Case Studies

Station Road
Totnes
Devon TQ9 5JR
www.devon-ceramics.co.uk

Devon Ceramics imports and manufactures ceramic products and gift sets, distributed through major supermarkets and stores.

The client’s brief

Like many businesses, the company’s IT system had developed empirically over time. They were running a Microsoft Windows NT 4 server with 20 workstations on various platforms; the design studio was running one Apple Mac G4; and they had dual ISDN connection to the internet.

The system was very slow, due principally to the high volume of e-mail traffic. Reliability was also an issue, and the system needed daily maintenance simply to keep working. Also, the Apple Mac was not linked to the network, so file sharing meant burning a CD each time.

Reliability is critical for Devon Ceramics — if the system goes down the company simply ceases to operate because the flow of around 300 e-mails a day plays such a major part in communication with suppliers and clients. It was clear that they also needed the Apple Mac to share files with the Windows server.

Our solution

We implemented a Microsoft Windows 2003 SBS server to host the domain/network, with a Windows 2003 server attached, purely running Microsoft Exchange for handling the emails, shared calendars and contacts.

We specified Hewlett Packard for the hardware and changed the ISDN Connection to an ADSL broadband connection running at 2mb. For security we installed a Watchguard Firewall Box, through which all internet traffic is filtered.

We have also gradually replaced the workstations with secure and reliable Windows XP systems. And we implemented redundancy systems to protect them from data or power loss resulting in data corruption.

Benefits to the client

The result for Devon Ceramics has been a huge advance in overall system performance. Managers now have remote access to the system when travelling anywhere in the world, and workers can connect to the system from home using a standard home computer.

E-mails can be shared by users — calendars too — so all can see the company appointments diary. When faxes come in, the server automatically distributes them to specified recipients via the e-mail system, and all users can now send faxes from any application.

We also built into the system a remote diagnostic and repair facility that enables us to carry out maintenance from our own base, dramatically reducing the need for site visits. This is backed up by a fully implemented support contract with an eight-hour response agreement.