A massive expansion of the Stellenbosch Farmers Winery nationwide network has seen the user base growing from a five user LAN to a 650 user mission critical WAN running on Novell`s IntranetWare network operating system.The first LAN was installed by Tony Knight of The Spinoza Interface, which today is still co-sourcing with SFWIn April and May last year the LAN "exploded" because users had recognised the benefits of sharing information and demanded to be included on the network. An order for an additional 300 Novell licences was placed for the NetWare 4.1 operating system, GroupWise the electronic messaging and office automation system and ManageWise, the network management system.When van den Berg was satisfied that the LAN was a success at the head office pilot site in Stellenbosch which includes the facilities, finance and planning departments, the network was extended to the regions with equal success ."There were still critics in the industry who said that for every 50 to 100 devices on the network we would require an adminsitrator. They have again been proved to be wrong and we only require an administrator for every 200 plus devices. Novell`s directory Service (NDS) plays a major role in providing this management facility."SFW technology manager Rudi Kruger says widespread use is made of the Spinoza Interface`s software roll out methodology which is designed to speed up software installation across the LAN as well as simplifying maintenance and support procedures. It uses Novell`s Application Launcher (NAL) in conjunction with Spinoza`s internally developed systems."It used to take hours installing software on user desktops, but with the new system it takes minutes and it`s a lot easier to maintain from a centralised point of administration," says Kruger.He adds that by adhering strictly to the standards that have been laid down, maintenance by SFW administrators is a less complex procedure. However this would be jeopardised if users were to do their own thing and would transform a smooth running network into a total mess."I believe that by having a full management support strategy in place which is facilitated by (NDS) has been a wise investment. We are prepared to invest in the latest technologies and implementing the most effective systems," adds Kruger.The network also has remote users linking to it such as technology and development staff as well as management who require access to the servers when they are working off site.Tony Knight, joint MD of Spinoza Interface says that the Novell network has become mission critical to the users and with the move to a SAP environment the network will become even more critical to the company. "Messaging has become extremely important throughout the organisation and management has requested that users make use of the technology thereby optimising the facilities to their fullest potential and at the same time increasing their productivity."This plays a part in reducing the company`s total cost of ownership (TCO) of its IT investment which is becoming a major issue in the industry. SFW is using a number of elements in the TCO concept such as the productivity issue, adhering to standards and co-sourcing its IT structure internally and to Spinoza," says Knight.Van den Berg adds that co-sourcing is mutually advantageous. "Spinoza knows our environment as well as we do and we rely on them to advise us on new technologies. Their staff are also available to help in certain projects at a moment`s notice".SFW is looking at developing an intranet once it has completed the SAP implementation and will evaluate Novell`s BorderManager to play a role for this purpose. Key people from various departments will be responsible for the development of the intranet site."As we continue to expand and deploy the latest technologies, we will maintain our strict standards because that is the recipe for success," says van den Berg.
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