SharePoint Replication Case Study.
SharePoint Replication for Dredging International
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Dredging International achieves 98% data compression with Infonic. Dredging International (DI) is a global leader in dredging and land reclamation.
DI’s high-tech fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers take leading roles in port construction from France to India, Singapore, Australia and Uruguay
DI was required to comply with ISM regulations including requirements for vessels to hold up-to-date Health and Safety documentation. The company deployed MS SharePoint as a central repository for this and other information.
To keep the information on board up to date, whilst minimising the data sent over Satellite, DI deployed Infonic Geo-Replicator software.
Minimising data costs
DI’s fleet operates in all corners of the globe. This means that to maintain up-to-date health and safety information on board each vessel, the MS SharePoint portal would have to be replicated over expensive satellite connections. This would normally entail very high data costs.
DI decided to deploy Infonic’s Geo-Replicator software to optimise data transfer between its onshore offices and ships at sea. Infonic software replicates any changes made to health and safety documentation on one server to the same document on every other server in the organisation every 12 hours. These changes are compressed to just 1/50th of original size before transmission.
Geo-Replicator delivers up to 98% compression of the data transmitted by DI over satellite, saving the company substantial costs. DI is now looking to deploy the software for the replication of other documents such as time sheets.
Choosing Geo-Replicator
“We first took the decision to deploy Infonic Geo-Replicator for replication of our Health and Safety documents. We are now looking at other possibilities for the technology in the future, like timesheets for example” said Peter Warnier, ICT Manager, Dredging International.
Benefits of Geo-Replicator
- Faster access to SharePoint in remote areas of the world.
- Access to more up-to-date SharePoint content at sea.
- Dramatic reduction in the cost of data transmission.
- Improved onboard access to decision making information.
- Improved organisational agility and responsiveness.
- Improved ISM compliance.
“Satellite communication costs were not the key concern at the time of choosing Infonic…’ says Peter Warnier, ‘…those savings just became apparent at the time of testing. The main purpose was the roll out of Share- Point to the vessels in an efficient manner.”
The Geo-Replicator solution
Infonic’s remote access enhancements for SharePoint give users in low and no bandwidth environments faster access to SharePoint 24/7.
Infonic Geo-Replicator employs patented compression and synchronization technology to accelerate remote access to SharePoint. Replication of content between servers provides information workers with LAN speed access to information anywhere in the world.
Infonic’s “Offline Networking” gives field workers on laptops 100% access to enterprise portal content 24/7 even when they’re not connected to the network. There is full offline search, 2-way updating of files and enforcement of access rights to preserve security.
Infonic Geo-Replicator dramatically reduces satellite data costs. It is the perfect solution for organisations that share data amongst remote or mobile locations worldwide.
Infonic enables Dredging International’s fleet to have up to date health and safety information anywhere in the world despite expensive low bandwidth satellite connections.