Louisville Slugger Case Study

Moving to Better Communication Solution Helps Company Hit It out of the Park

Well-known baseball bat manufacturer and sporting goods provider Louisville Slugger needed a more robust communications system. The company's aging e-mail server was hitting its storage limit, which shut down the system frequently and required constant attention. The system was costly, difficult to manage, and unreliable. With the help of partner New Age Technologies, Louisville Slugger migrated to Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003 with Active Directory®. The company now has a stable, reliable communications solution, and its IT staff can be more proactive in its management. Users receive faster performance from the system and are able to gain remote access easily and securely.

Best of all, the improved system saves Louisville Slugger more than U.S.$100,000 each year.

Situation

With headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky -- and several other offices around the country and in Canada -- well-known baseball bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger relies heavily on e-mail for communication. The company has come to use e-mail so much, in fact, that its Microsoft ® Exchange Server 5.5-based system was consistently bumping up against its storage limit. The company's users were increasing the size of their mailboxes, and the amount of attached files they were sending also contributed to system overload. Each time it reached its storage capacity, the system would shut down completely, leaving Louisville Slugger employees without service.

To be able to quickly respond whenever the e-mail system went down, the company had to "baby-sit" the server, keeping it from reaching its threshold and making sure it remained operational. Dedicating so much time to the server alone was an expensive proposition, and the company wanted to find a way to not only do away with this continuing cost, but to also be more proactive with regard to communications service.

Security also presented a challenge to the company. As a family-owned business with approximately 300 Exchange Server users, Louisville Slugger has a family-oriented culture in which employees work collaboratively to solve issues--a high degree of established internal trust exists companywide. While trust is important in a collaborative environment, management recognized the need for the company to protect itself against real-world security threats. The company decided to implement new technology and business processes to guard against potential attacks. Louisville Slugger determined that it was time to take control of its environment.

Solution

Louisville Slugger had already purchased a Microsoft Software Assurance agreement, so it now needed to make a decision as to which newer version of Microsoft Exchange Server would best satisfy its business requirements. After careful review, company decision makers chose Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 because of its added features and simplified migration path. This decision also prompted Louisville Slugger to migrate from Microsoft Windows NT ® 4.0 operating system to Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system with Active Directory ® service, in order to make the Exchange Server implementation possible. "Even though it meant replacing more of our hardware, the move to Windows Server 2003 was well worth it," says Gary Ward, LAN/WAN Manager for Louisville Slugger. "This solution delivers so many add-ins that help give us a competitive advantage."

The company purchased new hardware for two of its three Windows Server 2003 computers and solicited help from Microsoft partner New Age Technologies. Working with a partner was a real benefit for Louisville Slugger, mainly because of the consultants' willingness to go the extra mile to get accurate information in record time. "We always got complete answers to our questions--usually the same day we asked," says Ward. "The folks from New Age Technologies were enthusiastic and eager to help us however they could. We always felt confident that they weren't just giving us an answer, but that it was actually the answer."

New Age Technologies took a three-month approach to the project to make sure its consultants could fully develop and thoroughly test Exchange Server 2003 and the new Windows Server 2003 platform. Before adding anything new, New Age Technologies first assessed Louisville Slugger's environment to see how to optimize those elements that were already in place. The partner was able to increase the network's speed through such means as reorganizing which server was authenticating users from which remote locations. Once the environment was cleaned up, New Age Technologies identified potential deployment issues and made suggestions for their mitigation. "We knew Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 could answer Louisville Slugger's immediate needs, as well as help the company realize its long-term business objectives," says Michael Paynter, Account Manager for New Age Technologies.

Louisville Slugger's small internal IT team dealt with the licensing and decided how to set up Active Directory for the company's optimal use. New Age Technologies handled the testing and overall project management, involving the Louisville Slugger internal IT team every step of the way to ensure full knowledge transfer. One staff member shadowed the consultants to gain insight into the solution for easier administration once the new system was in place. "The company wanted a solution that it could internally support and expand, which made Exchange/Windows Server 2003 a good choice," says Brian Perry, Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Microsoft Certified Trainer for New Age Technologies.

