OREANDA-NEWS. May 24, 2012. CROC has completed the first stage of a Microsoft technology-based unified information environmentimplementation project within JSC ALROSA. As part of the project, a unified directory service, corporate email and unified communications systems, as well as a centralized workstation and server management system were implemented.

The new solution allowed the company to realize a number of performance improvement objectives, with employees now being able to perform everyday tasks more quickly and easily. Communications have become more convenient thanks to the Unified Communications solution and migration from Lotus Notes to the Microsoft Exchange corporate email system, and the unified Active Directory simplified data search. Furthermore, IT infrastructure management was streamlined thanks to the centralization and setting of unified standards for all information systems.

The project also involved the creation of five key communication nodes which offer redundancy in the case of emergency, as well as complex fault-tolerant server infrastructure deployment within the customer’s data centers, which successfully passed standard tests.

“The geographical distribution of the company’s affiliates and business units such as ours, which range from the Southern point in Russia to Western Yakutia, as well as foreign representative offices, which comprise several thousand workspaces, makes information resources unification a vital strategic need. Centralized IT infrastructure management has helped to create a foundation for the development of business applications and the use of unified standards and rules for IT service users within the information environment, as well as improved information confidentiality and information resource security, optimized service personnel headcount and the further development of other initiatives such as collaboration capabilities, Intranet portals and electronic document management. Thanks to the Microsoft Exchange corporate email system and the newly created address book, interaction between employees has become easier and faster, practically eliminating the use of fax except in communications with the public sector. In addition, the company’s employees can now remotely access their email. The most demanded was the Unified Communications (UC) solution, which supports video conferencing from any workplace within the corporate network. Ultimately, each and every element of the upgraded infrastructure is aimed at increasing user-friendliness and efficiency and thus improving business profitability,” said Dmitri Chibisov, Head of Information Technology and Communications Management, JSC ALROSA.

“ALROSA’s information infrastructure was enhanced via the implementation of a unified Active Directory and a Microsoft Exchange 2010 corporate email system. In addition, the project also allowed for the provision of remote technical assistance for users and automated software installation. Furthermore, all business related issues can now be solved in real-time thanks to instant messaging and web, audio and video conferencing via Microsoft Lync unified communications. The project was carried out in Yakutia cities and in Occidental Russia, between which there is an eight-hour time difference. However, thanks to careful planning and work scheduling and the high proficiency of ALROSA’s IT specialists, all issues were solved in a timely manner and the project was implemented in just 12 months instead of the initially scheduled two years,” noted Igor Malyshev, Head of Infrastructure Software Solutions Division, CROC.

“Today, there is growing interest amongst companies in the Microsoft business productivity platform, which comprises integrated solutions such as Exchange, SharePoint and Lync. We are happy that industry leader ALROSA is one of the companies using our new technologies. We believe that the company’s personnel will appreciate the benefits of Microsoft solutions (e.g. easy and user-friendly operation via mobile devices) and management will notice the impact on business, as no company can ever operate efficiently without high-performing employees,” said Pavel Kuzmenko, Microsoft Office Division Business Group Lead, Microsoft Russia.