SADA Systems and IKANO Communications

One of the first 10 Google Apps for Enterprise partners worldwide and an initial contributor to the Google Apps Open Source provisioning tool kit, SADA Systems, Inc. offers deployment and customization solutions for Google Apps. SADA specializes in Google Apps implementations for ISPs, Portals, and organizations who want to implement Partner Edition for their subscriber and member base.

IKANO Communications is an IP solutions provider of aggregated networks and private-labeled services to ISPs, organizations, and businesses, with over 1000 domains and 350,000 subscribers. IKANO decided to implement Google Apps Partner Edition in order to achieve significant cost savings, reduce administration overhead related to managing similar systems, and provide best-of-breed email and collaboration tools to their subscribers. IKANO plans to offer Google Apps Partner Edition as well as Tier 1 Customer Support for their subscribers and organizations.

CHALLENGES

IKANO Communications needed assistance in building a bridge between Google Apps and their current billing platform to provide value-add services such as email to their subscriber base while reducing administrative costs to manage infrastructure. Additionally, IKANO required a system which would seamlessly integrate with their existing provisioning and account management systems, and decrease the risk of customer churn by migrating as much of their existing data as possible over to Google Apps. It was critical that IKANO provide users a near seamless migration experience during the transition period of email dual delivery - to both the old platform and to Google Apps.

SOLUTION

SADA worked with IKANO Communications on a project to migrate 6 of their key domains, and 20,000+ users to Google Apps. SADA developed a strategy to address:

• Dual delivery
• Bulk provisioning of existing accounts.
• Integration to the existing billing and provisioning platform for creation of new accounts.
• Email and Contacts migration for existing users.
• IMAP-based email migration for existing users.
• POP3 activation and forwarders-configuration so a sub-set of users can continue to access mail the same way they are accustomed to.

The results of the project would set a standard and develop a methodology for the migration of all other domains and users to Google Apps. SADA utilized the open source provisioning toolkit as a basis for the mass provisioning portion of the project, a code base to which SADA was the original contributor.

RESULT

The methodical approach to implementing Google Apps at IKANO resulted in lower than expected impact on their call centers during the migration process. The Google Apps solution implemented by SADA will help IKANO Communications save 25% in overall infrastructure maintenance and management costs of providing Google Apps services to their subscribers.

"We are extremely pleased with the development and project management services SADA Systems, Inc. provided to IKANO. They listened to our needs and delivered on their statement of work. We look forward to our continued collaboration and partnership with SADA regarding future ISP business developed on the Google Apps Partner Edition, " says Douglas Pollei, VP Internet Strategy and Corporate Development, IKANO Communications Inc.

TimeBridge and Atlantic Research Group

TimeBridge provides a Personal Scheduling Assistant service that makes scheduling a meeting as easy as sending a single email. Atlantic Research Group (ARG) was founded to provide small and mid-size biotech and pharmaceutical firms with high-quality clinical trial management services. ARG facilitates the often long and complex clinical-trial process and specializes in the fields of oncology, immunology, cardiology, ophthalmology, nephrology and metabolic disease.

Challenge

When ARG’s hosted email server solution crashed, the company wanted to revamp all email and calendaring applications and solve a chronic scheduling and availability-sharing problem that traditional applications could not. ARG wanted employees to be free to use whatever email application they wanted, yet be able to share their calendars and easily schedule meetings in a mixed Outlook and Google environment.

Solution

ARG chose Google Apps and TimeBridge, a Google Enterprise Partner, as a comprehensive email, calendar and scheduling solution. Google Apps addressed the need for a flexible email program that allowed users to work in whatever environment they want. While some employees used Google Calendar, others chose to stay in Outlook for their calendaring needs. To bridge the two applications, ARG turned to TimeBridge which integrates with both Outlook and Google calendars. Employees could easily share their calendars and cut down the time it takes to get people together by using TimeBridge’s one-step scheduling.

Results

ARG has been using the Google/TimeBridge solution since August 2007. Google Apps has allowed employees to work in whatever environment they choose and, when combined with TimeBridge, has enabled a more collaborative environment with easy calendar sharing. TimeBridge has eliminated the company’s scheduling woes by significantly cutting down on the time and effort spent getting people together for meetings. In addition, TimeBridge has further added value to the meeting process by offering useful tools such as web-conferencing, free conference calls and restaurant reservations.

“As the manager of IT at ARG, I don’t want to have to tell people where and how to work. Google Apps was great for letting people do what worked best for them and eliminating any kind of IT complexity and headache,” said Hunter Walker, VP of Clinical System at ARG. “While this led to a mixed application environment of Google and Outlook users, once we started using TimeBridge company-wide, everyone could share their calendars and schedule meetings in a fraction of the time it took previously.”

Appirio and salesforce.com

Appirio delivers services and products that help medium and large enterprises accelerate their adoption of on-demand solutions. As a Services 2.0 pioneer, Appirio has a proven track record of designing and implementing complex and mission-critical systems using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions such as Salesforce.com and Google Enterprise. Salesforce.com is a leading worldwide Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider.