The knowledge transfer aspect of the project was critical to this engagement. New Age Technologies helped Louisville Slugger discover some of the previously unknown facets of its environment, taught the company how to proactively maintain its new system, put it on an education path for the future, and implemented structure, policies, and security measures throughout the company.

The actual migration took place over a single weekend; all went smoothly, with a minor amount of expected cleanup, such as getting the individual "My Document" files moved to the new accounts and assigning passwords and permissions on both the server and workstations. The company's more than 300 Exchange Server users are divided between its offices in New York, California, Canada, and Kentucky. New Age Technologies migrated all of the user mailboxes and consolidated them onto a single Exchange Server.
Additionally, the partner put in place a new Group Policy Object for the Microsoft Internet Explorer settings to keep users from making adjustments to their browsers. New Age Technologies consultants also took advantage of Active Directory and used Group Policy to implement more managed desktops by mapping drives and preventing the editing of registries by users, which had caused significant maintenance issues in the past.

Benefits

The company and its partner designed a robust system so Louisville Slugger could be less reactive in its service to its users and so that service would be reliable, accessible, fast, and secure. From an IT administrator's perspective, the new Exchange Server environment turned out to be as easy to manage as it was to migrate.

Painless Migration and Management - Any migration has the potential to cause slowdowns in business processes due to glitches. However, following the weekend migration, Louisville Slugger's users came into work on Monday morning and were greeted by fully operational computers on a smooth-running network. "I anticipated some downtime because that seems to go hand-in-hand with just about any migration, so I was prepared for a hundred phone calls from disrupted users," says Ward. "But when I got to work, the Exchange Server was running beautifully, and I didn't have a single e-mail-related call waiting for me."

Any migration has the potential to cause slowdowns in business processes due to glitches. However, following the weekend migration, Louisville Slugger's users came into work on Monday morning and were greeted by fully operational computers on a smooth-running network. "I anticipated some downtime because that seems to go hand-in-hand with just about any migration, so I was prepared for a hundred phone calls from disrupted users," says Ward. "But when I got to work, the Exchange Server was running beautifully, and I didn't have a single e-mail-related call waiting for me."

The new solution's integration with Active Directory represents another windfall for Louisville Slugger. Tasks such as creating new user accounts are now seamless because administrators no longer have to reset properties and jump back and forth between applications. "It's wonderful to be freed up from the hassles we used to face," says Ward. "Now I just point, click, and I have a new user!"

The time savings for the IT team have enabled its staff members to focus their efforts on larger, more strategic projects. "Recently, I've spent 30 percent of my time on a new backup services project," says Derek Pfister, LAN/WAN Technician for Louisville Slugger. "Before moving to the Windows Server 2003 solution, dedicating a full 30 percent of my time to anything was unheard of."

Because the new Microsoft solution resolved many of the system's previous issues, Louisville Slugger's IT staff members can stop spending so much time fixing problems caused by unintentional user changes. For example, Group Policy has eliminated users' ability to accidentally edit their registries, resulting in fewer calls for assistance and a five percent reduction in help-desk calls, particularly those regarding Exchange Server issues. The IT team has also begun teaching users how to help themselves by using the intuitive online Help feature in Microsoft Windows® XP operating system.

Louisville Slugger's IT team is able to respond more directly to those issues that still surface, thanks to the form feature in Microsoft Outlook ® messaging and collaboration client, which allows users to fill out forms and automatically add them to the IT staff's task list. This helps the team identify problems more quickly. "Receiving three related requests at the same time points us to the root of the problem because we know right away that multiple people are affected, so it's not a desktop issue," explains Pfister. "It's also more efficient for us to move our way down a task list than to react to individual phone calls."

When it comes to remedying mistakes, both IT staff and users at Louisville Slugger appreciate the Volume Shadow Copy service that is part of Windows Server 2003. This feature enables administrators to retrieve deleted e-mail messages and files quickly and easily. "I accidentally deleted a critical piece of information from my mailbox, and a member of our IT team was able to restore it with a few mouse clicks, which was just fantastic," says Mike McGrath, Vice President of International Sales for Louisville Slugger.

