The Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) is used by organizations as a synchronization protocol to allow mobile users to access email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. It is based on XML and works on HTTP and HTTPS so data can be accessed even when users are off-line. In an environment where BYOD initiatives are rapidly becoming the norm and mobile devices a critical component of an organization's workforce, the health of the EAS is extremely important. To ensure this platform is functioning properly, BoxTone, a company that monitors mobile devices, announced it is making a free service available so organizations can identify issues that can potentially degrade mobile performance and affect users. The free service is called the BoxTone Exchange ActiveSync HealthCheck.
The service is based on the BoxTone for Exchange ActiveSync software, which is designed to allow enterprises and managed service providers (MSPs) to monitor and support their end-to-end EAS environments with a mobile service management solution delivering complete mobile infrastructure visibility. IT and support teams can now easily and quickly find and fix problems that are hidden in their EAS deployments before it affects users throughout the whole system.
The HealthCheck is able to identify potential problems by providing a snapshot analysis of client access servers (CAS) logs over 24-hour period by identifying hundreds of potential problems before they cause serious harm and take down groups of users and whole environments. When the analysis is complete, BoxTone makes recommendations to optimize and improve the system based on a full diagnostic report, review of key metrics and findings.
"Mobile is no longer a starter project for companies; it's now a de facto standard requirement for productivity with users expecting always-on quality-of-service and experience. For the maturing mobile enterprise environment, Exchange teams now have a free HealthCheck to get started and a commercial software solution for the long term to pre-emptively address issues before they impact the workforce," said Brian Reed, Chief Product Officer of BoxTone.
Some problems that remain undiscovered by organizations include:
- Misbehaving devices and/or email clients that generate high load against Exchange servers
- Users with particularly high command volumes that result in system degradation
- High error counts for individual users or devices that result in a crashed environment
- Unusual mismatches between ping and sync commands that indicate device issues
- Problems that drain device batteries while driving up load on your Exchange server
According to the company, organizations with widescale, mission-critical deployments that rely on Microsoft's EAS can cut the number of service-impacting mobile incidents by 30 percent; boost first-call resolution rate for mobile issues by 70 percent; reduce mobile escalations from service desk to Exchange administrators by 70 percent; and lower the mean-time-to-resolution of EAS problems by 70 percent.
BoxTone is demonstrating this solution live at Amplify Microsoft Exchange Conference in Austin, Texas.
Edited by
Cassandra Tucker
