In the case, we will describe how an IT startup implemented eXpress, first as a secure tool for employee communication, and then, as the business grew, it began to be used for external communications.
Where did the client come from
In 2020, the startup business HPC Park, which had not yet entered the market, contacted eXpress. The company operates in the high-performance computing segment: an IaaS platform for working with artificial intelligence (machine learning of neural networks), HPC clusters, IT integration and everything related to supercomputers and big data. At the time of choosing a corporate platform, the company’s priority was internal communication of employees.
What problems needed to be solved
When choosing a product, the customer was guided by three main requests:
- Information security. HPC Park employees work with trade secrets, so confidential data circulates in chats - technical details of products, financial indicators, internal roadmap, etc. They cannot allow this data to reach third-party servers.
- A single standard of communication instead of a kaleidoscope of instant messengers. Before switching to a corporate product, employees met on Zoom and communicated in WhatsApp or Telegram chats. Everyone liked Zoom, and the company subscribed. There was no uniform standard in correspondence - employees used all the instant messengers they were used to in life, and information could get lost.
- The application interface is familiar and understandable to employees. The more a corporate platform is similar to WhatsApp or Telegram, the less time it takes employees to adapt. The company chose a messenger that combined a classic set of functions, and the bonus was the presence of features of several foreign tools, such as threads, reactions, stickers.
eXpress turned out to be easy to communicate, convenient to work with, and easy to exchange sensitive information.
Project implementation stages
At the start of cooperation, eXpress offered:
1. Installation of the platform on the company’s own servers. Information is always under control.
2. All information security crypto tools: end-to-end encryption, secure application container. Messages and media are encrypted and cannot be read or viewed by anyone else.
3. Control user access to certain files. If the employee is not an accountant or a top manager, he will not be able to download or view the report.
4. Prohibition on saving and exporting data to third-party applications. If a document is confidential, it cannot be downloaded or sent to another application.
5. Enhanced confidentiality mode – similar to familiar secret chats.
6. eXpress bot platform. Using bots, employees coordinated documents, configured the transfer of notifications from mail to instant messenger, and solved dozens of other problems.
With entry into the market, a new task appeared - communication with external users. After a whole year of using the messenger only for internal communication, the startup began to actively contact clients. Then external communication was transferred to eXpress. Some customers have already used the messenger; HPC Park helped some customers install the platform themselves. Communication between different organizations was possible thanks to the eXpress federation - a unified network of corporate servers. There was no need to implement additional tools, and all communication took place in one corporate platform.
Results
Before the introduction of the corporate product, the company used Zoom for video conferencing, communication took place in WhatsApp or Telegram chats. As a result, it was difficult to keep track of where important documents went and there was a risk of information leakage. As a result, HPC Park chose a unified communication platform and switched to eXpress.
Key advantages of the eXpress platform that the client highlights:
- The application is installed on the company’s own servers - HPC Park fully controls the information on them
- Messages and media are encrypted so third parties cannot access them from the outside
- Centralized management of employee accounts that are created and deleted by the administrator. Any company employee can find a colleague in the application in a couple of clicks and quickly add him to work chats
- Control user access to specific files
- Ability to use corporate search. Thanks to this function, any information over the years of work can be found in work chats, even closed
- Prohibition of saving and exporting data to third-party applications
