TAI CHONG CHEANG STEAMSHIP
SAVES HALF OF THE COST FOR E-MAIL / WEB SITE HOSTING FACILITIES WITH SUN-COBALT SERVER APPLIANCE

Customer

• Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co (S) Pte Ltd

Business Issues

• Implement office & remote E-mail facilities for staff
• Set up simple Web hosting for the company
• Minimize administrative support and expenses for the above
• Concern about licensing issues and costs when new users added

Business Results

• Fast deployment of e-mail services & Web hosting
• Total cost of ownership reduced by as much as half using Sun Cobalt[tm]Server Appliance
• Minimal support needed due to simplicity of implementation

Configuration
Sun Cobalt[tm] RaQXTR and prebundled solutions

Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co was looking for a low-cost but effective means to implement e-mail as well as Web hosting of its own Web site for its office in Singapore. With the help from Sun's reseller, DataWeb Pte Ltd and Sun Cobalt[tm] RaQXTR Server Appliance solution, the company successfully implemented the project. They were very impressed and satisfied with the fast deployment of the project as well as its simplicity and low cost ownership provided by the Sun Cobalt[tm] server appliance. Support and maintenance costs were practically negligible.

About the Company
Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co (S) Pte Ltd (TCCS) is a small-medium enterprise (SME). With its headquarters in Singapore, TCCS operates a fleet of ships and has regional offices in Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and Tokyo.

TCCS had embarked on an IT programme to implement e-mail and Web hosting of its own Web site for its office in Singapore. The e-mail solution it was looking for had to support office-email as well as remote access e-mail.

Like any other SME, it had to evaluate the total cost of ownership which not only includes the hardware and software solutions but also the support and upgrading costs. TCCS was concerned about hidden costs like client-licensing costs and the cost of adding new users.

Impressed with Cobalt[tm] Server
Appliance demo

In March, when Sun introduced the Sun Cobalt[tm] line of server appliances to its channels, DataWeb, one of Sun's resellers, gave a demonstration to TCCS at an exhibition. Its EDP officer was impressed and convinced that acquiring a server appliance which bundles all the necessary services would be the ideal solution.

He immediately notified three other top management staff including his CEO - Kenneth Koo and arranged for another demonstration by DataWeb. Convinced that they were getting value for their investment, TCCS confirmed the order within three short weeks.

"We were particularly impressed with the fast deployment, simplicity and low cost of ownership that the Sun Cobalt[tm] server appliance offered." said CEO, Kenneth Koo. "We saved as much as twice the investment needed which would have been incurred from using alternative thick-client solutions"

Cobalt[tm] features that benefited TCCS
TCCS bought a Sun Cobalt[tm] RaQXTR with DataWeb providing the necessary implementation services. The project was successfully implemented. The benefits that TCCS gained were as follows:

1. Hassle-free E-mail and Webmail (for remote users) implementation as access was based on using a regular Web browser, rather than dedicated "thick" client software.
2. Successful Web Hosting out of a single box as all the necessary services like firewall, caching, browser-based user administration, etc. were bundled.
3. Cost half of the investment as compared to alternative solutions that were considered.
   TCCS was evaluating Novell Groupwise and Microsoft Exchange 2000, both of which required investments in server, configuration and implementation costs as well as client licenses (50 user license).
4. Minimal hassle for administrative support and maintenance as compared to Groupwise and Exchange since usage was based on any regular Web browser. This is regardless of client systems being used.
5. Cost of maintenance and support were negligible. Unlike other solutions, TCCS did not have to be concerned over licensing issues nor costs when adding new users as the Sun Cobalt[tm] server appliance did not require end-user license costs. Nor did it require support at the client end.

After the Singapore implementation, the company will also be looking at a similar implementation for its Hong Kong office. In fact, the current implementation will enable TCCS to easily scale to support their regional offices where there may not be IT support staff.

Price comparison between Cobalt and others

(Costs are based on published selling prices,April 2001)

© 2001. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Cobalt[tm] are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc in the U.S. and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.