The investment and property market Liberty International operates in requires decisions to be made in a timely and well informed manner. If the right people aren’t available at the right time the opportunity cost can be substantial.
Why did Liberty International choose Applicable for mobile messaging?
Liberty International operates from multiple sites that are very large and their managers move between these sites regularly. Without BlackBerry devices managers were without email access for extended periods of time. Even with a network connection in an office, on-site email access was still limited as staff need to move around the site.
Applicable provided a remotely managed service for two BES running on a Lotus Domino platform. These servers are remotely managed by Applicable, to ensure smooth operational running and consistent high performance. Liberty's Mark Taylor notes: ‘We needed a wireless email system that we could trust at installation and long term into the future. Applicable had already proved their capabilities with our Domino server infrastructure so asking them to install, manage and monitor our BlackBerry Enterprise Server was a logical step.’
The devices have all of the functions that would be expected from a full-strength BlackBerry implementation – email, calendaring and to do lists are synchronized with user’s desktops and the corporate contact list is available on the device in addition to the user’s personal contacts. In addition to this Liberty are now looking towards extending their BlackBerry handheld’s functionality by adding further applications. |
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“BlackBerry handsets allow us to reduce the amount of expensive equipment our team carry and remove the network security risks posed by laptops that are physically moved around the corporate infrastructure”
Mark Taylor
IT Manager, Liberty International |
A ‘trickle down’ implementation pattern was chosen for the BlackBerry handheld devices, with board members proving the devices first. The roll out has now extended to lower management and the BES platform is hosting 80+ users/handsets. The BES connects into a Domino Server, which is also managed by Applicable. Both servers are located at Liberty’s premises in London with access for Applicable to allow performance monitoring and management.
In common with Applicable’s standard Service Level Agreement the Liberty International BES is available to a minimum of 99.9% and all changes are made within four hours of request. In addition to ensuring smooth running of the servers Applicable also undertake all user administration tasks for Liberty International’s BES platform - adding, moving, renaming and deleting users in line with requests from approved personnel.
Applicable’s 24/7 management of the BES servers provides the confidence that enables Liberty International to rely on BlackBerry 24/7. The connectivity provided by BlackBerry handheld devices allows more timely decision-making and removes potential opportunity cost.