Microsoft Exchange 2007 Unififed Messaging

1. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Customer Solution Case Study
Lifetime Products Boosts Productivity and
Cuts Costs with Unified Messaging Solution
Overview “By employing unified messaging in Exchange Server
Country or Region: United States
Industry: Manufacturing
2007, we expect to see a $40,000 reduction in
maintenance costs for 2006.”
Customer Profile
John Bowden, Chief Information Officer, Lifetime Products
Lifetime Products is the world’s largest
manufacturer of residential basketball
equipment and polyethylene tables.
Headquartered in Clearfield, Utah, the Lifetime Products manufactures one basketball system every 30
privately held company employs 2,300
people. seconds and one folding table every 7 seconds. With facilities in
the United States and China, and customers in more than 50
Business Situation
To better support mobile employees and countries, Lifetime employees depend on messaging technologies
improve communication, Lifetime is to stay connected to customers and the office. Recently, Lifetime
deploying a unified messaging solution
that will eliminate its traditional voice-mail joined the beta program for the upcoming release of Microsoft®
system and expand mobile system access. Exchange Server 2007. Impressed by initial results, Lifetime
Solution decided to undertake a deployment of the beta version of Exchange
Using features in Microsoft® Exchange Server 2007. As a result, the company has begun to experience
Server 2007, engineers built a Voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateway to replace significant savings in IT and business costs, employee productivity,
the existing voice-mail system and a and system availability and security. In addition, Exchange Server
replication strategy that allows for
streamlined access to messaging. 2007 will eliminate the current voice-mail system and provide the
foundation required for a unified communications environment that
Benefits
Boosts productivity excludes desktop phones.
Reduces costs
Increases availability and security
Creates an infrastructure to support
goals

2. Situation Solution
Lifetime Products is the world’s largest To be one of the first companies to use the
manufacturer of residential basketball next-generation of messaging technologies
equipment and polyethylene tables. Founded from Microsoft, Lifetime enrolled in the
as a garage-based business in 1973, Lifetime Microsoft Rapid Deployment Program (RDP)
has grown into an international presence, for Exchange Server 2007 last year. RDP
with approximately 1,700 employees at its enables customers partnering with Microsoft
headquarters in Clearfield, Utah; 600 to provide real-world feedback on Microsoft
employees at facilities in Xiamen, China; and prerelease products.
customers, including numerous Fortune 500
companies, in more than 50 countries. “We were really excited about deploying
Exchange Server 2007 because it would
The company’s infrastructure includes fifty allow us to move forward with several of our
HP NetServer and ProLiant servers running goals,” Bowden says. “First and foremost,
Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 Enterprise Exchange Server 2007 provides the key
Edition operating system and Microsoft functionality required to deploy a unified
Exchange Server 2003 communication and messaging solution that will replace our
collaboration server. Approximately 1,000 HP existing voice-mail system and allow us to
PC desktops run the Windows® XP centrally manage e-mail, voice-mail, and fax
Professional operating system and Microsoft messages. In addition, Exchange Server
Office Professional Edition 2003. These 2007 will enable a remote replication
technologies provide business-critical strategy between our offices in China and the
messaging and wireless access, as well as United States.”
Information Rights Management (IRM)
capabilities that protect sensitive data. “As a member of RDP, we needed to perform
Approximately 200 employees access the a health check on every system in the
environment through Microsoft Office infrastructure using the Microsoft Exchange
Outlook® Web Access using wireless mobile Best Practices Analyzer from Microsoft
devices running Windows Mobile® software. Premier Services,” says Jared Sahleen,
Senior Technology Manager at Lifetime
“The deployment of a mobile solution was the Products. “After completing the analysis, in
first step towards our vision of building a the second quarter of 2006, we were
unified messaging environment,” explains pleasantly surprised to find 12
John Bowden, Chief Information Officer at recommendations for improving the security
Lifetime Products. “We want to use the latest and performance of our environment that we
messaging technologies because it is critical wouldn’t have known about otherwise.”
to our productivity and bottom line. Our ability
to access e-mail from remote locations has The New Server Infrastructure
saved our company tens of thousands of Once the health check was complete,
dollars in annual phone costs and portable Lifetime set up an environment to thoroughly
computer maintenance. We also found that test Exchange Server 2007, according to the
by incorporating mobile access with company’s rigorous development cycles.
Exchange Server 2003, we actually gained an Engineers configured the roles of three new
hour a day in productivity for participating servers, each running Windows Server 2003
employees.” Enterprise x64 Edition and Microsoft
Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edition:

