Windows Storage Case Studies by Industry
Find out how companies are using Windows Storage Server 2003 and Windows Powered Network Attached Storage (NAS) to develop solutions that meet their business needs. To view additional case studies by product, technology, industry, or business solution, use the Microsoft Case Study Finder.
On This Page
 | Consulting |
| Education |
| Government |
| Health Care |
| Information Technology |
| Manufacturing |
| Retail |
| Real Estate |
| Transportation |
Consulting
Danish Consulting Firm Atkins Saves Administration Time with Centralised NAS Solution
Atkins Denamrk Customer Case Study (May 23, 2005): Atkins Denmark, a subsidiary of British consulting firm Atkins, is key infrastructure provider in Scandinavia, with five offices in the region. Atkins decided to implement a centralised storage solution that would replicate data from each branch to its head office in Copenhagen. It selected a solution based on HP StorageWorks NAS2000 network attached storage (NAS), running Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003. Administrators can now manage storage for each office from a single location, decreasing administration time and creating a more reliable backup and restore environment.
Education
Slovenia's National and University Library (NUL) Harnessed the Fusion of NAS and SAN Technology with the HP StorageWorks NAS B3000 System
hp StorageWorks Customer Case Study (January 2003): NUL uses this solution to consolidate and streamline enterprise storage, help preserve historical manuscripts and make rare documents more accessible.
College Replaces Linux-based System in Favor of Affordable, Expandable, and Reliable Windows Powered NAS
East Antrim Institute Case Study (December 16, 2002): East Antrim Institute replaced a Linux-based storage solution with a Windows Powered NAS from FMS (NI) Ltd. for its ability to integrate seamlessly with the existing Active Directory-based infrastructure and lower TCO through ease of management and lower training costs.
Government
Copenhagen City Council Server Migration Cuts Data Recovery Time from Days to Minutes
City of Copenhagen Case Study (February 23, 2005): City of Copenhagen Council delivers local authority services to 500,000 people in the Danish capital and is the country's biggest employer. The council needed to replace its ageing Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 infrastructure with a cost-efficient solution that would help reduce system administration time and reduce the risk of lost data. Working in cooperation with HP and Microsoft, COM-IT implemented new hardware running Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 with Active Directory. Not only has the city council saved money and continued its relationship with HP and Microsoft, but administrators now carry out backups automatically from a central location.
CIBER, Inc. Deploys Windows Storage Server 2003 for the 108th Division of the U.S. Army Reserve to Consolidate Servers and Lower Total Cost of Ownership
108th Division Case Study (September 19, 2003): A training unit of the United States Army Reserve, the 108th Division strives to provide its reservists with the information they need, when they need it. To ensure that it continues to do exactly that, the 108th became an early Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 customer. With Windows Storage Server 2003 powering the Division’s new INLINE FileStorm NAS devices, the 108th is consolidating servers from 23 separate locations into eight data centers, and increasing its storage capacity to 2.9 terabytes. Server consolidation is providing the 108th with the centralized administration and file recovery capabilities it needs, while reduced travel time for system managers, together with advanced management functions, is making administration of the servers easier and more efficient.
Crime Scene Photo Library Chooses Windows Powered NAS for Scalability, Reliability, and Affordability
Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Case Study (January 21, 2003): The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chose a Windows Powered NAS system to provide crime investigators with more efficient, secure access to crime scene images; reduce labor requirements; and protect original negatives from damage or loss.
Health Care
Community-based Dentist Builds Paperless and Fully Digital Image Practice
Fletcher Dental Care Case Study (April, 2004): Fletcher Dental Care embraced all of the advances technology has to offer in improving the quality of service and efficiency in which it delivers dental care to its patients—from a paperless office to a full digital dental imaging system. This means the information the dentists and staff need for any patient is right at their fingertips when they need it.
