Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Sharp Corporation delivers an ever-evolving product line that includes revolutionary multifunction business products, renewable energy-creating solar panels, energy-efficient televisions, and LED lighting. With a globally dispersed workforce, the company relies heavily on audio and video conferencing to help bring teams together to develop and sell products. To provide a better solution for ad hoc collaboration that also included presence awareness, instant messaging, desktop sharing, and enterprise voice, Sharp is planning to deploy Microsoft Lync Server 2010. With this technology, the company expects to improve communication between teams while also reducing costs for hardware, travel, and phone charges.

1. Microsoft Lync Server 2010
Customer Solution Case Study
Sharp Corporation Strengthens Employee
Interaction with Communications Solution
Overview “With Lync on the desktop and an HD camera,
Country or Region: Japan
Industry: Electronics employees can have impromptu video conferencing
sessions from any location as necessary.”
Customer Profile
Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Sharp Kazumi Yoshikawa, General Manager, IT Infrastructure,
Corporation is known worldwide for its IT System Planning & Development Center, Sharp Corporation
unique, innovative electronic products
and solutions for home and business. It Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Sharp Corporation delivers an
employs 54,700 people in Japan and
overseas.
ever-evolving product line that includes revolutionary
multifunction business products, renewable energy-creating
Business Situation
With a globally dispersed workforce,
solar panels, energy-efficient televisions, and LED lighting. With
Sharp wanted a more comprehensive a globally dispersed workforce, the company relies heavily on
communications solution for employees
that would enable them to interact in real
audio and video conferencing to help bring teams together to
time. develop and sell products. To provide a better solution for ad
Solution
hoc collaboration that also included presence awareness, instant
Sharp is planning to deploy Microsoft messaging, desktop sharing, and enterprise voice, Sharp is
Lync Server 2010 to provide more robust
ad hoc collaboration and online meeting
planning to deploy Microsoft Lync Server 2010. With this
capabilities in addition to presence technology, the company expects to improve communication
awareness, instant messaging, desktop
sharing, and enterprise voice.
between teams while also reducing costs for hardware, travel,
and phone charges.
Benefits
 Improved communications
 Reduced costs

2. Situation products in development,” explains Kazumi
Founded in 1912, Sharp Corporation Yoshikawa, General Manager, IT
contributes to society by making unique Infrastructure, IT System Planning &
electronic products that meet the new Development Center at Sharp Corporation.
needs of each decade. From the first solar- “Our corporate sales team also uses video
powered calculator to the largest conferencing to meet with field sales
commercially available LCD monitor, from representatives around the world.”
copiers to solar cells, from air purifiers to
steam ovens, and from microelectronics to In addition to supporting high video
microwave ovens, Sharp covers all of the quality, the company wanted a solution
needs of the contemporary lifestyle. It that would support interaction between
employs 54,700 people around the world, team members through capabilities like
and it earned ¥27.5 billion (U.S.$334 desktop and application sharing. If
million) as of March 2010 fiscal-year end. employees could be more productive
working with prototypes and design
To expand its distribution of products and illustrations over video, they could reduce
services globally, Sharp needed a the number of times they had to travel to
communications solution that would help meet with remote team members. In
employees communicate better in real time addition, the company wanted to make it
to complete projects and resolve problems easier for employees to hold ad hoc video
quickly. For voice communications, the conferences from the desktop. Sharp also
company relies on an IP private-branch wanted an easier way for its help desk to
exchange (PBX) system from a domestic offer training and support for the system
vendor. For video conferencing, employees that employees use to create new products.
use solutions from Tandberg. Sharp also
deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Solution
email messaging and collaboration After investigating solutions from several
software. To provide instant messaging and vendors, Sharp decided to deploy a pilot
presence capabilities, the company program for Microsoft Lync Server 2010.
deployed Microsoft Office Communications Lync Server provides enhanced versions of
Server 2007. the communications capabilities provided
by Microsoft Office Communications Server
At its offices in Japan, Sharp wanted to 2007 R2—presence, instant messaging,
provide more effective conferencing and robust conferencing, and enterprise voice—
enterprise voice capabilities both to as well as improvements in topology,
increase efficiency and to help reduce deployment, and management tools. At its
costs. So employees could communicate in offices in Japan, Sharp is developing plans
real time, the company wanted to to roll out instant messaging, presence, and
implement a solution that offered ad hoc collaboration and online meeting
capabilities such as presence awareness capabilities. It will also consider enterprise
and instant messaging. It was particularly voice as an optional telephony service for
interested in a solution that would support employees.
high-definition (HD) video conferencing for
employees who work together on For the deployment, Sharp is considering a
geographically dispersed teams. “Our standard pool configuration in a virtual
teams use video conferencing to display environment. By deploying Lync Server in a
and discuss prototypes and illustrations of virtual environment, the company can

