Unisys has assisted reclining chair giant La-Z-Boy to bring its enterprise computing under control, while reducing costs through the implementation of a new, centralised environment based on the e-@ction Enterprise Server ES7000 running Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.
The Unisys ES7000 at La-Z-Boy is consolidating work that previously was managed by 12 commodity Windows-based servers. La-Z-Boy is using the ES7000 to run the company`s IBM Tivoli service desk, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and Hewlett-Packard OpenView systems management software accessing a SQL Server 2000 database, in addition to managing file and print services.
The Tivoli and OpenView applications will process asset management data, control IT helpdesk functions and manage a repository of hardware and PCs. Over time, La-Z-Boy plans to upgrade its ES7000 to add more partitions with direct memory access and data transfer capabilities.
Operating as a decentralised company, La-Z-Boy traditionally has provided local IT support for each of its 17 brands and 10 operating divisions across the US and in four other countries.
As demand for computing capacity increased throughout its organisation, La-Z-Boy faced the challenge of handling larger workloads without increasing the administrative complexities and costs of deploying a cluster of new servers.
To drive down systems management costs and eliminate the need for additional skilled resources, La-Z-Boy decided to consolidate its core IT management and communication applications onto one, centrally managed Unisys ES7000 server. La-Z-Boy has instituted a lean corporate IT department to oversee the new, restructured enterprise and the ES7000 server.
La-Z-Boy chose the ES7000 server for its advanced capabilities, such as the ability to accommodate up to 32 processors and enable the creation of partitions, or "servers within a server", into which multiple applications can be consolidated.
"In keeping up with increasing demands on our IT resources, we wanted to avoid adding server after server to our growing infrastructure," says Gary Clark, director of Corporate IT Services, La-Z-Boy. "We selected the Unisys ES7000 to manage our exploding server growth and to reduce our human capital and administration costs. With its tight Windows 2000 Datacenter Server integration and powerful partitioning abilities, the ES7000 allows us to consolidate intensive workloads and address bandwidth issues that were problems in the past."
Unisys is providing a full range of managed support and integration services to help La-Z-Boy meld the ES7000 into its IT infrastructure. La-Z-Boy is developing a plan to migrate the workload of its 12 distributed servers to the ES7000 server.
"Companies can cut costs substantially and achieve operational efficiency by consolidating the workload of critical, day-to-day functions such as e-mail, Internet usage and file and print onto a centrally managed server," says Andre Purchase, strategic marketing programmes manager, systems and technology at Unisys Africa. "The ES7000 offers supreme power and manageability, combined with the ease of use and open architecture of the Windows environment. La-Z-Boy is furthering its overall business strategy by adopting the most cost-effective server technology in the industry to manage its growing network."
"The ES7000 fits into our long-range expansion strategy of unifying and expediting the shared IT services of our 10 different operating divisions," adds Clark. "The high availability and advanced data sharing capabilities of the ES7000 will allow different divisions to share knowledge and execute common goals. By providing redundant connections to data on the ES7000, we expect to conserve resources and lower administrative and operation costs for the enterprise."
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