California Regional Health Care Provider Enhances Paperless Medical Record Keeping While Reducing Storage Costs with Windows Powered Iomega NAS
Kaweah Delta Health Care District Case Study (February 3, 2003): To add storage, the district initially tried out a few Linux-based Snap Servers before deciding to migrate its entire jukebox storage system to Windows Powered Iomega NAS servers. The Iomega NAS servers provide hot-swappable disks for increased reliability and integrate seamlessly with the district's existing infrastructure for easier management. The lower purchase and maintenance costs for the Windows Powered Iomega NAS lowered storage costs by 30 percent.
Texas Children's Cancer Center's (TCCC) Medical and Research Staffs Gain Access to Powerful, Expansive Computing and Storage Resources
Texas Children's Cancer Center (TCCC) Case Study (October, 2002): HP StorageWorks NAS B3000 provided TCCC with exceptional storage capacity while simplifying installation, file-sharing and data-consolidation activities.
Information Technology
Japanese Corporation Increases Data Storage and Centralizes Data Management
Ajinomoto System Techno Corporation Case Study (May 20, 2004): Ever-increasing demands of e-commerce, Internet-related businesses, and developments in broadband have caused the volume of data that businesses must store and manage to increase at a soaring rate. Data storage requirements for Ajinomoto System Techno Corporation are no exception. In order to cope with rising amounts of data among increasing numbers of business users, Ajinomoto implemented Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 with NEC Corporation's iStorage NS Series network attached storage (NAS) appliances as its data storage and management solution.
Microsoft Internal Internet Service Provider
Microsoft Internal Internet Service Provider Case Study (October 13, 2003): The Microsoft Internal Provider provides ISP services to internal clients. To rapidly accommodate increased usage, Microsoft Internal Provider found it necessary to add storage to existing servers or acquire more servers. Such an approach created additional management complexity and didn't provide the long term solutions they were looking for. To achieve greater scalability and manageability, Microsoft Internal Provider wanted to move to a model where Web server content could be consolidated into a centralized storage solution. They explored the possibility of a storage area network (SAN), but instead chose the Windows Storage Server 2003 solution because it offered a cost effective solution that was scalable, convenient to manage, and integrated easily with their existing infrastructure.
Manufacturing
Royal Appliance Adds 6 Terabytes of Storage for Half the Cost of Its Legacy SAN
Royal Appliance (April 25, 2005): Royal Appliance wanted to explore less time-consuming and costly ways of adding storage to its Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN). LeftHand Networks IP SAN, in combination with Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003, provided the solution. Read the case study here.
Wells' Dairy Consolidates Servers to Cut Costs, Increase Availability, and Improve Security
Wells' Dairy (September 29, 2004): For more than 90 years, Wells' Dairy has been a leader in the manufacture and sale of ice cream, frozen novelties, and dairy products. To stay ahead of the competition, company managers sought to employ cutting-edge technology. The company's management consolidated its current file server and upgraded its file and print cluster. Wells' Dairy selected a solution based on the Microsoft Windows Server System. The solution is cost efficiencient, capitalizes on existing server assets, and helps Wells' Dairy meet its availability and reliability requirements. It also improves the company's reporting capabilities for more effective information management.
Weekly Newspaper Publisher Gains Agility with Windows Powered Iomega NAS While Lowering TCO
Scottish Provincial Press Ltd. Case Study (February 24, 2003): To provide its reporters, designers, and production staff with a high-performance storage solution that supports the Mac OS 9 Sherlock searching capabilities, Scottish Provincial Press replaced a Linux-based NAS solution with Windows Powered Iomega NAS devices. The Iomega NAS devices integrate seamlessly with SPP's Macintosh publishing environment, deliver round-the-clock availability, require minimal management time, and keep corrupted graphics files from bringing down the servers and network-connected desktop machines. The increased reliability has enabled the editorial staff to move deadlines closer to publication dates to ensure more timely news content.
