Microsoft Office SystemCustomer Solution Case Study

Taiwanese Computer Manufacturer Reduces Telephony Spending with Unified Communications

OverviewCountry or Region: TaiwanIndustry: Manufacturing—High tech and electronics

Customer ProfileHeadquartered in Taiwan, Quanta Computer manufactures notebook computers, as well as products for enterprise networks, home entertainment, mobile communication, and automotive electronics.

Business SituationQuanta Computer wanted a fully integrated communications solution that would help it reduce the cost of ownership and maintenance for its telephony systems.

SolutionQuanta Computer deployed a Microsoft Unified Communications solution to provide an integrated communication solution including voice over IP.

Benefits Reduced telephony costs Improved communication

“By going with the Microsoft solution, we reduced our yearly maintenance by about $100,000 [NT$3,143,560].”

Gavin Lee, Sr. Director, IT, Quanta Computer

Quanta Computer, headquartered in Taiwan, is an original design manufacturer of notebook computers, and also manufactures products for enterprise networks, home entertainment, mobile communication, and automotive electronics. With 30,000 employees worldwide and logistics and supply chain offices located in Asia, Europe, and the Americas, Quanta requires a flexible, robust communication solution that includes reliable voice over IP capability that employees can access from almost anywhere they can find a network connection. Quanta had implemented a voice over IP solution, but found its unified communications solution cost-prohibitive. With the help of Microsoft Gold Partner SYSCOM Group, Quanta determined that a fully-integrated Microsoft Unified Communications solution deployed alongside its traditional telephony service would help it reduce costs and improve communication.

SituationEstablished in Taiwan in 1988, Quanta Computer manufactures notebook computers, as well as network servers, smartphones, digital televisions, and LCD electronics for automobiles. It also produces the OLPC, or “One Laptop per Child,” low-cost laptops that are distributed to children in developing countries to aid in their education. Quanta has operations centers in Asia, Europe, and the Americas to manufacture, configure, and service products, as well as to provide logistics support to deliver products and services.

The Quanta Research and Development Complex, the company’s headquarters, houses 3,500 employees working on research and engineering development. There, Quanta had deployed a voice over IP (VoIP) solution, but it had not implemented an enterprise voice-mail solution. For instant messaging and presence, the company had implemented Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, which employees also used for Web conferencing. For e-mail, Quanta relied on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and the Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 messaging and collaboration client.

Though Quanta had implemented a voice over IP service that also provided audio conferencing, it had capped usage at 500 lines and felt the solution was too expensive to

deploy for all users. It had also stopped investing in the proprietary handsets because of the high cost. The company was interested in implementing a fully integrated solution for unified communications, but at the same time, it wanted to reduce its communication and maintenance costs.

SolutionAlthough Quanta decided to keep its telephony solution in place for a limited number of employees to meet a requirement for desk phones, it determined, with the help of Microsoft Gold Partner SYSCOM Group, to standardize on Microsoft technologies to provide a fully integrated unified communications solution for its employees. As part of this solution, Quanta consolidated its technology investments under the Microsoft Enterprise Client Access License (ECAL) Suite, which supports the communication and collaboration technologies that the company required, such as Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 for instant messaging, presence, and VoIP, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 for e-mail and Unified Messaging. The company also liked the fact that it would be providing technology with a familiar user interface to its employees, because they were comfortable using other Microsoft products such as Microsoft Office Outlook.

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SYSCOM assisted in the architecture design, planning, and implementation for the solution, as well as the employee training. Quanta began production deployment of its Microsoft Unified Communications solution in November 2009 with the implementation of Office Communications Server 2007 R2, using SIP trunking through a gateway to pass voice data to the public switched telephone network over its IP network connection. It followed that deployment with the upgrade to Exchange Server 2010 in February of 2010.

Instant messaging, presence, audio and video conferencing, and VoIP capabilities have been deployed to 3,400 Quanta employees; 2,000 of those employees also have access to Exchange Server Unified Messaging for voice mail. With Unified Messaging, employees can receive and manage both voice mail and e-mail messages through their inboxes. Office Communications Server offers employees the option of a single-number capability, meaning that employees can share only one contact number with coworkers and colleagues. When employees receive calls through this number, all enabled phones—softphones, desk phones, or mobile phones—will ring when the incoming call arrives. Quanta also implemented Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access for employees, which they can access through a Web browser

and provides access to the same instant messaging, audio, and desktop-sharing capabilities as the Office Communicator client.

BenefitsBy choosing a Unified Communications solution from Microsoft, Quanta found that it could provide a robust business productivity infrastructure that would help it both reduce costs and improve communication for employees. Reduced Telephony CostsTo upgrade its VoIP existing solution to include a full unified communications capabilities would have cost Quanta U.S.$300,000 (NT$9,430,680) in additional equipment and licenses. With the Microsoft Unified Communications solution, Quanta avoided that cost. By cutting back on its original VoIP and audio conferencing solution, it also significantly reduced existing maintenance costs. “By going with the Microsoft solution, we reduced our yearly maintenance by about $100,000 [NT$3,143,560],” explains Gavin Lee, Sr. Director of IT at Quanta. Improved CommunicationThe voice anywhere capabilities inherent in Microsoft Unified Communications mean that Quanta employees have more flexible communication options when working with manufacturing and logistics centers around the world, which helps increase efficiency across the board. For example, they

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are already successfully using Web conferencing to collaborate with supply chain partners, thereby eliminating unnecessary travel and strengthening relationships with suppliers.

Internally, employees can leverage instant messaging and presence across time zones for more efficient communication. For external partners and customers, federation helps Quanta employees respond to requests and requirements faster, accelerating time-to-market and improving customer satisfaction.

Another benefit to the fully integrated Microsoft solution is the robust disaster recovery and reliability provided by Database Availability Groups in Exchange Server 2010, which help ensure that employees have consistent, reliable access to e-mail and voice mail.Microsoft Office SystemThe Microsoft Office system is the business world’s chosen environment for information work, providing the programs, servers, and services that help you succeed by transforming information into impact.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to: www.microsoft.com/office

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For More InformationFor more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers in the United States and Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234.Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:www.microsoft.com

For more information about The SYSCOM Group products and services, call 886-2-21916066 or visit the Web site at: www.syscom.com.tw

For more information about Quanta Computer products and services, call 03-3272345 or visit the Web site at: www.quantatw.com

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published June 2010

Software and Services Microsoft Office

− Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2

− Microsoft Office Communicator

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft Exchange Server

2007 Enterprise Edition