News
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas is the leading regional Brazilian provider of transportation, storage and global container shipping services
August 2012 by Marc Jacob
Problem:
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda was not quite satisfied with its current email platform – Linux-based SendMail. First, the solution was slow. Second, the company needed robust archiving capabilities to keep up with its business needs.
“We need to keep corporate email messages stored for a long time,” explains Marcelo Araujo, IT Supervisor at Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda. “A container leaves with the cargo and all the exportation process can take up to 6 months before it reaches destination.”
As the result, users were maintaining huge inboxes and the system was becoming slower and more cumbersome every day. Also, SendMail had few automated functions and involved a lot of unnecessary support hours.
Solution:
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda technology team started a review of alternative messaging solutions. At one point, the company considered keeping the open source solution and adding Microsoft Exchange for additional functionalities. However, this option was dismissed for complexity and overall high ownership costs.
Then a company in the same industry recommended IceWarp. “My contacts told me it was easy to set up and very reliable,” notes Mr. Araujo. “Also, it had the set of features were looking for a fraction of Microsoft Exchange price.”
Results:
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda replaced its legacy solution with IceWarp, deploying the product’s core features: WebMail, Instant Messenger, FTP and GroupWare. Also, the company connected it with two 600 GB e-mail storage disks and a 1 TB archiving facility. Each of the Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda departments was assigned public folders to organize all documents and emails.
“Our 200 end users have huge mailboxes, each holding 10-15 GB of e-mail messages” says Mr. Araujo. “In case of failure, recovery was slow and complex. But IceWarp allowed us to use IMAP and the problem is over.”
The deployment was relatively painless.
“Creating the several hundred accounts in IceWarp was easy with the use of TOOL.exe, because we did not need to import emails, as users downloaded all mail via POP in previous system,” says Mr. Araujo. “Support was also very efficient, rapidly solving all arising problems.”
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda is making the most of IceWarp’s multiple features – Active Directory, Web Mail and Instant Messaging. “We have a dispersed workforce, and employees do not often interact in person,” says Mr. Araujo. “So the simple option of having an employee’s picture in the chat window is very useful - they can recognize who they interact with.”
Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda realizes that in the future it would have to invest into a storage area network solution or move everything to virtual environment, such as VMware.
“But at this point, IceWarp is coping,” notes Mr. Araujo. “Just in case, we have a backup server to safeguard emails in case of emergency, but with IceWarp we never had to use it.”
ROI:
According to Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda estimates, IceWarp paid for itself under a year. “I have already recommended it several times,” concludes Mr. Araujo.
FUTURE:
IceWarp is strictly standards-based and is using Internet message access protocol (IMAP), one of the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval, and that allows Hipercon Terminais de Cargas Ltda employees use and array of smartphones to stay connected. “I’m planning to make the most of this feature and, since IceWarp also has a tablet interface, equip our team with tablet computers,” concludes Mr. Araujo.
