Wenner-Gren Institute
Swedish University uses IMail Server to distribute life-saving information
The Wenner-Gren Institute is one of the largest institutes in Stockholm
University's science facility, with more than 100 employees, plus some 20 visiting scientists. The Institute is responsible for teaching and research in cell biology, developmental biology, immunology, and physiology. Technology plays a large part in how it carries out its research and communicates with other research facilities worldwide.
In May 2001, the Institute purchased Ipswitch’s Web-based e-mail system – IMail Server – through local distributor, Swanhome Distribution AB, to better communicate both within the Institute and with external research facilities.
A Scandinavian distributor of Ipswitch products, including award-winning IMail Server, WS_FTP, and WhatsUp Gold, Swanhome was founded in 1990. Originally specializing in utility and anti-virus software, it now covers a complete software portfolio in the networking, Internet, and security areas. Its mission is to secure the profitability of the IT investment of its customers by bringing knowledge about new technology to the market. This is not just a question of product availability and price competitiveness. For customers to benefit from their investment, choosing the right software solution is essential. Cost of ownership is not just a matter of getting the software to run properly, it is also about choosing and implementing the right software solutions.
By working very closely with Ipswitch and other key vendors, Swanhome understands the products it sells. It tests and plans every deployment very carefully and chooses the right approach depending on complexity. That’s how Swanhome knew that IMail would be a good fit at the Institute. At Stockholm University, the science faculty places a heavy emphasis on the problems of basic research. The many adjacent departments provide an environment where the dynamic exchange of ideas for direct scientific collaboration becomes second nature. In addition, this layout encourages interaction between students and staff from different disciplines for the continuous development of methodologies in order to further their research. This is where IMail Server comes into its own.
“The need for e-mail is very important to the way that we work,” explained Richard Ekström, research engineer. “It enables us to exchange ideas and findings with other scientists throughout the world. Internally, we access and distribute valuable information for analytical processes with other departments and scientists.” IMail Server is not only utilized by Ekström and his team, but also by the administrative staff for everything from registering new students to accounting procedures.
When Ekström was first looking into new e-mail servers, the idea to use
IMail Server came from an unlikely source. “I had used Ipswitch’s WS_FTP and liked it very much, so I posted a question about IMail Server on an independent forum of computer experts and got back a lot of positive feedback on the product,” he said.
“I didn’t find many similar systems that were worth evaluating. Microsoft Exchange was too expensive and Outlook wasn’t a hit here. I did look into Linux and Sendmail but I’m not that proficient with Linux and preferred to stick with the NT platform; IMail Server really was the perfect choice,” explained Ekström.
By building on its core features of remote administration, anti-spamming support, Web messaging, and security, the latest version of the software – IMail Server 7.0 – offers new Web calendaring. In addition, SSL authentication policies create a more secure method of sending and receiving e-mail and enhanced Web messaging provides administrators with the ability to view real-time server activity, cutting down on spam and enhancing capacity planning.
“Through implementing Ipswitch’s IMail Server, we have been able to
communicate both quickly and reliably which were the two main goals I wanted to achieve through an e-mail server,” said Ekström. “I feel more comfortable knowing our e-mail server is reliable. The users are pleased as they experience faster downloading of mail and can access their accounts through the Web. The e-mail part of everyday work now runs smoothly and unobtrusively, and so fades into the background, which is the way it should be.”