Microsoft Server Product PortfolioCustomer Solution Case Study

Swisscom Offers Pay-As-You-Go Cloud-Based Unified Communications

OverviewCountry or Region: SwitzerlandIndustry: Telecommunications—Hosting

Customer ProfileWith 5.8 million mobile customers and 1.6 million broadband connections, Swisscom is the major telecommunications provider in Switzerland.

Business SituationThe Corporate Business Unit at Swisscom wanted to launch a managed communications and collaboration service for its large business customers.

SolutionThe managed communications and collaboration service is based on Microsoft Lync Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, and Exchange Server 2010, running on HP hardware.

Benefits Clients receive solution in just four

weeks Customers get secure individual data-

centre systems Swisscom invests in world-scale

deployment Ambassadors promote uptake Firm saves 2,800 hours a year

“We [are] in close collaboration with Microsoft and HP. This partnership between manufacturer and service provider gives customers peace of mind that their solutions are in expert hands.”

Erich Gebhardt, Head of Product Management Corporate Business, Swisscom

In Switzerland, the trend towards infrastructure outsourcing is accelerating, with the growing need for companies to focus on core business. Telecommunications provider Swisscom wanted to improve market share by offering its corporate customers pay-as-you-go bundled voice and data services, either on-premises or in the cloud. Swisscom turned to Microsoft and HP for a unified communications and collaboration solution using a powerful combination of Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, and SharePoint Server 2010, based on HP hardware. Swisscom monitors operations and security around-the-clock for both on-premises and managed services, and ensures that applications always have the latest software updates while maintaining service availability. One customer that joined the trial phase already reports saving 2,800 working hours a year with the new managed service.

SituationSwisscom is the leading telecommunications provider in Switzerland, with around 5.8 million mobile customers and 1.6 million broadband connections. It offers a full range of products and services for mobile, fixed-line, and IP-based voice and data communications. It also provides IT outsourcing services for business customers. In 2010, the company generated revenue of approximately CHF12 billion (U.S.$14 billion).

Responding to changing market conditions, the Swisscom Corporate Business Unit decided to improve market share by launching an innovative new range of managed services from Swisscom. The objective is to bundle data and voice services for around 6,000 of its largest corporate customers using world-class software and hardware.

Michael Kerle, Head of Go-to-Market Corporate Business, Swisscom, says: “Integrated communications solutions are becoming increasingly complex for corporates to operate—plus, they use up significant capital and IT expertise. The growing need for companies to focus on core business is accelerating the trend towards infrastructure outsourcing.”

Internally, Swisscom is already deploying the most up-to-date unified communications solutions and replaced 94 separate private branch exchanges (PBXs) with softphones for all users, including senior managers. As a logical next step, Swisscom decided to offer unified communications as a managed service to its large corporate business customers.

Kerle says: “We think it’s important for Swisscom to use the tools it sells.”

Swisscom wanted a solution that combined applications and its network experience with consulting, planning, and operations, offered at a fixed price per user per month. In addition, Swisscom required a multitenant solution to manage the service through a single environment and reduce operating costs with automated controls.

The telecommunications provider wanted to offer corporate customers choice with either on-premises solutions in their own data centres, or multiple cloud-based services from the Swisscom data centre. Kerle says: “Our aim is to bolster the Swisscom brand by offering maximum flexibility and scalability to accommodate individual customer needs.”

SolutionSwisscom turned to the HP & Microsoft Alliance, which is committed to providing end-to-end managed communications and collaboration solutions for enterprise customers. Kerle says: “To us, it was obvious that the combination of Microsoft and HP was the best way to launch this service. Microsoft is the number one choice for software, while 60 per cent of Swiss corporate customers use HP hardware in the data centre.”

The new service for Swisscom corporate customers—launched at the start of 2011—uses a powerful combination of Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Exchange Server 2010, and SharePoint Server 2010. Kerle says: “The service is either managed and run from the Swisscom data centre or on a

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“To us, it was obvious that the combination of Microsoft and HP was the best way to launch this service. Microsoft is the number one choice for software, while 60 per cent of Swiss corporate customers use HP hardware in the data centre.”

Michael Kerle, Head of Go-to-Market Corporate Business, Swisscom

dedicated environment in the customer’s own data centre.”

Swisscom monitors both the managed services and on-premises solutions using a multitenant system implemented by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner WinWorkers using the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system with Hyper-V virtualization technology, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2, and System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2.

To deploy the management infrastructure quickly and cost effectively, Swisscom decided to create a dynamic cloud infrastructure in its data centre, whereby cloud services could be dynamically provisioned using virtualisation and management technologies. By using System Center Virtual Manager 2008 R2, Swisscom can manage both the on-premises and hosted services through a common console.