Challenge

Salesforce.com chooses to run its business using SaaS applications wherever possible. In keeping with this philosophy, salesforce.com has deployed Google Apps across its entire global business. They chose Appirio to train their employees on the new applications so they could get up and running quickly. Appirio is strategic partner of both salesforce.com and Google. Salesforce.com employees are intimately familiar with the benefits of SaaS applications, as the company pioneered the space and uses its own solutions internally. Yet, like many companies today, salesforce.com traditionally relied upon on-premise office productivity and communication software for day-to-day business activities such email, chat and word processing. They'd also seen the limitations of these solutions. When Google Apps became available, the company quickly grasped the collaboration and cost benefits that these new applications could offer employees.

Solution

Salesforce.com chose to roll out Google Apps Premier Edition to all of its employees because of the powerful communication and collaboration features found in Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Docs, and Google Sites. The salesforce.com IT team, who was responsible for the internal deployment, worked with Appirio to develop project requirements and to implement a change management plan that would ensure all the various groups within salesforce.com could quickly see the benefits of the new applications. Appirio developed a customized Google Apps training course to help a range of users from senior executives to help desk personnel get comfortable with the new applications and take advantage of their unique capabilities in a shorter period of time.

Results

In less than a month, Appirio conducted 25 on-site and recorded training sessions designed to reach salesforce.com's almost 3,000 employees. Ninety-five percent of those responding to a survey following the training sessions said they'd recommend the class to others. Salesforce.com employees have already begun to explore new ways to use Google Apps, giving them unique insight into an innovative product that salesforce.com now resells to its own customers as Salesforce for Google Apps.

"Appirio’s deep domain knowledge of Google Apps and salesforce.com, along with their experience getting new users up and running quickly on new applications, were key reasons for involving Appirio in our internal implementation,” - Trae Chancellor, salesforce.com.

SADA Systems, Inc. and The Cleveland Institute of Art

One of the first 10 Google Apps for Enterprise partners worldwide and initial contributor to the Google Apps Open Source provisioning tool kit, SADA Systems, Inc. has developed an proven track record in implementation of Google Apps solutions. SADA works with a diverse client base to create custom, leading edge solutions that strategically meet client business objectives.

For 125 years, The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) has had a reputation for being one of the premier professional arts and design colleges in the United States. A small institution with about 600 students, many of CIA's students go on to become gallery artists, product and transportation designers, graphic designers, photographers, contemporary craftsmen, and educators.

Challenge

Gmail administrators can create mailing lists of users in order to allow a user to easily send messages to frequently contacted groups of people. However, in order to add users under a domain to a mail list, an administrator has to manually type the name of each user in the "create email lists" section, located under the user accounts tab of the Gmail control panel. Obviously this could be a very time consuming process for an administrator who wishes to create large and multiple lists. As CIA maintained numerous, large mailing lists that were mission critical to internal communication, this process presented a significant administrative challenge.

Solution

SADA used the Google API to develop a tool that easily allows an administrator to create "on-the-fly" Gmail distribution lists, and then add users to the list by means of a check box next to the user's name. Additionally, CIA could use the tool to create large lists by simply uploading a CSV file which contained the list of names. SADA's tool makes it easy and fast to create and manage email distribution lists on Google Apps.

Result

The Cleveland Institute of Art can now create the lists it needs using SADA's tool and save significant time. This solution has allowed CIA's administrators to complete the task of creating necessary lists, so they can then dedicate more time to critical IT needs.

"When we contacted SADA Systems we were looking for a way to streamline the creation of email lists for our students. SADA's initial vision was basically just that, but when the betas were shown to us we found that SADA had exceeded our expectations by not only incorporating Google Gears for better synchronization, but also giving us the ability to make changes via batch file to further streamline the group creation and modification process. We could not be happier with SADA's product, and are looking forward to Phase 2 of the project that will give us the Active Directory synchronization that we need to tie everything together." - Michael Kimmel, Director of Information Technology, The Cleveland Institute of Art

Fig Leaf Software and the Verizon Foundation

Fig Leaf Software is a full service Google Enterprise Partner (www.figleaf.com) specializing in Google Search Appliance implementation and Google Search Appliance training (http://training.figleaf.com) for corporations, government agencies, associations, nonprofits and educational institutions.

The Verizon Foundation set up Thinkfinity.org to improve student achievement in traditional classroom settings and beyond by providing high-quality content and extensive professional development training. The free, comprehensive digital learning platform is built upon the merger of two acclaimed programs Verizon MarcoPolo and the Thinkfinity Literacy Network.

Challenge
The Verizon Foundation had data coming from multiple external vendors that was being collected a variety of ways and accessible only via a SQL database. The SQL Database was not publically available. The Verizon Foundation was launching a new Web site and had a grant requirement for the new site, www.thinkfinity.org, to be created to “deliver free, top quality online educational resources to strengthen problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking skills”.