Pre-engineered Building Manufacturer Builds Revenue on Windows Powered Iomega NAS
VP Buildings Case Study (February 24, 2003): VP Buildings needed an affordable, easy-to-deploy, and easy-to-manage storage solution for building drawing files that would also provide designers and engineers at each of its manufacturing facilities with quick access to those files. After extensive testing, the company chose Windows Powered Iomega NAS P400m servers. As it deploys these servers in all of its manufacturing sites, VP Buildings expects to build revenue through increased uptime and reduce its total cost of ownership.
Agfa Reduces Storage Costs and Improves Performance with Windows Powered NAS from Advanced Media Services
AGFA Corporation Case Study (November 6, 2002): Agfa chose a Windows Powered NAS solution for its seamless interoperability in a heterogeneous environment.
NEC Storage NS Series: Nippon Phosphoric Acid Appreciates the Savings of Cost, Time, and Effort
Nippon Phosphoric Acid Co., Ltd. Case Study (May 17, 2002): With Windows Powered NAS, Nippon Phosphoric Acid Co., Ltd., was able to organize their data management and reduce their Total Cost of Ownership.
Retail
Meijer, Inc. Shops for File Services with Higher Standards
Meijer, Inc. (September 27, 2004): In 70 years, Meijer Inc. has grown from a Depression-era corner grocery store in to one of the largest privately-held companies today. Its long-term competitiveness hinges on cost control and efficiency. The company's retail information technology (IT) systems must support these goals. Over time, Meijer realized that it was extremely costly and ineffective to support and upgrade multiple configurations on its more than 150 distributed file servers, which are spread over numerous company locations. By migrating to an HP network-attached storage/storage area network (NAS-SAN) combination running Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003, Meijer is able to define IT standards and consolidate its file and print services and storage infrastructure.
Windows Powered NAS and NSI Software's Double-Take Deliver 99.99% Up-Time for Draft, a Global Advertising and Direct Marketing Agency
Draft Case Study (April 14, 2003): Real-time backup and automatic failover capabilities are virtually eliminating downtime and data loss for Draft, ensuring availability and reliability for 24x7 business operations.
RedDotNet's Multimedia Merchandising System Based on Microsoft Windows Powered NAS Empowers Barnes & Noble to Provide New Levels of Customer Service
RedDotNet Case Study (January 27, 2003): RedDotNet's Multimedia Merchandising System is the first of its kind in the industry, enabling brick-and-mortar music and multimedia retailers like Barnes & Noble to improve their customers' shopping experience, while gaining valuable market & merchandise research data at the same time.
Real Estate
Commercial Real Estate Services Company Gains Availability and Lowers Total Cost of Ownership with Windows Powered Iomega NAS
BRE Commercial (BRE) Case Study (March 22, 2004): BRE Commercial's (BRE) success in real estate brokerage services depends on providing efficient and effective service to its clients. That means that information relating to real estate buildings and properties must be available to BRE's brokers. By implementing a new Windows Powered Iomega 415M NAS device, BRE has increased its storage capacity to 500 gigabytes of information. The Iomega NAS cost less than comparable solutions on the market and integrated easily into BRE's existing Microsoft Windows 2000 domain.
Transportation
Leading Airport Operator Keeps Terminal Construction Project on Track with HP StorageWorks Windows Powered NAS
BAA Case Study (September 19, 2003): BAA had successfully used a direct attached storage solution for years but found it needed increased data storage capacity and higher reliability and availability when the Terminal 5 construction project was initiated. Downtime would cause unacceptable delays and cost overruns; therefore, a solution with redundancy, failover, and recovery tools was an absolute necessity. The HP StorageWorks e7000 Windows Powered NAS is delivering around-the-clock availability with minimal management requirements. With the increased reliability of its network attached storage solution, BAA is able to keep the Terminal 5 project moving forward on time and within budget.
Continental Airlines Expands Storage with Windows Powered NAS
Continental Airlines Case Study (November 20, 2001): Continental needed to add more network storage capacity to accommodate its growing volume of user files and data stored on the network. By deploying Compaq TaskSmart N2400 NAS appliances powered by Windows, Continental gained high availability, doubled its storage space, reduced the number of servers, and reduced IT management costs.