About the customer
The customer is a small mechanical engineering company with offices and a production hall. The workforce comprises around 10 people – including design engineers, CAD designers and mechanical engineers.
Requirements
Server replacement
Replacement of the outdated Small Business Server 2011 with a modern solution running a current operating system and full backup.
Mail server
Replacement of the old Exchange server with a modern, low-maintenance cloud solution.
Network & Wi-Fi
A high-performing, stable network with comprehensive Wi-Fi coverage in the hall and offices.
VoIP & secure access
Migration of the phone system to VoIP and secure external access to the server via MUVPN.
PROXYTEC’s solution and services
Mail server
The customer opted for Microsoft 365. We set up a new tenant, created all mailboxes and migrated the e-mails from the old Exchange server without any gaps.
Network and Wi-Fi
The originally flat network was structured through segmentation into dedicated VLANs (servers, clients, telephony, backup, Wi-Fi, guest Wi-Fi, management devices) and secured behind a firewall. Managed switches control the data traffic. Two Wi-Fi access points with ultra-range antennas provide reliable, comprehensive coverage in the production hall and offices. Staff access servers and applications securely on the move via MUVPN.
Server
The outdated Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 was replaced by a new physical server. Microsoft Hyper-V serves as the virtualisation platform, with VMs for the domain controller, file server, phone system and application server. The customer opted for a 5-year care pack with next-business-day on-site replacement. PROXYTEC also keeps suitable replacement servers and critical hardware components in stock at all times.
Phone system
The previous ISDN system was replaced by a modern software-based VoIP phone system – including seamless number porting to a lower-cost provider with no downtime.
Conclusion
Today the customer has a small, cost-effective yet highly stable and effective system environment. Moving from a maintenance-intensive in-house Exchange server to Microsoft 365 has significantly reduced complexity and operating costs – while increasing security, availability and flexibility.