The Linux journey in Eicher started about a year ago, we piloted out a solution based on the Slackware distribution of Linux (2.0.30) and Apache Web Server. Our setup was an NT based LAN with Win 95 as the client. So we provided ``e-mail and internet browsing'' on the desktop of the end user. For e-mail the sendmail daemon is used with the protocol being UUCP.
E-mail are "parked'' with a service provider who has a 7x24 presence on the Web. The reliability and stability of the Linux server has led to the spawning of this solution to the following locations within Eicher:

Corporate Office -New Delhi
Tractors Plant - Faridabad
Eicher International Office -New Delhi
Eicher Research & Dev Center - Ballabhgarh
Eicher Motors Regional Office - New Delhi
Eicher Motors Plant - Pithampur (MP)
Eicher Demm (Gears) - Parwanoo (HP)
Ramon and Demm - Thane (Bombay)
Royal Enfield Motors - Chennai
Span Eicher Designs - Chennai
Royal Enfield Motors - Jaipur
Eicher Tractors - Alwar

In the above list at least 3 locations can be termed as really remote and yet the system works wonderfully well. The total no of users across Eicher Group is close to a 1000 mark. We have cut our recurring costs by 15 lakhs at a conservative estimate and the fixed cost of investing in something like Microsoft Exchange Server at all locations (Client licenses taken into account the fixed cost would be range of another 10 lakhs) our users have trebled... mail traffic is increasing exponentially... responsiveness of Eicher as an organisation has increased... we are now in the
process of piloting with ISDN to increase our bandwidth on the same Linux Box. Also there is a Web based frontend for e-mail administration which makes life simpler. Another highlight is that when an end user get transferred from one location to another his e-mail address doesn't change.

A Corporate success story all the way...
Girish Panjwani
(All trademarks acknowledged)

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