Remote Administration - Management of the system can be more flexible as well because the IT staff can share responsibilities more easily. No single element of system maintenance requires full-time observation, so staff members can administer as the need arises. This represents a marked improvement over sitting next to the server to compensate for the company's storage limitations.
In addition to reducing e-mail support time, the new solution helps the company monitor and administer its systems from anywhere. "Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 enables me to take care of system administration on the road or from home, just as though I'm right there in the machine room," says Pfister. "Troubleshooting is much easier because the screens are so informative. I can remotely see if something is running more slowly than it should and make proactive corrections, regardless of where I'm sitting."

Faster, More Stable Service for Better Collaboration - Because Exchange Server 2003 is so much more efficient in the way it stores e-mail messages and attachments, Louisville Slugger's users are able to send and receive their mail more quickly. "In my personal experience, the system is at least 15 percent faster--but positive user feedback is more valuable than any number," says Ward.

And user feedback has indeed been positive. "Just about every employee has acknowledged the system improvements," continues Ward. "Our users like the structure of their new Outlook client. They like the look and feel of it, and they love the speed." This speed helps reduce the company's cycle time for its projects because employees can mark up documents and make quick decisions now that they can rely on their e-mail system for smooth communication. In the future, the company plans to investigate Microsoft Windows SharePoint™ Services and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2003 for further project collaboration.

Secure Environment for Reduced Downtime - Louisville Slugger now takes advantage of Microsoft Software Update Services to uniformly distribute patches systemwide. New Age Technologies installed operating system-level security with Microsoft-recommended password configuration, in which passwords must be changed on a regular basis.

All of this takes some getting used to by the company's users because it's fairly new and controlled compared to their previous environment. However, users see the benefits of avoiding viruses and spam, so they have quickly adjusted to the security precautions. As a result of the newly implemented security measures, Louisville Slugger has experienced no unscheduled downtime since deploying the solution.

Remote User Access - Because Louisville Slugger relies heavily on field sales representatives, Outlook Web Access has turned out to be one of the biggest benefits of the new environment. If users just want access to their e-mail, calendar, or contacts while out of the office, they can use Outlook Web Access without a virtual private network (VPN). "Using Outlook Web Access has made a big impact on just about everyone here," says Ward. "It's so much faster and less complicated than going through our previous VPN setup." When users need remote access to files, however, they can use the new, streamlined Microsoft Virtual Private Networking system. "Our old system always bumped people off line when they tried to download large files, which was both frustrating and a huge waste of time," recalls Ward. "Our Microsoft Virtual Private Networking system works perfectly for our remote users. It's faster, more efficient, and so much more reliable. Our remote users can now get to the files they need, when they need them--without headaches." IT staff are already receiving rave reviews for the new solution. "I just got back from Japan and everything worked great," says McGrath.

Because Louisville Slugger is also increasing its use of mobile devices enterprisewide, the support and scalability of Exchange Server 2003 in terms of mobile devices was another big draw for the company. "We can use the Blackberry Enterprise Server for our mobile devices, because it integrates easily with Exchange," says Ward. "It's a nice asset for our users to have the flexibility of using mobile devices that work so well with our internal platform."

Cost Savings - Pleased with all of the features of its new solution, Louisville Slugger also recognizes that it made good business sense to make its original investments in the Software Assurance program, new server hardware, and its new VPN mechanism. "Even without calculating our productivity increases and the new business capabilities that save us money, I'd say that our combined savings in personnel time, software, and hardware total over $100,000," says Ward. "I also no longer have to bring in outside resources for Exchange Server support, which is an added savings."

Bright Future

Louisville Slugger is already reaping many rewards from its new environment, but managers feel the company is at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to taking full advantage of all that the solution has to offer. "We're still trying to figure out all the ways in which we can exploit the system to our benefit," says Ward. "Our implementation of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 gives us so many tools for running a better business. We're especially looking forward to delving deeper into Active Directory and all that it can do for us."