while time-consuming tasks—such assoftware licensing fees and administration—are removed.

As part of the new solution, Williams equipped pilots and the management team with handheld devices running Windows Mobile® 6 software. Direct-push technology in Exchange Server helps ensure that all users can access their calendar and e-mail without having to dock their device to synchronise messages. Tight integration with Exchange Server also means that ActiveMail can easily fix devices over the air using remote management tools. If a device is lost or stolen, data can be encrypted or deleted immediately.

ActiveMail managed the straightforward deployment, upgrading users to Office Outlook and Exchange Server in just two days. “I gave ActiveMail a list of user names and the team migrated users over one weekend. Even employees who work in remote locations didn’t have to come into the office. They were sent an e-mail message with instructions on how to set up the system on their computers,” says Williams.

Benefits

“With the ActiveMail hosted Exchange Server 2007 solution, we have a reliable, cost-efficient service that supports critical business operations. It has improved my productivity by 15 percent,” says Williams. Now that he no longer has to deal with e-mail issues, Williams has had the time to implement more efficient systems in other business areas. These have also benefited the company. “We’ve increased overall productivity without having to employ as many people as we projected in our budget,” he explains.

Williams can manage the expanding company’s finances more efficiently because he works with predictable IT costs. When a new employee is hired, he simply factors the additional e-mail service cost into his monthly IT budget.

Employees receive virtually no junk e-mail. They can easily manage their valid e-mail messages and have more time to spend on valuable tasks.

Users can add recipients to an e-mail whitelist by right-clicking on a message. “The next time that person sends an e-mail message to an employee, it is accepted into the Outlook e-mail inbox,” says Williams.

With an effective communication system in place, pilots always know the details of their schedules. “Using handheld devices running Windows Mobile 6, our pilots receive schedule updates in their e-mail or calendar in real time,” says Williams.

Administrative employees no longer have to call each pilot to confirm their schedules. And because the company aims to employ more than 25 pilots by the end of 2009, this will save administrators more than one day every week.

With the hosted e-mail support service from ActiveMail, employees now have a direct line to call for e-mail issues, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “With the ActiveMail hosted Exchange Server 2007 solution, the company always has an e-mail expert on hand. There is no single person that I could have employed who could give us the same support,” says Williams.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published July 2008