1-page Solution Brief - Posted 10/5/2006
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Rail Finance Company Improves IT Reliability and Reduces Maintenance Costs
Business Needs
Rail Manche Finance (RMF) previously worked with custom-built accounting, apportionment, and settlement applications to keep detailed records of sales and traveller information. In addition, it had a management information system (MIS), which created numerous detailed reports cataloguing this activity for senior rail management staff. The architecture in use had not been upgraded for more than a decade. As a result:
- Employees had to operate in an unreliable computing environment where they could not be sure their hardware would operate effectively.
- RMF staff had to work extremely hard to guarantee the system was always available, meaning they could not focus on developing their service or finding ways to add value.
- The hardware on which the system was running was more than 10 years old and replacement parts were no longer available.
Solution
RMF turned to trusted Microsoft® Certified Partner Southern IT Networks for support. After a careful evaluation of potential solutions, Southern IT Networks recommended RMF deploy a new architecture based on Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005. Once the solution had been proven, it was a simple task to install Virtual Server 2005 and transfer the data to the live environment.
- The migration from the existing Compaqservers onto Virtual Server 2005 began with a month-long testing phase.
- Southern IT Networks took a copy of the existing database and transferred the information onto a testing platform that demonstrated Virtual Server 2005 could easily accommodate the demands required.]
- The implementation was fast and effective, and the switch over took place in one evening.
Benefits
- RMF no longer has to worry about the reliabilityof the system.
- Report generation time reduced from minutes to seconds.
- Consolidated solution (with three servers replaced by just one) reduces maintenance charges and floor-space requirement.
- Supports long-term goal of becoming one-stop-shop for management information.
- Disaster recovery plan will be simpler to implement using Virtual Server 2005.
- Disaster recovery plan costs have been reduced, as have associated risks and downtime.
For More Information
For more Information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies
For more information about Virtual Server go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/
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