The Client
Virgin Active purchased Holmes Place in November 2006 and as a result the number of clubs they controlled rose 300% from 24 to 72. Virgin Active prides itself on making exercise accessible to all in order to bring about positive change.

The Holmes Place buyout presented Virgin Active with its own opportunities for positive change but also created a number of challenges, the main IT challenge being the migration to a single e-mail system.



Realising the benefits
Following an acquisition it is essential that communication channels are opened up across the new enlarged business to support the integration effort. The creation of a single email infrastructure with a single address book, calendar functionality and easy to use web-based access has assisted in unifying the organisation.

This transition was carried out by Redstone consultants and a fully documented solution handed over to Virgin Active. By outsourcing the complex setup and migration process the VirginActive IT team was able to concentrate on other integration related projects where their knowledge of the business and infrastructure was critical.

• The new solution was deployed on time, to budget and minimal disruption to the business.
• All users have quickly adapted to the new system throughout all clubs aided by the intuitive Outlook Web Access interface.
• Exchange 2007 has delivered a single email system and single corporate contact list containing every user across the group enabling effective communication.
• Virgin Active has quickly taken over the day-to-day operation of the system with the knowledge that Redstone back up is available if required.
• Outlook web access has enabled users to access their email from any PC.
• Room for growth and scope for installation of unified messaging.
  

The Challenge
As is common following major acquisitions, some of Virgin Active’s infrastructure and systems were insufficient to meet the future demands of the combined company. The e-mail systems were a case in point. Neither Virgin Active’s old and unsupported e-mail system nor the Holmes Place Exchange 2003 system were considered capable of supporting the volume of messaging required by the company going forward.

Virgin Active’s IT department took the initial steps in the complex process of consolidating the two legacy systems onto a new Exchange 2007 environment, but the complexity and scale of the integration, combined with the demands of day-to-day work and other integration projects, led Virgin Active to seek assistance.

 

“We had realised the business critical advantages of Exchange 2007 and were committed to working towards one system for uniformity and integration by mid-April 2007,” said Daniel Booth, Virgin Active UK IT manager.

The implementation of Exchange 2007 is not as straightforward as other Microsoft installs. Virgin Active appointed Redstone Managed Solutions whose Microsoft expertise and skilled manpower would ensure smooth and successful e-mail integration within required timescales. Redstone Managed Solutions is a national provider of IT and communications solutions, and had an existing relationship with Virgin Active as a trusted supplier of anti-virus software, consultancy services and storage solutions.

“Redstone had already worked on a number of projects for us very effectively; we knew the company had the necessary skills and resources for the e-mail integration project,” said Booth. “A tender from an alternative potential supplier had been reviewed, but it lacked the clear insight and degree of expertise Redstone Managed Solutions demonstrated.”

Virgin Active was using EXIM, an open source email system running on a UNIX server which, at the time, held about 1,000 mailboxes. Company-wide, there were
about 2,300 users.

The Solution
Redstone’s solution was designed to address immediate integration needs and to allow for growth and development.
It involved:

• A comprehensive health check of the existing infrastructure to ensure it could support the mail system
• Inclusion of Holmes Place contacts in the Virgin Active mail system, allowing Virgin Active to message Holmes Place employees directly
• Migration of all Outlook clients in the Milton Keynes head office and Barbican support office from IMAP4 to MAPI
• Configuration of Outlook Web Access so as to be accessed securely internally and over the internet
• Migration of emails from the legacy systems to Exchange 2007
• Collation of information provided by Virgin Active from disparate data sources and importing of this data into the Exchange System so that selected user details would be available within the Global Address List, for example club location, department, job title, phone number
  

Redstone Managed Solutions devised a strategy to roll out the migration project in two phases to ensure that, despite the, complexities, there was little impact on the day-to-day running of the business.

The first phase involved migrating Virgin from Exim to Exchange 2007 and configuring that system to communicate seamlessly with the Holmes Place organisation. The second phase migrated Holmes Place into Virgin Active’s Exchange 2007 organisation to provide a single messaging system on a consolidated infrastructure.

The Outcome
The Milton Keynes headquarters and Barbican support office are now standardised on Outlook. Web access is used everywhere else in the company. Through the new system Virgin Active’s eight directors who frequently travel internationally can be connected anywhere, enabling the business to operate in the most streamlined and efficient way.

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