Triage Entertainment is a full service post-production house with a resumé of award-winning television series and specials. The predominantly Mac-based company was relying on Windows servers and a Microsoft Exchange backbone until growing issues began to impede productivity. They hired Apple Consultants Network member 318, Inc. to help with two main challenges.
- Complex Infrastructure, Inefficient Workflow
The Active Directory-based Windows infrastructure was complicated to administer, expensive to maintain, and functionally limiting for the majority of employees—who were working on Macs. Users and administrators had to keep track of separate passwords for their Macs and the Windows network, and contacts and calendaring weren’t synchronized company-wide. As a result, Triage’s workflow was inefficient and frustrating. - Expensive, Spam-Polluted Mail System
The company’s overall productivity was greatly impeded by uncontrolled spam that was infiltrating their Microsoft Exchange mail server. This was especially problematic given the necessity for the Triage staff of video and sound production experts to collaborate with large files over email. The mail system required add-on software for spam filtering, virus control, and backup and archiving—adding expensive fees to the already significant cost of licensing Exchange Server.
The company wanted to simplify their backend and enhance their mail system in order to improve usability for all employees, decrease complexity for the IT department, and streamline the budget by doing away with unnecessary licensing fees.
“318 applies broad knowledge to provide out of the box solutions that cater to our clients' needs. With Triage Entertainment, we leveraged experience with Mac OS X Server, Open Directory, Kerio MailServer and Microsoft Windows Server to deliver the best solution—reducing the complexity of their most critical systems, increasing groupware and mobility features, and reducing total cost of ownership.”
— Kevin Klein, President, 318, Inc.
Mac OS X Server’s Open Directory delivers greater control.
By replacing the Windows Server with Mac OS X Server and Open Directory, 318, Inc. simplified the groupware environment, improved mixed-platform support, and enabled greater administrative control—allowing Triage’s IT team to use Managed System Preferences for better client management. Mac OS X Server’s built-in ClamAV provided virus scanning, and the Open Directory environment could expand to an unlimited number of users, both without additional cost. Overall, licensing costs were significantly lowered, saving Triage about 33% from their previous Windows solution.
Kerio MailServer offers robust features for less.
Kerio MailServer replaced Microsoft Exchange Server for handling Triage’s email and enabled the company to take advantage of built-in features like anti-spam and anti-virus controls, and contact and calendaring synchronization. By using built-in features, the company lowered their expenses by reducing the need for add-on software that would require additional licensing fees.
Triage Entertainment gained tangible results.
- • Windows and Mac users can all work on the network seamlessly.
- • Staff can log onto the network and their computers with a single
sign-on. - • Employees can create public folders for sharing data.
- • Everyone at Triage can synchronize contacts and calendars, and use public folders for more efficient collaboration.
- • Kerio’s built-in spam filter trains itself, which saves users from deleting spam and administrators from trying to blacklist spammers.
- • Systems are more efficiently centrally managed, allowing Triage’s IT team to spend less time on desktop support.
By implementing Mac OS X Server with Open Directory infrastructure and Kerio MailServer, 318 improved Triage’s collaboration, streamlined their workflow, and simplified their network—all for less than the cost of renewing their previous Microsoft Exchange licenses.