3. “Integrating our PBX One server, located in the United States, To help in the process, Lifetime engaged
supports client access and hub transport Enabling Technologies, a Microsoft Gold
system with Exchange functionality. “We configured one server to Certified Partner with extensive experience in
Server and transferring support both of these roles because we messaging and speech-enabled applications.
were anticipating the load to be quite “Engineers from Enabling Technologies were
voice mail over to the demanding,” Sahleen explains, “as our a big help because they were very
new environment only front-end mail servers receive about 1.1 knowledgeable in integrating PBX and VoIP,”
million e-mail messages per month. All of Sahleen says. “Integrating our PBX system
took us one and one- the e-mail for our organization first passes with Exchange Server and transferring voice
half days. We really through servers at MailWatch and Message mail over to the new environment only took
Labs. These third-party organizations scan us one and one-half days. We really thought
thought the process was messages for viruses, spam, and the process was going to be much harder.
going to be much compliance with our HP policies and then Once we got the necessary components and
forward the messages to this hub transport started working through the process, it turned
harder.” server for appropriate routing.” out to be quite simple.” Engineers spent
Jared Sahleen, Senior Technology Manager, One server, residing in the United States, approximately five more days testing the
Lifetime Products stores mailboxes and provides unified gateway and addressing issues such as
messaging services. “This server will configuring a third-party solution message-
eventually host approximately 300 unified waiting indicator product by Geomant to light
inboxes and about 1,000 mailboxes,” says up the call-waiting light on desktop phones.
Sahleen.
One server, located in China, provides Establishing a Replication Strategy
mailbox, client access, and hub transport Engineers employed the local continuous
functionality. “This server supports all replication (LCR) feature in Exchange Server
messaging services for the 300 employees 2007 to provide failover protection and
in China that use desktop systems,” enable a remote backup strategy. LCR
Sahleen notes, “and allows employees to creates a complete replica of each of the
log on to Exchange Server using Microsoft Exchange Server databases, storing replica
Office Outlook rather than Outlook Web files on a separate disk residing on the same
Access, as they have done in the past.” server. At any time, engineers can make the
replica database active. Because access to
Building a VoIP Gateway messaging data is critical, engineers
To enable unified messaging, engineers had configured the Distributed File System (DFS)
to convert circuit-switched data coming into technologies in Windows Server to back up
the company’s existing Siemens HIpath 300H the replica databases every day to a separate
PBX into Internet Protocol (IP) voice data. server in the United States. “We transfer the
“One of the biggest fears we had going into backup files from the Exchange Server
this project was how we were going to database in China across our private T1
implement the voice integration component lines,” explains Bowden. “This prevents us
with our existing infrastructure,” explains from having to create a backup infrastructure
Sahleen. “Building a Voice over Internet in China.”
Protocol (VoIP) gateway that would allow
Exchange Server to communicate with our Impressed by the stability of the beta
PBX system was something we had no environment, Lifetime is deploying Exchange
experience in doing.” Server 2007 to 100 employees this week—
only three weeks after officially launching the
project. “Even though Exchange Server 2007

4. "The biggest motivation is still in beta, our list of issues is not even whether e-mail or voice-mail, is absolutely
close to the length of issue lists we have for required. With Exchange Unified Messaging,
for deploying Exchange some of the other products we use that have voice messages are never neglected,
Server 2007 was its been officially released,” Bowden notes. because users see the messages
immediately in Office Outlook, Outlook Web
ability to centrally In addition to its use of Exchange Server, 500 Access, and even on their Windows Mobile
manage e-mail, voice- Lifetime employees are testing mobile access phones. This capability will dramatically
through the beta version of Outlook Web improve our business results in coming
mail, and fax Access. In addition, Lifetime plans on years.”
messages. . . . With deploying the upcoming releases of Microsoft
Office, Microsoft SharePoint® Portal Server, Employees in China can now access the
Exchange Server 2007, and Windows Mobile for Pocket PCs—all over Exchange Server environment on a local
we only need to set up the next 12 months. server, rather than logging into the
environment in the United States. “We didn’t
one mailbox.” Benefits have an Exchange Server environment
Jared Sahleen, Senior Technology Manager, By building a unified messaging solution on running at our facility in China in the past
Lifetime Products Exchange Server 2007, Lifetime Products has because we feel that our backup
been able to boost productivity, reduce costs, infrastructure should be in the United
increase availability and security, and create States,” Sahleen explains. “We also didn’t
an infrastructure that can support the want to create an infrastructure thousands of
company’s long-term goals. miles away, including duplicated
management tools and IT personnel. LCR and
Boosts Productivity DFS will allow us to manage our Exchange
With users and administrators accessing all environment in China from our corporate
messages through a single application, headquarters.”
Lifetime has been able to realize significant
productivity gains. “From a technology Lifetime executives are also anticipating
perspective, the biggest motivation for additional boosts in productivity as a result of
deploying Exchange Server 2007 was its new features. “One benefit of Exchange
ability to centrally manage e-mail, voice-mail, Server 2007 that is easily overlooked is the
and fax messages,” says Sahleen. “This is ability to tag a note to a voice mail directly
especially significant to us because we have from Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook Web
had to support disparate PBX and e-mail Access and archive it with the message,” says
systems that couldn’t talk with each other. Sahleen. “You can’t get that with a traditional
Adding a new user meant a lot of duplicated voice-mail system.”
effort. Not only did we have to set up a new
mailbox in Exchange, but then we had to “There are a lot of other features we are
create a new account for the employee in the really excited about,” continues Sahleen. “We
PBX system. With Exchange Server 2007, we have a huge interest in the Calendar
only need to set up one mailbox.” Concierge, so we can start scheduling
meetings, conference rooms, and resources
Lifetime also is gaining faster response times through Microsoft Outlook instead of using a
through the deployment of Exchange Unified manual process. We’re also looking forward
Messaging. “Our customers expect a very to the managed e-mail folders function, so we
rapid reaction to inquiries and orders, usually can streamline some of our mailbox content
within the same day,” says Bowden. and filter through some mailboxes that have
“Responding immediately to all messages,

