The SAK puts the clutch on business-critical communication using Neverfail exchange

Anytime the power goes out or a server goes down, it reminds people just how much they rely on email in the workplace. That's why more manufacturers are looking for high-availability solutions. “They realize that uninterrupted email is mission-critical, and the goal is to keep users connected no matter what,” says Rhoda Phillips, research manager for storage software at Framingham, ...

By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor (jimfulcher@comcast.net) November 1, 2007

Anytime the power goes out or a server goes down, it reminds people just how much they rely on email in the workplace. That’s why more manufacturers are looking for high-availability solutions.

“They realize that uninterrupted email is mission-critical, and the goal is to keep users connected no matter what,” says Rhoda Phillips, research manager for storage software at Framingham, Mass.-based analyst firm IDC . “Those companies want to maintain business continuity, or the company’s heartbeat, despite downtime—whether it’s planned or unplanned.”

Neverfail Group offers just such protected communication, as well as cluster-class high application availability, and disaster-recovery solutions for the Microsoft Windows platform. Neverfail software enables users to remain continuously connected to the live application irrespective of hardware, software, operating system, or network failures.

“Today’s successful global organization requires continuously available solutions, and is 100-percent reliant on email for communication,” says Dave French, Neverfail Americas CEO. “The ability to connect with employees and partners is critical to maintaining an advantage in the market. Neverfail’s continuous-availability solutions allow organizations to deliver top-notch products and services to their customers.”

One of Neverfail’s customers is The SAK , a San Francisco-based accessories company known for its distinct handbags and footwear. The SAK employs designers, suppliers, and vendors worldwide. They constantly exchange information about designs, fabrics, manufacturing, and other issues. The SAK uses the Neverfail for Exchange solution to protect against natural disturbances, technical disruptions, and planned downtime associated with network maintenance, says Brad Bolton, IT manager.

“As an organization operating across several continents and multiple time zones, The SAK required an easy-to-maintain solution [that would use] existing hardware, and would help our organization take measures to ensure continuous availability,” says Bolton. “Neverfail SCOPE—a pre-installation tool that identifies server issues beforehand and ensures a stable server environment for high-availability implementations—and Neverfail for Exchange have exceeded the strict requirements our organization set during product evaluations.”

To keep email communications up running amongst designers, suppliers, and vendors, handbag maker The SAK uses Neverfail SCOPE and Neverfail for Microsoft Exchange high-availability technology.

Bolton says the ability to seamlessly switch over to the company’s secondary environment if a planned or unplanned issue arises was a big selling point because, during the failover process, users are simply connected to the redundant site and are not required to restart email applications. Once issue resolution is complete, users are redirected back to the organization’s primary email environment without work interruption.

“Users don’t even ever realize what happened because everything takes place behind the scenes,” Bolton says. “Having Neverfail in place gives me peace of mind, and frees up my time so I can focus more on mission-critical IT projects.”