CASTLEWOOD CASE HISTORY
Back to Case Studies Castlewood Systems, Inc., a high-tech start up in Pleasanton, Calif., was making full use of a corporate Web site to test the market's reaction and identify
prospects even before its first product was shipped to customers. Dave Swanson, director of marketing, pointed out that Castlewood markets removable disk storage units targeted at the broad PC and
Macintosh marketplace. "A new company must maximize its resources. To get the word out to a market as large as ours, no tool is as effective as a Web site, and I can't think of any that is as simple and
cost-effective to implement. A Web site was part of our marketing plan almost from the beginning," he said. Founded in 1996 by data storage expert Syad Iftikar, also a founder of Syquest and Seagate
Technology, Castlewood Systems has developed the first 3.5-inch removable disk storage system using state-of-the-art magnetoresistive (MR) read/write head technology. The new units offer double the capacity, much
better performance and a lower price than equivalent hardware from competitors. Get your Web site up and running early Castlewood uses FreeGate's Multi-services Internet Gateway to maintain a secure,
permanent connection to the Internet and the World Wide Web. "Establishing a Web site is an easy and economical process with the FreeGate system which has everything you need except the communication
line," Swanson said. "From our Web site, we gather a surprising amount of detailed information to use in our product planning and marketing messages. It behooves a new company to get a Web site up and
running early-on -- in our case, even before the product was available." Swanson was directed to the FreeGate solution by Pacific Bell. "We approached Pacific Bell about leasing a high-speed digital
T1 connection to the Internet, and also for their suggestions about hosting a Web site," Swanson said. "While a small start-up might consider hiring a service provider to host their Web site, that
wouldn't work for us. Because we were still in the process of finalizing product design and marketing messages, information changed regularly. We needed control over our own Web site to make sure it was always up
to date." On the other hand, a new company cannot afford to dissipate its resources by taking on new management tasks. Pacific Bell recommended the newly introduced FreeGate system which incorporates
Web, e-mail, router and firewall services in a single unit. Designed for small and medium-size companies, the FreeGate product eliminates the burden of integrating, managing and maintaining the separate hardware
and software components typically required to make an Internet connection and host a Web site. Web visitors describe needs, wishes and even budgets When Castlewood Systems introduced the new disk drive
at Comdex, visits to the Web site rocketed to as many as 7,000 per day. "The remarkable thing is that well over 90 percent of those visitors registered themselves," Swanson said. "We not only
identified names, job titles and contact information, we collected detailed competitive information, as well. "Because of the structure of the registration form, visitors could describe their needs and
wishes for removable storage, and their opinions about competitors. Comments were surprisingly candid and complete, in some cases including purchasing budgets and plans. This information has been invaluable to us
as we choose features to incorporate or highlight in our product, and as we organize and manage our sales operations." Swanson said that information poured in through the Web site that would have cost a
lot of time and money to collect by any other means. The information has helped Castlewood Systems identify a select group of "early adopters" with whom the company hopes to place initial versions of
the new storage drive. These customers will provide a core of experienced and authoritative users who can effectively evaluate the new technology and seed the market with "word of mouth" support.
E-mail and intranet safe from intrusions The Web site is only one benefit of the FreeGate system, Swanson said. The firm has implemented an e-mail system as well through the FreeGate system supporting
both its headquarters in Pleasanton and an engineering facility in nearby Milpitas. An intranet is also in the works which will let departments share useful corporate information, while employees will be able to
access information about such things as benefits and activities. Swanson pointed out that this can be done safely because the FreeGate system incorporates a firewall that isolates the corporate network from
Web-site visitors, minimizing the threat of unwanted intrusions. Setting up Web and e-mail connections was effortless, according to Swanson. "When Pacific Bell installed our partial T1 line, the FreeGate
service people arrived immediately after. It took no more than two hours to connect and log-on the FreeGate system. After about four hours we had established e-mail accounts for 45 people and were up and
running." Plug-and-play compatibility Swanson said he particularly liked the fact that the FreeGate system was fully compatible with everything the company had on its desktops. "We were using
Windows 95 with Microsoft Explorer as a Web browser and Microsoft Mail for e-mail. Although the FreeGate system comes with a browser and e-mail server for those who want it, our existing systems plugged right in
without a hitch." The FreeGate solution is the focal point of ambitious future plans at Castlewood Systems. "I'm convinced that Web visitors respond to a sophisticated interactive interface. Our plans
are to make use of audio and video that will talk directly to visitors. Eventually, we want to provide real time feedback to queries and requests, and begin to implement on-line commerce so customers can place
orders through the Web," Swanson said. Swanson also plans to implement an extranet that will link Castlewood to suppliers and customers, streamlining procurement, inventory and production scheduling for
maximum efficiency. The security of a virtual private network (VPN) is a key element of such a critical function. FreeGate's VPN software will dramatically reduce the complexity of setting up secure VPNs by
providing a single, simplified point of administration from which common services -- e-mail, name directories, Web access, firewalls, file sharing and access control -- are delivered across multiple locations as
if on a single local network. "By leveraging the capabilities of the World Wide Web, we expect to grow fast without straining our limited resources. I think that's the business model for successful
companies in the future. The FreeGate system is an important component of this plan. The system is designed to scale with company growth and, because of its modular standards-based architecture, FreeGate can
exploit advances in technology as they occur to increase performance and add features." |
