Dubai Duty Free selects latest Microsoft technology to empower employees from warehouse to shop floor

DDF experienced a 21 per cent increase in sales in the first ten months of 2003 as compared to the same period last year. With Microsoft Windows Server 2003 platform and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, DDF is well equipped to support this exponential growth.

"By providing our employees with a platform that is solid, reliable and highly secure we have moved closer towards our goal of delivering unmatched quality of services to our customers," said Mr. Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director, Dubai Duty Free.

With Windows Server 2003 running the core of the organization's IT cycles; DDF has the opportunity to increase its operational efficiency while enhancing essential services through improved security, reliability, manageability, and performance features of the new operating system that is supporting over 350 users across the entire network.

"Windows 2000 had clearly illustrated its value to us. After measuring the additional advantages that DDF could gain from the latest platform, we immediately laid out a plan to revamp our IT infrastructure by implementing the best of Microsoft's latest technology, Windows Server 2003," added Mr. George Horan, General Manager Dubai Duty Free.

"The project implementation and rollout were impeccable," said Mr. Ramesh Cidambi, Senior Manager Systems and Information Technology in Dubai Duty Free. "There was zero network downtime and a relatively short deployment duration of these solutions. Additionally, very minimal training was required, and there was very little disruption to employee productivity. Microsoft Consultants, along with Seven Seas Computers, performed beyond our expectations from day one," Mr. Cidambi added.

"Today, organizations are seeking business applications that help them increase their productivity without a corresponding increase in investment or compromising the security of the system," said Abdullatif Almulla, General Manager of Microsoft South Gulf. "With an IT platform that is reliable, Windows Server 2003 can provide DDF the ability to reduce IT costs without compromising on fundamental services, and continue to provide secured data access across the entire organization, a key necessity in today's global enterprises," Mr. Almulla added.

DDF's additional investment in Microsoft's latest Exchange Server 2003 will reflect in many unique features that DDF employees can leverage in their daily tasks. Exchange 2003 includes a set of valuable and unique features such as Outlook Web Access (OWA) and Outlook Mobile Access (OMA). With these features, the IT Department at DDF will be able to embed DDF's email boxes, employees' calendars, contacts and public folder information into a Web portal, which DDF employees can access securely from home or any remote location.

DDF employees who are on the move will be armed with real-time information access wherever they go. With Outlook Mobile Access, DDF employees will be able to use their mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDA's and XDA's to access DDF information and data as well as the employee's email, business contacts and daily agenda.

"To compete successfully in today's challenging business climate, organizations must enable more efficient ways for workers to communicate and collaborate. E-mail is currently the most widely used collaborative technology," added Mr. Cidambi. "The new enhanced tools in Exchange Server 2003, allow us to make email even more effective as a business tool. For instance, by using the new Recovery Storage Group, DDF network administrators will be able to recover any DDF employee mailbox to find an important e-mail message that was previously deleted.

"With the Windows 2003 server and Exchange 2003 as the foundations, we can now start adding the new technology that Microsoft releases, such as the Live Communications Server, and more importantly Windows Rights Management, in conjunction with Office 2003 system to ensure extra security can be applied to our documents, emails, spreadsheets etc." said Mr Cidambi.

Windows Server 2003 is a comprehensive, integrated and secured infrastructure designed to help customers reduce costs and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of IT operations. Building on Windows 2000 family strengths, the new server platform helps customers extend existing resources while laying the foundation for building a new generation of connected applications that improve business productivity. Windows Server 2003 is the foundation for the Microsoft Windows Server System, an integrated server infrastructure for building, deploying and operating agile business solutions.