Windows Server Itanium Case Studies

Fast-Growing Bank Maximizes Technology, Improving Efficiency and Customer Service - 5/06/2008
To keep pace with performance demands and update its IT environment, Banco Azteca decided to migrate its applications to a Windows Server-based operating system. Unable to fully migrate the core banking system, Alnova, to Windows Server 2003, the bank began testing Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 was fully compatible with Alnova and also improved performance in Web server layers, reducing the input/output queue from 30 per minute to 2.

Software as a Service Provider Lets Shoppers Furnish Homes in an Online 3D World - 2/25/2008
Edgenet, and its Big Hammer Data Division, helps retailers and manufacturers serve customers by hosting a Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) and marketing data pools of basic product attributes, providing a common classification for products. As the company prepared to launch its Edgenet Vision™ product that enables users to create a 3-dimensional (3D) representation of their homes and populate rooms with 3D images of appliances and furniture from the Big Hammer data pools, it needed an enterprise-grade platform. Big Hammer deployed Edgenet Vision hosted on Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition (64-bit) database software running on Windows Server 2008, using a Software as a Service distribution model. The application developers used Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. The solution runs on Unisys ES7000 enterprise server computers.

Global Online Gaming Company Deploying SQL Server 2008 to Support 100 Terabytes - 2/25/2008
Sports enthusiasts around the world place up to 1 million bets per day using the online sports betting services of Gibraltar-based bwin International. Performance is paramount at bwin, which hosts more than 100 terabytes of information on some 100 instances of Microsoft SQL Server. The company was very happy with its deployment of SQL Server 2005, but it enjoyed 3-digit annual growth in 2005 and 2006 and is eager to take advantage of new technological advancements to help it keep pace with growth. The bwin Data Management Systems group has started upgrading its database infrastructure to SQL Server 2008 to take advantage of Backup Compression, management tools, and other new features. During peak gaming periods, SQL Server processes 30,000 database transactions per second, while supporting the reliability required by the bwin database group’s motto: “Failure is not an option.”

Slovenian Company Cuts Costs by 30 Per Cent over Five Years with New Solution - 3/19/07
Sava d.d. is a leading business in Slovenia. Traditionally operating multiple business units, it focuses increasingly on tourism. Continued growth led to challenges for its critical SAP enterprise resource planning environment. The existing infrastructure needed additional data capacity and greater redundancy. Based on careful analysis, the company decided to replace the existing SAP server infrastructure with a new solution running Microsoft® software on Intel®-based servers. The company expects the total cost of ownership to be 30 per cent lower over the next five years. Administration is more efficient, helping IT workers deliver better service. And with an enterprise-wide infrastructure now standardised on Microsoft and Intel, employees gain familiar business tools, ensuring improved operations and increased potential for innovation.

New Information System Increases Efficiency and Helps Double Profits at Italian Bank - 2/16/07
With approximately 300 branches throughout Italy’s five central regions, the Banca Marche Group has more than 450,000 customers and 2,900 employees. The growth of the group over the last few years has added pressure to employees’ daily lives and led management to standardise and improve control of the bank’s information assets. After a careful assessment of the solutions available on the market, the group chose the powerful combination of Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 and Intel® Itanium® 2 processor-based servers. The new platform has increased employees’ productivity and helped the group realise a 75 per cent cut in production costs for management reports and a 90 per cent reduction in average distribution times. In addition, the lower costs have played a key role in the company doubling net profits

Sony Ericsson Migrates SAP from UNIX to Windows Server, Boosts Reliability, Cuts Cost - 2/06/07
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, one of the world’s leading mobile phone providers, was running its SAP enterprise resource planning software on a UNIX and Oracle platform—and wanted to improve reliability, get batch jobs completed during available time slots, and avoid hitting memory and performance limits. After considering a UNIX and Oracle upgrade, the company decided to migrate its SAP system to Microsoft Windows-based servers running on Intel Itanium2-based-systems. As a result, reliability is up, with the company saving a day per year in unplanned downtime. Batch jobs are processed faster, database costs are reduced, and the company expects to gain tremendous flexibility to integrate the infrastructure with—and, thus, leverage its investment in—its existing Windows-based environment.

Bank Supports Aggressive Growth Strategy with New Infrastructure - 1/22/07
Turkey-based DenizBank has pursued an aggressive policy of expansion, which has doubled the number of transactions the bank manages on a daily basis. To maintain its leading market position, the bank had to cut transaction processing times, manage risks, and comply with ever-changing legislation. To meet these challenges, the bank upgraded its IT infrastructure and deployed a range of Microsoft solutions. Working with Intel and Microsoft, it deployed a new architecture based on Microsoft .NET Framework using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. Complementing this, the bank deployed HP Integrity Superdome Servers, harnessing the power of Intel Itanium 2 processors. DenizBank now has an infrastructure that can process its sizable transaction volumes, while offering the flexibility and scalability it needs to expand its service offerings.