Somta Tools, the R120 million pa Pietermaritzburg-based manufacturer and distributor of cutting tools, has embarked on an upgrade to its IT infrastructure.
Central to this has been the modernisation of its campus-type computer network at its KwaZulu-Natal head office. This has been redesigned in association with networking vendor 3Com SA.
The 80-user network, which runs ERP, financial, manufacturing and sales management software systems, has been given a significant speed and productivity boost, explains Somta`s IT manager Hassan Yousuf.
"This was motivated by improvements to our hardware systems to accommodate new high performance servers and packaged software solutions that demand additional capacity or bandwidth.
"We have optimised our IT infrastructure`s capabilities to minimise downtime and provide levels of service to our users that are in line with these and other requirements of our business," he says.
"Increased network performance was also demanded by users of e-mail, Internet and business applications who require high-speed connections to handle rapidly increasing traffic volumes between our KZN and Johannesburg branches.
"3Com assisted us to plan an upgrade to our conventional shared-user copper-based network, which in many instances was operating at no faster than a slow 10Mbps."
Yousuf says the network now operates at up to 100Mbps, while a 1Gb fibre optic, switched backbone architecture has been installed at the network`s core. Fibre optic cables, replacing copper, are also used to link the six isolated buildings at the site to obviate the damaging potential of lightning strikes in an area that is prone to electrical atmospheric activity.
With an eye on optimising Somta`s investment in its IT infrastructure, network management software supplied by 3Com allows traffic on the network to be prioritised in favour of data packets carrying the most important information.
"The new 3Com solution has given us the platform to strategically plan for the future - in terms of upgrades and infrastructure requirements," adds Yousuf.
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