Microsoft Lync Server 2010Customer Solution Case Study

Telecom Italia Believes Communications Solution Strengthens Enterprise Networks

Overview

Country or Region: Italy

Industry: Telecommunications

Customer ProfileTelecom Italia is a telecommunications provider that operates more than 26 million phone lines in Italy. Based in Milan, it employs 52,000 people.

Business SituationTelecom Italia is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner that deploys communications solutions built around Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

SolutionTelecom Italia deployed a proof-of-concept of Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to evaluate the features and benefits for its customers.

Benefits Strengthens enterprise networks Simplifies administration

“Customers like how the overall Microsoft communications solution is taking the form of a social network. Because that is how they operate in their daily lives, it feels more familiar to them. It helps improve relationships.”

Fabio Baglioni, MS Systems Engineer, Telecom Italia

Telecom Italia is the leading provider of telecommunications services in Italy and one of Europe’s largest operators of fiber optic networks. Working with Microsoft Italy, Telecom Italia has helped to deploy Microsoft communications solutions to some of the largest companies inside Italy. To stay up-to-date with the latest technology offerings from Microsoft, the telecommunications firm deployed a proof-of-concept of Microsoft Lync Server 2010 for 100 marketing employees to evaluate the latest capabilities and provide demonstrations for customers. Telecom Italia believes that Lync Server will help employees be more productive and strengthen their relationships with each other and with partners and customers.

SituationThe Telecom Italia Group operates in all the sectors of the advanced communications chain, with highly developed business in fixed-mobile communications and the Internet with the brands Telecom Italia, TIM and Virgilio; multimedia and television (La7, MTV Italia); in the office and system solutions (Olivetti); and in research and development (Telecom Italia Lab). With operations in Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and South America, the Telecom Italia Group is one of the largest fixed telecommunications operators, with almost 15.6 million physical lines in Italy and a broadband portfolio equal to over 9 million accesses. The Group has also over 30.6 million mobile telephone lines. Abroad, TIM Brasil is one of the largest operators providing mobile telephone and convergent services for 46.9 million mobile lines.

Working with Microsoft Italy, Telecom Italia helps to configure and deploy communications solutions for enterprise customers. Internally, Telecom Italia has also deployed several Microsoft solutions to help employees be more productive at their jobs. For messaging, it implemented Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. For instant messaging and presence awareness, the company deployed Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 for 40,000 employees. It plans to upgrade Live Communications Server to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 for those employees by March 2011. With Office Communications Server, Telecom Italia can provide additional capabilities such as audio, video, and web conferencing and desktop sharing to make it easier for employees to collaborate with each other.

Telecom Italia joined the Microsoft Technology Adoption Program (TAP) to stay up-to-date on the latest communications technologies. Its Top Clients Marketing division has 10 demonstration rooms around Italy where the company deploys proof-of-concept solutions for employees so that they can evaluate products and provide demonstrations for customers. Most recently, the group has been evaluating Microsoft Lync Server 2010. Lync Server provides enhanced versions of the communications capabilities provided by Office Communications Server 2007 R2—presence, instant messaging, robust conferencing, and enterprise voice—as well as improvements in topology, deployment, and management tools. It deployed the solution for 100 marketing employees who, in addition to providing demonstrations for customers, use the Microsoft Lync 2010 desktop client to communicate with colleagues, partners, and shareholders every day.

SolutionTelecom Italia deployed Lync Server 2010 at its main “Demo Center” in Rome in a basic configuration with one Enterprise front-end server. The company also deployed an edge server, which enables it to federate with external users who also use Lync Server or earlier versions of Microsoft communications software, or with users communicating through public IM clients. The Top Clients Marketing division uses its own Active Directory service, so employees in that group can easily chat with and see presence information for colleagues who are using Office Live Communications Server.

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“Federation makes it seem as though your partners are right there in the office with you every day. It is a great way to collaborate.”

Fabio Baglioni, MS Systems Engineer, Telecom Italia

The group is also federated with technical partners, shareholders, and subsidiaries. “Federation makes it seem as though your partners are right there in the office with you every day,” says Fabio Baglioni, MS Systems Engineer at Telecom Italia. “It is a great way to collaborate.” For auditing and reporting, the group also deployed a Monitoring Server, which collects call detail reports (CDRs); usage information related to voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls; IM messages, audio and video conversations, meetings, application sharing, and file transfers; numerical data describing the media quality on the network and endpoints; and call error and troubleshooting information for failed calls. As it works with its proof-of-concept, Telecom Italia can use these reports to track usage and to troubleshoot any issues. Because the Monitoring Server captures end-to-end call quality information, it can also produce reports to identify potential problems with network equipment and services. With a Monitoring Server in place, the group can provide sample reports for customers to show them how monitoring will help them troubleshoot issues in their own environments.

Telecom Italia has also deployed a survivable branch appliance (SBA), which is based on cost-effective media gateways hosting the Microsoft Survivable Branch Appliance software package. The SBA provides a public switched telephone network (PSTN) connection that continues to provide communications capabilities in the event of wide-area network failure. The group is using the SBA to show customers how their branch offices can stay

connected. In addition to the SBA, the group is testing other hardware that is optimized to work with Lync Server, such as the Jabra GN2000 USB headset. Employees—or customers—can use the headset to place and manage calls and conferences through the Microsoft Lync 2010 client on the desktop.

