CUSTOMER PROFILE
As property management company, this client buys, repositions, manages, and resells income‐producing commercial and industrial properties. Their goal is to operate on a low cost basis and deliver consistently good value to their tenants and superb investment returns to their investors. The client has 12‐15 small offices all across Canada. Number of users at a given time can range from 50‐100.
CUSTOMER SITUATION/PROBLEMS
- As the company grew and expanded across Canada, they found themselves, with regards to the IT infrastructure, continuing to operate as a small business
- Data was being saved on individual computers and laptops, which resulted in data being scattered across multiple computers
- Hard drives were not being properly backed up, resulting in a high risk of data loss
- Files that needed editing, input, or approval by multiple people had to be shared via email, resulting in multiple copies of the same file existing, and difficulty keeping track of changes, additions etc.
- Users had different applications, and various versions of the same applications installed on individual workstations
- Users had individual Outlook accounts, some used POP, Exchange and e‐mail forwarding, and could not easily share email or calendar/ scheduling information
- Each office had its own unique network configuration; there were no standard regulations regarding how information was shared, stored, or backed up
OPTIONS CONSIDERED
- Install servers in each satellite office – very costly to implement and maintain, as it would involve supporting multiple servers in multiple locations.
- Setup a system to serve the entire organization from head office – large investment up front for hardware, software, implementation, upgrading the server room and the Internet connection, plus on‐going maintenance costs.
- Essential Application Sharing Services – No hardware or software purchase required.
- Minimum initial setup fee. Cost is calculated per user/month.
OPTION CHOSEN
With Essential’s Application Sharing Solution, the client had the ability to address its IT requirements, including centralizing and securing the company’s electronic information, daily backup of data, files are stored and secured with users access rights, standardizing and controlling the users applications and e‐mail application and increasing IT users support by taking advantage of Essential’s Help Desk.
PROBLEM SOLVED
By implementing Essential’s Application Sharing Services, the client addressed its IT challenges in the following way:
- Within a month, the client had gained control of it’s documents by centralizing, regulating and ensuring secure backup of all their employees work.
- Centralizing and Securing their data – all electronic data was migrated to Essential’s servers, which are designed for 24 /7 operations and include multiple layers of redundancy.
- Backup – Data is backed up daily. In the event of data corruption or deletion, the data is protected and can be restored quickly.
- Security – A directory structure and User Groups were designed on the server to control individual user’s access rights to data and applications.
- Standardized Applications – the installation and configuration of applications is done on the servers, which gives the client’s head office full control.
- E‐mail – via Exchange server, the users’ application standard is Outlook, e‐mail backup and calendar sharing is implemented.
- IT Support – the client improved their IT support services by Essential’s Help Desk. Users are a phone call or e‐mail away from an experienced systems engineer.
SUMMARY
- Authorized users have access to required applications 24/7, 365 days a year, from any computer with
an internet connection, anywhere in the world - Data is stored on a secure off site server, there is no risk of data being lost due to failed backup
- Corrupt, lost or deleted files can be restored within minutes
- Sharing of documents is simple and efficient
- The client also takes advantage of Essential’s Help Desk ,and users are a phone call away from
experienced systems engineers that are familiar with the network configuration
TESTIMONIAL
“Essential’s application sharing service has made our multi‐office company seem like one big
office. It really saves time and makes everyone’s job a little easier.”
‐ Nancy, Office Manager
