Oil/petrochemicals Case Study 1
Contents Introduction 03 Background 04 Selection 06 Solution 08 Benefits 11 2
Introduction Since April 2012 our client, a major company in the petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil sector, has been relying on Managed Networks for the IT and support that keeps its business moving forward. Key challenges Working against a background of culture change Tight timelines for the project Managing expectations of clients and internal stakeholders Solution A VMWare ESX cluster with shared storage to provide highly-available virtual machine hosting; Onsite server instances for Microsoft Exchange, file services, domain control and printing, anti-virus updates; Local backup of data for individual file recovery and time travel; A monthly site visit for a full day to carry out proactive maintenance, work with users and execute small changes; Comprehensive unmetered ITIL service desk with full remote support and 24/7 cover for business critical issues; 24/7 remote monitoring including daily proactive backup verification; Dedicated technical and client service account managers, plus specific provision for MiFID-compliant IT governance; Highly-responsive service desk SLAs plus unique nocharge callout warranty. Benefits Satisfied business timescales; High levels of scalability and resilience for 120+ users; Enhances remote working capabilities; Enables delivery of new services; Improves capability to support business; Proactive support identifies and prevents future problems; Dedicated Technical Account Management; Technology advice. 3
Background 4
In 2011, a restructured organisation in the petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil sector realised that it would need a secure and resilient network capable of scaling up and down rapidly to support its forecasted growth with minimal disruption. In addition, it would have to replace its existing Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) and associated Microsoft licensing. First to third-line support would be carried out in-house, while the chosen service provider would provide fourth-line support and escalation. The challenge was not just to implement an IT infrastructure that would be fit for purpose. The organisation also had to define its requirements, look for potential providers, assess them, make a final decision on the right partner to implement and support the project and have the whole infrastructure up and running by 1 April 2012 with a right first time solution. 5
Selection 6
All too often, obtaining business agreement and budget sign-off can present significant delays. In this case, however, although the IT requirements were driven by middle management rather than from the very top, there was no issue in obtaining buy-in. As a greenfield IT site, there was no need to directly replace existing technology other than a SBS; the timescales had been laid down by the initial restructuring; and the business driver was clear: without the IT in place, the new business model would simply be unable to function. However straightforward it was to obtain approval for the project, there was a significant challenge elsewhere in the shape of an incredibly tight timescale. Having selected Managed Networks as the supplier, there was just a two-month window between the project commencing, and the non-negotiable deadline. The company s IT Infrastructure Engineer (ITIE) explains the reasons behind the final decision. We had no existing relationships that we felt were appropriate, so we looked at a number of alternatives. What struck us about Managed Networks right from the outset was the way in which its professionalism showed through in its response. That ended up as one of the key factors that informed our decision to go with them. Another key element in the project was the location of the IT, which would be based in the centre of London. Managed Networks is a national IT support company, but its local presence and ability to deliver rapid response support made it an ideal choice as provider. Nevertheless, geographic capabilities were not the only reason for the choice. The ITIE comments: Managed Networks was able to demonstrate the right balance between price and performance, and that made it an attractive proposition for us. It also turned out to be extremely prompt and proactive in everything that it did, even during the initial engagement. In particular, Managed Networks was rapidly able to show that it understood what needed to be achieved: Managed Networks had an outstanding engineer in place, who we found was able to achieve all that we wanted, he comments. 7
Solution 8
Such a business-critical solution could not afford to fail. Every precaution had to be taken to maximise uptime, against a backdrop of numerous alterations to the specification, and this in turn led to continual refinement of the proposed solution over the course of the consultancy phase. Managed Networks final proposed architecture was designed to cover every angle. It incorporates two highcapacity Dell servers configured as a high-availability VMWare ESX Enterprise cluster using a Dell EqualLogic SAN to provide resilient shared storage. These are installed in the client s comms room, so that that all of the necessary domain services, file storage, email and other applications can be delivered to local users with maximum performance and reliability. The servers are connected to the network through a pair of Cisco switches, in a high-availability configuration with multiple LAN connections to each server for maximum performance. Local backup allows individual deleted files to be recovered or earlier versions of files to be retrieved. Avoiding external attack is equally important. The solution is protected by a pair of Cisco firewalls, again in