Unisys & Wetherill Associates
Breakthrough: Wetherill Associates, Inc. establishes a next-generation, real-time infrastructure.
Imagine it.

Having the technology to enable near- and long-term growth, while reducing overall IT costs.

Done.

Wetherill Associates, Inc. chose Unisys technology experts to lead the migration to a highly flexible, reliable ES7000 server platform and establish a next-generation real-time infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Strategy Connection

Wetherill’s IT leadership understood that next-generation computing capabilities and low total cost of ownership (TCO) are not mutually exclusive, and that a real-time infrastructure would allow the company to achieve higher levels of growth.

 

Metrics

Business Challenge: Overcoming the limits of aging systems

A leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive electric components, Wetherill commits to a 24-hour turnaround on all orders. That means its IT portfolio has to deliver world-class reliability and performance. When the proprietary database server infrastructure that supported key enterprise systems reached the limit of its processing power, the company found itself at a crossroad: it could either upgrade its existing systems or migrate key applications and its Oracle database to a new infrastructure.

 

Wetherill’s infrastructure included many four-processor servers and three aging UNIX-based Sun servers, which handled most of the workload. The UNIX environment had limited processing speed and disk storage, limiting Wetherill’s ability to expand its product line, grow its customer base and open new locations. Complicating matters, system downtime issues had cost the company more than $1.5 million in revenue.

 

Initially, outside consultants and Wetherill’s IT staff recommended upgrading existing systems. However, it soon became clear that maintaining an upgraded Sun system would cost significantly more, and limit the company’s ability to adopt a truly next-generation infrastructure and establish the foundation for future growth. Future agility and adaptability were critical as Wetherill sought to grow through acquisition and by entering global markets.

 

After an intense evaluation, Wetherill’s IT team selected an Intel-based Unisys ES7000 platform to run Microsoft Windows and an Oracle database server solution. A cost-effective and scalable option, this solution provided Wetherill the high-performance infrastructure required to run critical Baan applications and the adaptability to enable near- and long-term growth.

 

Solution: A next-generation infrastructure and a foundation for transformation

To minimize risk at the outset of the project, Unisys technology experts conducted a workshop with all of the solution partners to develop a thorough migration plan. The workshop demonstrated that Unisys, Microsoft, Intel and Oracle were committed to working together to design the best solution for Wetherill, and helped overcome initial skepticism that Windows would be able to support the main system.

 

Next, the Unisys team provided a proof-of-concept environment with Wetherill’s existing applications and database to demonstrate that the functionality and performance targets were achievable. These steps confirmed to IT executives at Wetherill that the time was right and the technology was ready for centralization on Windows- and Intel-based platforms, and that the ES7000 server was the most scalable, cost-effective system. And such an advanced, next-generation platform would also lay the foundation for substantial business growth.

 

With the new infrastructure in place, Wetherill has the computing capability to handle today’s workload and the flexibility to scale for tomorrow’s growth.
Beverly Prohaska
Chief Information Officer
Wetherill Associates, Inc.

Unisys experts installed, configured and migrated the Oracle database and Baan applications to the new platform. Specifically, Wetherill deployed two Unisys ES7000 servers: one hosts a large Oracle database based on Intel Itanium 2 processors and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition; the other runs Wetherill’s mission-critical Baan ERP applications, based on Xeon Processors MP running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition.

The migration was successful, with Unisys establishing a program management office and providing the necessary skills and resources. Wetherill’s IT executives decided to take it a step further and implement an EMC Storage Area Network (SAN) solution that met growth requirements—current and future.

 

And to further its IT transformation, Wetherill and Unisys are collaborating on an overall assessment of the company’s current architecture and a comprehensive, long-term vision for an optimized infrastructure.

 

Results: Huge performance improvements, zero downtime, and a foundation for growth

Since going live with its new system, Wetherill has realized significant benefits, including:

With the new infrastructure in place, Wetherill has the computing capability to handle today’s workload and the reliability and flexibility to scale for tomorrow’s growth. Jobs that used to take four to five hours to complete now require less than one hour. And the company has renewed confidence that mission-critical systems will be up and running 24x7. Furthermore, Wetherill’s new infrastructure enables future business growth. For instance, Wetherill was able to smoothly integrate three recently acquired companies—driving an almost immediate return on investment.

 

Ongoing IT management and maintenance have been greatly simplified by the migration to Windows.
Beverly Prohaska
Chief Information Officer
Wetherill Associates, Inc.

Ongoing IT management and maintenance have been greatly simplified by the migration to a Windows operating system. There’s no need to train or hire additional staff, which helps reduce TCO. And with expanded storage, Wetherill can easily grow the size of its database.

 

The next phase of transformation will feature the standardization and consolidation of critical applications, such as e-mail and ERP; the expansion of storage capabilities; and improved back-up, recovery and business continuity capabilities. Plus, a more robust and flexible data networking environment will support Wetherill’s global expansion strategy.

 

All told— Wetherill has the platform for optimized performance and a low TCO today, and the foundation for a truly next-generation, real-time infrastructure tomorrow.

 

The Relationship: Knowledge, insight and collaboration.

“The relationship with Unisys is helping us put the architecture and processes in place to utilize IT for our global business expansion. The Unisys team is helping Wetherill achieve our goal — an available, scalable, reliable and flexible IT infrastructure that fully supports our business growth model,” says Beverly Prohaska, chief information officer, Wetherill.

 

At a Glance: Wetherill Associates, Inc.

 

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