Solution
The Verizon Foundation worked with Fig Leaf Software, a Google Value Added Reseller (VAR) to purchase the Google Search Appliance and customize the search solution. Utilizing deep meta tagging and database feed capabilities of the Google Search Appliance, Fig Leaf crafted a solution that pulls a uniform set of data from a SQL database and exposes a custom search interface through ASP.Net technology. The interface enables public and authenticated users to search through content using a variety of different choices based on information type and user profile. Content is pulled from more than eight content sources including the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Kennedy Center and other partner organizations.

Results
With Fig Leaf Software’s assistance, the Verizon Foundation was able to launch their new Thinkfinity search solution in a matter of weeks opening up tens of thousands of educational materials to educators, parents and students alike. Visitors and authenticated users can search content utilizing any of the following search criteria: Keyword, Subject, Grade, Resource Type, Content Partner. Style sheets for the results display content with visual keys to show how content is tagged, i.e. by resource type, grade level, conformity to state standards, etc.

Fig Leaf Software and Campbell Soup Company

Fig Leaf Software is a full service Google Enterprise Partner (www.figleaf.com) specializing in Google Search Appliance implementation and Google Search Appliance training (http://training.figleaf.com) for corporations, government agencies, associations, nonprofits and educational institutions. Campbell Soup Company is one of the world’s most recognized brands with over 136 years of company history and products sold in 120 countries around the globe with approximately 23,000 full-time employees.

Customer Challenge
Campbell’s needed a way to enable its workforce of 23,000 employees to search their corporate intranet for information. Part of Campbell’s top five corporate strategies is to increase margins by improving company-wide productivity. Corporate intranets impact company-wide productivity by serving as a key communication method for the company and its employees.

Campbell’s existing search solution for their corporate intranet was not working. Queries by its employees would return data that was not relevant to the search criteria, causing inefficiencies and loss of time. This had a negative impact on productivity. Campbell’s had data in an IBM WebSphere portal that needed to be indexed. Campbell’s existing search solution was not working. Campbell Soup Company selected Fig Leaf Software (www.figleaf.com ), a certified Google Enterprise Professional Partner and certified Google Search Appliance Training Partner, to help implement a new search solution.

Solution
In just three weeks time, Fig Leaf implemented and configured Campbell’s two GB 8008 models, one for main use and one for backup in two different locations. Best suited for centralized deployments that support multiple business units, the GB-8008 can search 30 million documents out of the box. Fig Leaf helped solve Campbell’s challenges by providing a customization utilizing Google Feeds (XML feed technology) to integrate effectively with the IBM WebSphere portal and resolve security issues.

Results
Fig Leaf and the Google Search Appliance helped to solve Campbell’s business problem and support its corporate strategic initiative to improve company-wide productivity.

Fig Leaf’s expert implementation and customization of the Google Search Appliance for Campbell’s immediately improved search on the intranet for its thousands of employees. Fig Leaf helped install and customize a solution to fit Campbell’s unique business needs. As a result, Campbell’s has search capabilities for their corporate intranet that provides a foundation for increased productivity and effective information dissemination throughout the company. Now Campbell’s employees can find information on the corporate intranet both quickly and easily with relevant search results. Employees can be more efficient in their search and more productive with their time. Moreover, the implemented solution is nearly free of maintenance, making it a cost-effective addition to the existing IT infrastructure.

SADA Systems and The Los Angeles Community College District

SADA Systems, Inc. is a privately held information technology consulting, outsourcing, and development firm founded in 2000. SADA works with its client base to develop innovative technology solutions to business challenges.

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD or Client) is the administrative and governing body of several community colleges in the greater Los Angeles Metro area. LACCD has been serving students in the in the Los Angeles area for nearly 80 years.

CHALLENGES
The Los Angeles Community College District needed a seamless and integrated way to provision accounts for some 2 million students, former students, and alumni. Over its network of colleges the Los Angeles Community College District gets up to between 20 and 30 thousand registrations each day, during peak registration months. Account provisioning needed to be automated for incoming students, while allowing existing students, former students, and alumni the ability to "opt-in" to Google Apps email accounts.

SOLUTION
SADA used the Google API to develop a batch update and sync solution that is capable of provisioning multiple accounts per second. As a proof-of-concept the Client and SADA deployed the Google Apps solution to Los Angeles Trade-Technical college. SADA assisted the Los Angeles Community College District with every aspect of the deployment of Google Apps to Los Angeles Trade Tech. The batch provisioning tool, developed by SADA was implemented and allows the client to handle the problem of provisioning a large number of accounts (sometimes tens of thousands) in less than an hour. Additionally, SADA built a custom opt-in mechanism whereby students could select their own passwords and email aliases as part of the process.

RESULT
Los Angeles Trade Tech was able to provision accounts for approximately 35,000 currently enrolled students. Accounts for incoming students are now created automatically. Administrators are able to create accounts through a nightly update by uploading a single .CSV file. The Google API syncs with the LACCD Student Identity System to prevent the possibility of duplicate accounts. Former students and alumni have the option of creating an account if they choose.

"SADA Systems, Inc. is very controlled in their approach and methodology. They translated our requirements into a technical action plan very quickly and delivered what they said they would when they said they would. In my view SADA has a much better methodology and control of engagement than even large, national consulting firms," says Tony Tortorice, CIO of the Los Angeles Unified School District.