Case Studies

SABMiller RUS is a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest brewers, SABMiller plc, which has operations on six continents. The company maintains a variety of information services for business users, allocating a dedicated server for each service. As SABMiller RUS grew and expanded IT services, its main data center soon grew to accommodate 48 servers, increasing hardware, energy, and management costs while reducing system efficiency and reliability. To reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve IT responsiveness to business needs, SABMiller RUS needed to optimize its server infrastructure. The company virtualized its servers with Windows Server® 2008 featuring Hyper-V™ virtualization technology, which helped consolidate its environment to just six physical servers, reduce costs 48 percent, accelerate service deployment from weeks to hours, and increase server utilization tenfold.

As the administrative authority for the District of Landshut in Lower Bavaria, Germany, Landratsamt Landshut manages public services for its 150,000 citizens through its Landshut headquarters and eight branch offices. To streamline IT management and help ensure reliable access to its systems for its employees and the general public, the district standardized on Microsoft® software. To maximize the value of that software, the district signed a Microsoft Volume Licensing Enterprise Agreement to take advantage of volume savings, a predictable annual license cost per desktop, streamlined license management, and Software Assurance benefits. By upgrading to new versions of covered software as soon as they become available, including Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V virtualization, the district also benefits from increased system reliability and security and reduced energy costs.

Umniah is a leading player in the fast-growing Jordanian mobile communications market. To stay ahead of the competition, Umniah needs to roll out new services continually and maintain exceptional service. However, new services require new servers, and new-server deployment was draining Umniah’s small IT staff and budget. Umniah deployed Windows Server® 2008 with Hyper-V™ technology to virtualize its server infrastructure, and Microsoft® System Center solutions to manage its virtual and physical infrastructure. Umniah uses Microsoft application, desktop, and presentation virtualization software to simplify application delivery. With server deployment time reduced by 90 percent, Umniah can roll out new services in as little as 30 minutes. The company has also slashed server downtime by 90 percent, server spending by 60 percent, and anticipates reducing power costs by 60 percent.

Based in San Antonio, Texas, SPFM is a distributor of medical equipment, health and beauty products, and specialty food items. The company needed to modernize its IT infrastructure to accommodate rapid growth and improve the availability of critical applications. With the help of Catapult Systems, a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner, SPFM replaced 12 older servers with 5 new servers running Windows Server® 2008 with Hyper-V™ technology. The firm also deployed Microsoft System Center data center solutions to gain new IT efficiencies and monitor servers proactively. Using server virtualization, clustering, and preemptive monitoring, SPFM has eliminated business interruptions and freed the business to grow; it has also avoided a U.S.$75,000 hardware expense and associated electrical costs of $10,000 annually. The IT staff is twice as efficient today and can respond immediately to new business needs.