
Case Study: Ginsburg Development Corporation
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As a real estate developer serving a large geographic area, GDC creates
mobile offices at each development site where site planners, engineers, architects and project managers
are stationed for the duration of the project. A secure, cost effective network connection must be created
for each remote site so that employees can communicate with the home office and share files with colleagues.
Email attachment of documents is challenging due to the file size while creation of a VPN is expensive and
complex to set up for each site.
Ginsburg chose Mangosoft’s Mangomind file sharing service because it provides a
secure, easy way for workers onsite to share documents with the home office. The Mangomind file sharing service
in tandem with a local DSL connection provides a cost effective alternative to a VPN, and can be set up quickly
and easily. Mobile workers do not require any special training because Mangomind operates just like their
familiar Windows PC and both remote site workers and the home office always have access to the most up-to-date
information about the project.
At GDC, Director of MIS, Tom Gora is challenged to quickly set up a
secure communication link with the company’s mobile workforce. Often within days of project approval, a project
team is dispatched to temporary offices on site to begin the development process.
"Our onsite project team needs immediate access to information that resides
on our internal network," said Gora. "Due to the nature of our hybrid Windows NT/Novell wide area network, it
is complex and costly to set up VPN access from the remote site. Many times we only have a few days notification
from when the project is approved to when our team is onsite. With Mangomind, we are able to simply gain access
to an inexpensive DSL connection and use the Mangomind service to allow our project team to access and share
files with the home office."
Many times the project team members need to collaborate on architectural and
engineering drawings, or other information that when saved electronically, result in large files that are
inefficient to distribute via an email attachment. Additionally, the team requires that electronic files are
distributed securely when distributed over the Internet.
"Some of the files our project teams work with are very large CAD drawings. In
some cases we’ve had to set up an FTP site to manage the larger files because the file is simply too large to
attach and distribute efficiently via email," said Gora. "With Mangomind’s compression technology, we can
easily move the files onto the Mangomind drive where everyone can access them. We also have the comfort that
the files are protected by industry standard 128-bit encryption and don’t have to use additional mechanisms
to ensure file security."
Because of the mobility of their workforce, it is very important for GDC
to implement communications systems and processes that are very easy to use and require little or no
training. Tom Gora was particularly interested in Mangomind because it was Windows-based and the service
could be very easily installed in the field and his remote employees wouldn’t require any additional training
to operate.
"Mangomind is a model of simplicity," he said. "It is very easy to set-up
and easy for our employees to use, whether in the corporate office or onsite."
About GDC
Ginsburg Development Corporation (GDC) is a real estate developer serving the
greater New York metropolitan area. Tom Gora is Director of MIS and responsible for setting up communications
between remote, temporary offices and the home office.
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