3. “We think the online reduce the amount of required hardware employees communicate better in real
and make it easier to maintain the system time. It can also reduce costs by
meeting features in Lync without interruption. consolidating its conferencing services and
encouraging employees to use the peer-to-
will help us revitalize With Microsoft Lync 2010, Sharp employees peer and enterprise voice features to make
communication across have a single, unified client to access calls through Lync.
capabilities such as instant messaging,
the organization, conferencing, and desktop sharing. Improved Communication
Employees can view presence information “We think the online meeting features in
because time and to see if a colleague is available and then Lync will help us revitalize communication
geography are no longer initiate a chat session or phone call with a across the organization, because time and
single click. They can easily share a desktop geography are no longer factors,” says
factors.” or open a whiteboard session for more Yoshikawa. With Lync on the desktop,
interactive meetings. Because some Lync Sharp employees will have more options
Kazumi Yoshikawa, General Manager, IT
Infrastructure, IT System Planning & Server capabilities are accessible through for communicating with colleagues all over
Development Center, Sharp Corporation the Microsoft Office Outlook messaging the world. To get questions answered
and collaboration client, employees can quickly, they can use instant messaging,
also view presence or start an instant and if they need to have more discussion,
messaging session without having to switch they can easily move from an instant
to the Lync client. messaging session to a phone call with just
one click.
To support ad hoc HD video conferencing
from the desktop, the company is Employees are also no longer constrained
evaluating the Microsoft LifeCam Cinema by location when it comes to video
HD video cameras to use with the Lync conferencing. “With Lync on the desktop
2010 client. Now, employees will have the and an HD camera, employees can have
option of booking a room for larger impromptu video conferencing sessions
meetings, or holding one-on-one or ad hoc from any location as necessary,” says
video conferences from their computers no Yoshikawa. The HD quality also makes it
matter where they are located. With Lync, easier for people to see more intricate
employees can easily open a desktop or prototypes and illustrations.
application session during a video
conference to share illustrations, or open a For larger, more formal meetings,
whiteboarding session to take notes or employees can still use the video
develop new plans. Help-desk operators conference rooms, but with Lync sessions
can also use video conferencing and they become more interactive. The meeting
desktop sharing to train or support presenter can easily open a whiteboarding
employees who need assistance using or session to capture notes and ideas, and
troubleshooting issues with computer- participants can share their desktops or
aided design (CAD) software. CAD applications to display designs. “We
expect that people will use conferencing
Benefits more frequently to communicate because it
Although Sharp has experienced benefits is so easy to access through Lync. They can
from its Office Communications Server also share information on the desktop
2007 deployment, the company uses Lync while they talk,” says Motoko Matsufuji,
Server to provide a more comprehensive Junior Manager, Network Planning
communication solution that helps

4. For More Information Department, IT System Planning & Microsoft Lync Server 2010
For more information about Microsoft Development Center at Sharp Corporation. Microsoft Lync Server 2010 ushers in a new
products and services, call the Microsoft connected user experience that transforms
Sales Information Center at (800) 426- Reduced Costs every communication into an interaction
9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Sharp expects to reduce costs in a number that is more collaborative and engaging
Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- of areas with its Lync Server deployment. and that is accessible from anywhere. For
2495. Customers in the United States and “With the HD video support, people can IT, the benefits are equally powerful, with a
Canada who are deaf or hard-of-hearing more easily hold meetings with sense of highly secure and reliable communications
can reach Microsoft text telephone presence and see product designs on solution that works with existing tools and
(TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234. screen, so we expect to reduce travel,” systems for easier management, lower cost
Outside the 50 United States and explains Matsufuji. of ownership, smoother deployment and
Canada, please contact your local migration, and greater choice and
Microsoft subsidiary. To access To talk to colleagues inside the office, flexibility.
information using the World Wide Web, employees can place calls using Lync
go to: instead of their desk phones. For For more information about Microsoft Lync
www.microsoft.com employees who have enterprise voice Server 2010, go to:
capabilities, they can also use Lync to call www.microsoft.com/lync
For more information about Sharp colleagues, partners, or vendors outside the
Corporation products and services, visit office. Employees who travel can use Lync
the website at: to call the office, which helps reduce
www.sharp-world.com mobile phone charges.
By deploying Lync in a virtual environment,
Sharp also avoided additional hardware
costs. It can support its environment and
even provide redundancy without having to
deploy extra hardware.
Software and Services
 Microsoft Office
− Microsoft Lync 2010
 Microsoft Server Product Portfolio
− Microsoft Lync Server 2010
− Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Enterprise Edition
This case study is for informational purposes only.
MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published January 2011