Additionally, the Top Clients Marketing division is evaluating the Microsoft HD LifeCam Cinema video cameras to use with Lync Server for video conferencing. Telecom Italia supports a program for customers called “My Communication HD,” a high-definition video conferencing service. The company hopes to tie in this service with Lync Server 2010 deployments to provide high-quality video conferencing with additional capabilities, like desktop and application sharing, for its customers. The Top Clients Marketing employees also use the video cameras to communicate with customers or to stay in touch with colleagues back at the office when they are traveling.

With Lync on the desktop, users have a single, unified client to access capabilities like audio conferencing, video conferencing, and desktop sharing. Several enhancements to the Lync client provide more of a social networking experience for users, which Telecom Italia believes will appeal to customers who want to encourage collaboration. With Activity Feed, they can provide additional presence information for their coworkers and federated colleagues. Through Rich Contact Card, they can see organizational information such as people’s managers and direct reports—and they can also see people’s pictures.

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To further demonstrate the social networking and business productivity aspects of Lync for its customers, Telecom Italia has also configured Lync Server to take advantage of the interoperation with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Through SharePoint Server or the Lync client, employees can use Skill Search to find subject matter experts in other departments or other regions more easily. They can also view presence information through SharePoint Server or through the Microsoft Office Outlook messaging and collaboration client. For available contacts, employees can click to start an instant messaging session or voice call immediately. Telecom Italia also deployed Exchange Unified Messaging, so that employees can receive and manage voice-mail messages through Outlook or through the voice-mail tab in the Lync client.

Telecom Italia is also evaluating updated deployment and management features in Lync Server. With Topology Builder, an application engineer can quickly define all the parameters required to design a new installation. Topology Builder then communicates with the servers to install the correct configuration. For administrators, the Windows PowerShell command-line interface and the web-based management console provide more flexible options for managing Lync Server. With PowerShell, administrators can easily automate repetitive tasks, or add or edit user settings for groups. Administrators can use the web-based management console to access and manage the Lync Server deployment from any location, without the need to install administrative software. To

better define help-desk and administration roles, administrators can use the role-based access control (RBAC) feature for more granular control over how they assign permissions.

BenefitsWith Lync Server 2010, Telecom Italia can provide its customers with a communications solution that is easier to deploy and manage and helps their employees collaborate more effectively and be more productive at their jobs. “Lync Server is a communications platform that brings many capabilities inside the enterprise to help companies succeed at their business,” says Baglioni.

Strengthens Enterprise NetworksIn its Top Clients Marketing division, Telecom Italia has directly experienced the benefits of Lync Server 2010. “Our team is more collaborative, and it’s easier to stay in touch with presence because you can see when people are available. You can talk and solve problems in real time,” explains Baglioni. By federating with colleagues inside the company and at subsidiaries and shareholders, employees can strengthen relationships.

Another aspect of Lync Server 2010 that Telecom Italia believes will benefit customers is the social networking direction the solution has taken with the interoperation between technologies and features like Activity Feed and Rich Contact Card. “Customers like how the overall Microsoft communications solution is taking the form of a social network. Because that is how they operate in their

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“With Lync Server, administrators have much more intuitive and user-friendly tools for server deployment and management.”

Fabio Baglioni, MS Systems Engineer, Telecom Italia

daily lives, it feels more familiar to them. It helps improve relationships,” says Baglioni.

Simplifies AdministrationTelecom Italia has identified several areas where customers can benefit from eased deployment and management. “With Lync Server, administrators have much more intuitive and user-friendly tools for server deployment and management,” says Baglioni.

With Topology Builder, on-premises installations at customer sites will be much easier and customers can feel confident that they have the best configuration for their environment. With the web-based management console, administrators can log on from any computer with a browser and a network connection to manage Lync Server. They no longer need to install special tools on a machine to perform administrative tasks. Another feature that eases management for administrators is the Windows PowerShell command-line interface. The company expects that scripting will make it easier for customers to manage their own deployments, especially because they can easily automate common tasks.

With Lync Server 2010, Telecom Italia can offer its customers a more complete communications solution.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010Microsoft Lync Server 2010 ushers in a new connected user experience that transforms every communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, and engaging; and that is accessible from anywhere. For IT, the benefits are equally powerful, with a highly secure and reliable communications system that works with existing tools and systems for easier management, lower cost of ownership, smoother deployment and migration, and greater choice and flexibility.

For more information about Microsoft Lync Server 2010, go to: www.microsoft.com/lync

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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 Telecom Italia products and services, visit the website at: www.telecomitalia.com

For more information about Jabra products and services, call (800) 826-4656 or visit the website at: www.jabra.com

For more information about Polycom products and services, call (800) Polycom or visit the website at: www.polycom.com

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

Document published December 2010

Software and Services Microsoft Office− Microsoft Lync 2010

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio− Microsoft Lync Server 2010− Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

Hardware Jabra GN2000 headsets Polycom CX-Series IP phones