5. become too large or contain messages that Exchange Server 2007 also offers
do not comply with our corporate guidelines.” opportunities to boost security, through
features such as the Edge Transport Server
Reduces Costs role and new spam and virus filtering tools.
One of the biggest benefits in adopting “We are excited about tools like Microsoft
Exchange Server 2007 is the ability to Forefront™,” notes Bowden. “We currently
eliminate our existing voice-mail system and use third-party services to provide spam and
desktop phones. “Exchange Server 2007 virus filtering. However, we’ll be investigating
really catapults us into realizing our vision of the new e-mail filtering options that are
how employees will communicate using available through Microsoft as a way to
unified messaging and mobile devices,” further standardize our environment.”
Bowden says. “The cost savings we will
realize by eliminating our desktop phones Creates an Infrastructure to Support
pretty much blows away any of the other IT Long-term Goals
project we have planned for 2006. Exchange Server 2007 provides the
functionality required to build a unified
“Our desktop phones are proprietary and are messaging solution and expand upon mobile
very expensive, costing us about U.S.$1,200 computing capabilities. “Exchange Server
per year, per user,” continues Bowden. “By 2007 is a keystone to a lot of other
employing unified messaging in Exchange technologies, so it really made sense to
Server 2007, we expect to see a $40,000 install it as soon as possible” says Sahleen.
reduction in maintenance costs for 2006. We “For example, Exchange Server 2007 will
are currently eliminating 15 phones per enable a lot of exciting new functionality
month, and that number will increase as we inside the next releases of the Windows
move forward with our deployment. Instead of Mobile for Pocket PCs, SharePoint Portal
using a desktop phone, our employees will Server, and Microsoft Office.”
use a smart phone or Pocket PC to access all
of their messages.” Lifetime plans to deploy the upcoming
releases of Windows Mobile for Pocket PCs
In addition, Lifetime expects to reduce and SharePoint Portal Server so that mobile
administrative costs by gaining the ability to users can access files and applications that
centrally manage the messaging environment reside on corporate servers. “We have an
in the United States and China. internal product life-cycle management tool
that is currently unreachable from a mobile
Increases Availability and Security device because the data is proprietary,”
By enabling a replication strategy through explains Bowden. “Employees can currently
LCR, Lifetime can avoid system downtime receive notifications on their mobile device
resulting from scheduled backups or system that certain tasks have occurred, but the
outages. “We can back up our Exchange mobile employees are unable to enter any
Server databases at any time without information into the application until they
affecting system availability because we back return to the office or log on to the network
up replica files,” Sahleen explains. “The from a PC. Exchange Server 2007 and the
replica files are not continuously in use like next release of SharePoint Portal Server will
the native database. By storing the system enable remote users to access such
backups on a separate server in the United applications through Outlook Web Access or
States, we also protect ourselves against through mobile devices running the next
natural disasters.” release of Windows Mobile for Pocket PCs.”

6. For More Information Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
For more information about Microsoft “In addition to unified messaging, we want to For more information about the Microsoft
products and services, call the Microsoft provide a higher level of integration between server product portfolio, go to:
Sales Information Center at (800) 426- our mobile devices and our workflows,” www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx
9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft concludes Bowden. “For example, allowing
Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- mobile employees to click on links in their e- For more information about Microsoft
2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of- mail and actually access files through our Exchange Server, go to:
hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone SharePoint Portal Server. Exchange 2007 will www.microsoft.com/exchange
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in have an additional huge return on investment
the United States or (905) 568-9641 in just because it will facilitate these types of
Canada. Outside the 50 United States and mobility capabilities.”
Canada, please contact your local
Microsoft subsidiary. To access information
using the World Wide Web, go to:
www.microsoft.com
For more information about Enabling
Technologies products and services, call
(800) 923-4310 or visit the Web site at:
www.enablingtechcorp.com
For more information about Lifetime
Products products and services, call (800)
225-3865 or visit the Web site at:
www.lifetime.com
Software and Services Hardware
Microsoft Server Product Portfolio HP PC and NetVectra desktop computers
− Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 AT&T Wireless Pocket PCs
− Microsoft Windows Server 2003 HP NetServer and ProLiant server
Enterprise x64 Edition computers
Motorola Smart phones
Partners
Enabling Technologies
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT
MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
Document published October 2006