Client Profile:
Our client is a Personal Mobility Company with franchises located all across the USA which started in North Carolina in 2008. After years of success the company began providing select individuals with franchises creating a large and rapid growth. This growth, and company popularity created the need for IT tools to assist in managing everyday activities. They knew they needed to start looking at cloud based software solutions and a more professional approach for general office functions.
For this reason they started reaching out to IT consultants looking for a company who could guide them in selecting the right technology for their needs. They also needed a company that was capable of implementing these technologies with best practices, budget, and time constraints in mind.
Recommended Solutions:
Based on the needs of the company XceedIT decided that their best course of action was to implement Microsoft Office 365 for their emails and corporate office applications. This would be done with several different types of licensing and would consist of a full migration from their old email provider. This would prevent the client from missing any of their old emails, folders, contacts, and shared calendars. The setup covered serval different platforms including Outlook, Thunderbird, mobile mail, and Office 365 Online Web Access (OWA).
Based on the number of users XceedIT created a solution for technical support so that all users would be provided an opportunity to ask questions and get help. The technological skill level of all users was different which made this step very important to keep moral high and frustration low. The though process was that we needed to provide more than just a step by step document and walk away.
Project Size and Location:
The total number of emails for the project was 520 not including user groups, forwards, and alternate emails (aliases). The franchises are located in every state with a main branch located in the State of North Carolina making it a vast scope of users. The users were divided into two groups, Franchisees and Corporate, each would require a different license so they could be provided with different cloud applications (see: Software and Services).
Software and Services:
Office 365 licenses used were E3 and Exchange Plan 1, the benefits of each are listed below.
E3 License
• Unlimited email storage for in-place archive
• Advanced email with archiving and legal hold
• Rights management, data loss prevention, and encryption
• Hosted voicemail support
• Email with 50 GB mailbox
• 1 TB file storage and sharing
• HD video conferencing
• Office Online
• Team sites
Exchange Plan 1
• Email with 50 GB mailbox
• Outlook Support
• Web Access
• Outlook App
• Groups
• Security
• Shared Documents/Calendars
• Data loss Prevention
Other software and services are listed below.
• Outlook for Mac and Windows.
• Outlook mobile application.
• Office suite: Word, SkyDrive, Power Point, Excel, Skype, and Share Point.
• Built in MS Migration Endpoint.
Implementation Steps:
The first step after deciding on the technology was to work with the old provider to gather user information from the server. With the information that we exported we then created users in office 365 and began the migration process. Below you will find some of the steps taken leading to completion of the project.
• Domain transfer
• DNS setup
• Gather user info
• Migration of user emails and personal information from old service provider
• License delegation based on user type
• Client support and implementation (mail merge communication)
• Initiate destruction of old data drives for security
Client Support:
Knowing that users would have some difficulties with the transition from one email provider to another we developed ways to support their needs. We began by setting up a location for support tickets that were pushed into a queue. These queues we dealt with as they came in with an average resolution time of 10 minutes. This quick turnaround was important because of the nature of the client’s business transaction which predominantly were through email.
Twenty four hour phone support for clients who could not function their new emails, or needed imitate response.
Remote support setup via an easy to install program found on our website and provided for all users who were unable to get their services setup on their own.
Office 365 and Project Benefits:
There were many benefits for the client with Office 365, see the list below for examples of some of them.
• Storage size increased by 3 times the size (50 GB total)
• Full web access and cloud storage
• Cost per user was less for a better product
• Security with Microsoft was much better than the old provider
• Support and service for problems was faster and simpler based on the clients old provider.
• User reports with much more detailed information
Difficulties and Problems:
The only issue is the same one that a company will have with any new software, there was a learning curve. However, XceedIT started providing users with information long before the migration which helped individuals familiarize themselves long before use.
The learning curve on this was about 3 days for each user and we saw a significant drop in support requests after just 48 hours of full implementation.
Project Time Span:
The project lasted a total of 10 days and extended over that time so that users would be given a chance to review their old emails for synchronization. We took all of the steps necessary to make sure no users were without important emails that would disrupt their business.
Closing out the project:
After implementation and initial support, we have continued to provide Office 365 support to our client. We also provided consultation for the client’s delegated admin so that she has the ability to manage some user needs right in house.
The migration was very smooth, fast, and all users were managing and, working from their Office 365 emails on the completion date.
After confirming the migration was complete and accurate we had the old server drives destroyed. This was important because all of the old emails were at one time stored on these drives.
For more information regarding this case study you can contact me at michaelcummings@rockletmail.com.