Open-Xchange Server is to be the new information infrastructure for Boehmert & Boehmert

Boehmert & Boehmert is one of the largest legal firms that specialize in intellectual property law in Germany. It is also one of the few firms in Germany that has a staff with expertise in both patent law and business law. Boehmert & Boehmert maintains nine office locations in Germany. Some employees work from home offices in other countries. In total, there are more than 300 persons working for the company.

In the past, each of the larger offices in Germany maintained their own messaging system. It became clear to Boehmert & Boehmert that this approach could no longer be considered state-of-the-art. This approach increased administrative expenses and limited access to messaging and collaboration tools to staff in the office. Staff working from home or from abroad could not access all of the information they needed to do their work. Boehmert & Boehmert’s management decided to replace the old messaging infrastructure in April 2006. It decided to move to a comprehensive messaging and collaboration solution. Boehmert & Boehmert wanted a solution that met as many of the following requirements as possible:

• Central administration and simple administrationFuture-safe architecture offering open APIs and communication protocols
• Staff must be able to access messages and collaboration functions from the office or from a home office.
• Messaging and collaboration features must be available through Microsoft Outlook and through any standard Web Browser.
• The solution must offer messaging, calendar management, contact lists, and document sharing
• Solution must have a convincing price/performance ratio

Thomas Großer, IT-manager with Boehmert & Boehmert, remembers: “ We searched for a Linux based Groupware solution, with German language support - and selected Open-Xchange Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Open-Xchange Server’s modular structure combined with its extensive capabilities convinced us. Individuals are able to access the features and information they need from centralized servers. Because Open-Xchange Server is based upon individual services such as postfix, CyrusIMAP, OpenLDAP and PostgreSQL, the system can run on replicated servers and offer a highly available solution.”

In the new solution messaging will be handled by a centralized Open-Xchange Server. This approach allows messages to be scanned for viruses, Spam to be filtered out and messages to be delivered to individuals regardless of their physical location. Furthermore, the configuration is automatically managed from the central OpenLDAP director server on the open Xchange server in Bremen.

Open-Xchange Server offers Boehmert & Boehmert much more than just a messaging solution. Open-Xchange Server is to be a new information infrastructure for Boehmert & Boehmert. Each location is to have its own Open-Xchange Server that will act as a repository for public contacts, documents and other information. If necessary, specific documents can be made available to colleagues at other locations as well.

This approach also means that messages and documents can be developed and edited by all authorized staff members within the company. Also appointments can now be scheduled independently of staff member’s location.

In May 2006, Open-Xchange and Red Hat conducted the first onsite training for the new messaging and collaboration solution. An intensive test phase was held between June and July 2006. The first Boehmert & Boehmert locations converted to Open-Xchange Server in August. Boehmert & Boehmert expects to finish the migration effort by October 2006.

“The users who have made the transition have already developed a good working relationship with the Open-Xchange Web Portal.” said Thomas Großer. “They already are enjoying the freedom to collaborate using from any computer having a Web Browser and an Internet connection. The modular architecture of the new Mail and Collaboration solution also simplifies future changes, such as the addition of new locations or the growth of existing locations. Changes of this type can be made at minimal cost to Boehmert & Boehmert.”

For more information, please visit www.boehmert.de.