Case Studies

Run book automation delivers significant cost savings for Unisys Corporation

Unisys uses its own powerful Virtual Orchestration solution for run book automation that streamlines and automates the provisioning of virtual server resources while minimizing operational costs. It allows us to quickly fulfill engineering equipment needs while enabling amore efficient and lower cost approach via a common pool of shared server resources.

As the organization responsible for provisioning development and test resources, the Unisys Engineering Resource Lab (ERL) is committed to providing engineers with the best possible service while keeping administrative, operating, and capital costs as low as possible. However, the ERL must respond to a wide range of development and test requirements – from a single server for an individual developer to multiple servers for a major project – and provisioning of physical servers was becoming a real problem.

James Monek, group manager, recalls, "We faced many of the well–known data center operation issues: server sprawl, under–utilized servers, the inability to properly manage servers outside the four walls of the data center, and never–ending pressure to reduce operating costs, including those related to heating and cooling."

"We knew that virtualization technology had the potential to address many of these concerns, while providing better service and more sophisticated functionality, such as snapshots and cloning," says Sharon O’Brien, virtualization project manager. "So, we moved to a common, shared pool of physical resources, using Unisys ES7000/one Enterprise Servers, with provisioning of individual systems via a VMware® ESX Server virtualization solution."

Metrics

• Cost: Expected to achieve $2.8 million three–year total savings using run book automation
• Service: Enable an 8–minute turnaround – from request to provisioning – for virtual machines, down from 10 working days using manual processes
• Efficiency: Process 95 percent of provisioning requests without any manual effort

• View the related video, Unisys Automates VM Provisioning

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