a high-availability configuration, while local anti-virus protection from Symantec includes agents for all user PCs as well as the server images. Carl Spencer, Sales Executive, Managed Networks comments: We chose this architecture because as well as providing the outcomes that our client wanted, it offered high levels of security, scalability and resilience, for example through Microsoft technologies supplying layer 7 resilience and VMware, supplying layer 4 resilience. Leveraging Microsoft technologies was in itself a major advantage since our MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professionals) engineers are highly experienced and expert in them. We chose this architecture because as well as providing the outcomes that our client wanted, it offered high levels of security, scalability and resilience... - Carl Spencer, Sales Executive, Managed Networks 9
Originally scheduled to take 29 days, the organisation s management identified a number of changes which should be implemented, and as a result of the change requirement, the schedule was reduced to just 10 working days. Despite being reduced by two-thirds, the new schedule presented little problem to Managed Networks, used to expecting the unexpected. Carl explains: Our own robust project delivery model, SCEPTRE, and our project managers, many of whom are Prince2-certified, gave us the flexibility that we needed when the timescales suddenly changed. That helped us make sure that we had the right additional resources available in the right place at the right time. The final solution involved a cross-domain migration from SBS 2003 to a fully-fledged infrastructure based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, and the conversion of the relevant data. Managed Networks identified that a straightforward export/import process would not yield the desired results, and so the data was converted prior to loading it onto the new system. With the migration involving around 100GB of data and another 250GB of data contained within files/folders, the timescale tightened still further as a result. As the go-live date approached, it became clear that the final installation would have to take place over a single weekend, leaving little time for testing or resolving last minute problems. Managed Networks engineers and the client s IT department worked day and night to make sure everything was up and running, fault-free, on Day One of the new IT. It proved a success, much to the relief of the ITIE: As the critical date approaches, there s always an element of uncertainty, but it ran well and did everything it was supposed to, right from the outset. We are delighted with the services we are getting on a monthly basis and ad-hoc as other requirements arise. - IT infrastructure Engineer 10
Benefits 11
Just four months down the line, it is still early days for the restructured organisation. Despite its IT being a new implementation, rather than a direct replacement for an existing one, it has already started to reap the rewards. Since launch, it has experienced a number of real-life benefits, as well as seeing a number of doors opening for the future. With the current state of its market, as well as its change in structure, the client expects to undergo a period of significant growth. The initial implementation gives it all the capacity that it could want to keep pace as its business expands. Designed to initially accommodate 120 users, including provision for up to 80 users working remotely on an adhoc basis, Managed Networks solution has the capacity to scale up to an almost infinite number of users. Up to 300 users, there will be no need for hardware upgrades apart from adding extra disk space, and even that can be carried out without downtime. Nor will scaling up present licensing problems: infrastructure licensing is on a rental basis through Microsoft s Open Value Subscription programme. The client is also experiencing one of the other differences that Managed Networks has to offer proactive support and regular Rotation Days. In addition to delivering rapid ad-hoc support, Managed Networks engineers pay a monthly scheduled visit to the London offices. During the visit they carry out a 174-point check covering all aspects of the IT systems, address any immediately pressing concerns and report back on their findings. The client s ITIE believes that it s an effective way of pre-empting problems and letting him know what is going on under the skin of his IT: It acts as a very useful safety net and helps us to identify potential future problems so they can be prevented from ever happening. 12
For the future, upscaling to enable growth is only the start of the potential benefits. The new IT also introduces the opportunity to introduce new services at the appropriate time. The client highlights a few of the areas where innovation has been made possible: We can now add extra functionality and services such as a Fax to Email solution, a failover Exchange 2010 cluster, duplicate Domain Controllers and increased file-share server capacity. Because of the VMware virtualisation technology used, moving servers between hosts no longer means prolonged down time for the end users. Also, deployment of these additional services takes very little time; typically a new virtual server including services can be deployed in a couple of hours. That will give us a significant improvement in the way we can help the business achieve its objectives and of course it means that we will be able to maximise productivity at the same time. I would definitely recommend them... they were extremely knowledgeable, and although they were extremely professional in their approach they were also fun to work with. - IT infrastructure Engineer 13
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