When a customer signs up for unified communications, Swisscom asks how many users are involved and where they’re located, and obtains their Active Directory service credentials. Technicians configure the necessary number roles for Microsoft Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Lync Server for the customer—and, using System Center Virtual Machine Manager, they provision Hyper-V virtual machines where needed.

Prior to the launch, Swisscom ran a proof of concept with five customers, including Witzig The Office Company—the largest provider of comprehensive office solutions in German-speaking Switzerland. The

experiences of the customers in the trial helped prepare for the official launch at the beginning of 2011.

BenefitsSwisscom is offering customers a fully managed service for unified communications and collaboration, with deployment in just four weeks. The fixed price per user per month removes any need for upfront investment in software or hardware. Using Microsoft and HP technology, Swisscom is offering a highly resilient service supported by the Microsoft System Center suite of management software products. It gives customers peace of mind and security against unnecessary downtime. One customer in the trial phase already reports saving 2,800 working hours a year with the new managed service.

Fixed Solution for Customers in Just Four WeeksCustomers of the Swisscom package for unified communications and collaboration for large corporate customers get the solution at a fixed price per user per month. There is no need for an upfront investment in servers, software, or management staff. Clients also get these services quickly. Swisscom needs just four weeks to deploy its managed services at a customer site, which for conventional on-premises infrastructure could take four months.

Kerle says: “For companies, networking and communications are of key importance to their operations. The Swisscom managed service helps customers concentrate on their own businesses while we take care of their communications and collaboration infrastructures.”

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“For companies, networking and communications are of key importance to their operations. The Swisscom managed service helps customers concentrate on their own businesses while we take care of their communications and collaboration infrastructures.”

Michael Kerle, Head of Go to Market Corporate Business, Swisscom

Erich Gebhardt, Head of Product Management Corporate Business, Swisscom, adds: “We implement the managed services in close collaboration with Microsoft and HP. This partnership between manufacturer and service provider gives customers peace of mind that their solutions are in expert hands.”

Clients Get Secure Individual Systems in the Data CentreSwisscom offers secure local area and wide area networks, and connectivity to the internet and telephone system. In addition to providing consultancy, Swisscom is assuming responsibility for planning, deploying, and operating the service. Kerle says: “We will operate secure separate systems for each customer and offer maximum flexibility and scalability to accommodate individual customer needs.”

Swisscom Invests in World-Scale Lync DeploymentBefore launching its managed services for unified communications and collaboration, Swisscom lived up to its “we use what we sell” marketing promise by investing in the solution itself.

With 20,000 internal users already connected, Swisscom has replaced 94 PBXs. It has also learned valuable lessons about deploying the solution on a large scale. Kerle says: “In terms of size, Swisscom is a major customer for Lync Server 2010, with one of the largest deployments worldwide.”

Microsoft Ambassadors Promote Employee Uptake and Green AgendaSwisscom made extensive use of specially trained ambassadors to promote knowledge of the offering among staff,

which Kerle says had a major impact on uptake.

Usage statistics about the internal deployment at Swisscom illustrate this rapid uptake. They include 2 million call minutes a month, 900,000 conference minutes a month covering 14,000 separate conferences—half using audio and video—and 6 million internal instant messages a month.

Kerle says: “The increasing use of audio and videoconferencing is cutting the need to travel to meetings and helping promote environmental sustainability, as well as lowering costs.”

Office Solutions Firm Saves 2,800 Working Hours a YearSwitzerland-based firm Witzig The Office Company was an early adopter of the managed unified communications and collaboration solution from Swisscom, and it has already realised significant benefits.

Bruno Anderegg, Head of Operations and Information and Communications Technology at Witzig, says: “Due to presence awareness, desktop sharing, and instant messaging, collaboration has become much easier. In addition, online meetings and document sharing greatly reduce the number of business trips required. We will save an estimated 2,800 working hours a year and our business model will allow us to recover the costs within two years.”

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Microsoft Server Product PortfolioFor more information about the Microsoft server product portfolio, go to:www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx

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For More InformationFor further information about Microsoft products and services, please visit:www.microsoft.com/uk

or call 0870 60 10 100*

For hearing impaired customers with a Minicom, contact: 0870 50 30 400**Lines are open 8am–6pm, Monday to Friday. Please note, numbers prefixed 0870 will be charged at national call rates. For details of national call rate charges, please contact your telecommunications provider.

For more information about HP products and services, call or visit the website at: www.hp.com

For more information about Swisscom products and services, call or visit the website at: www.swisscom.ch/solutions/en

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

Document published June 2011

Software and Services Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft Exchange Server 2010− Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard− Microsoft System Center

Configuration Manager 2007 SP1− Microsoft System Center Operations

Manager 2007

− Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008

Technologies− Active Directory− Hyper-V