Global Aerospace Supplier

INDUSTRY:

Challenge

A global aerospace equipment supplier with 35,000 employees and 100 sites around the world wasn’t sure why its IBM Power 7 technology had started to underperform. They engaged OnX in an onsite infrastructure health check assessment to diagnose the performance issues, and in the process realized that they needed a more comprehensive disaster recovery program for their critical ERP system.

The company confronted three key issues:

  • 30-day Recovery: OnX’s health check assessment found it would take 30 days to return the company to normal operations if disaster struck. How well could the company rebound from that much downtime?
  • Limited DR expertise: The Company didn’t have disaster-recovery experts on its IT staff, so it didn’t feel comfortable launching a DR initiative on its own.
  • Legacy infrastructure: The aging Power 7 technology was just one issue. The company also relies heavily on IBM’s mature iSeries technology, but has difficulty finding iSeries experts because people aren’t being trained to use it anymore.

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Solution

The company’s long-term relationship with OnX meant they had access to certified experts to help diagnose its Power 7 performance issues while developing a thorough, effective disaster recovery plan.

OnX technologies and expertise delivered:

  • Infrastructure health check: OnX experts visited the company and performed an in-depth analysis of the company’s Power 7 server environment.
  • Hardware upgrade: The Health Check determined that the demands placed on the aging Power 7 system were outstripping its capacity. OnX experts upgraded to IBM Power 8 technology with a SAN Storage software solution using Mimix.
  • Remote monitoring: OnX‘s Managed Services team remotely monitors and manages the company’s production equipment, which resides in their existing data center.
  • Remote backup: OnX provisions a fully managed remote offsite data backup from their existing facility to a secure secondary location.

Results

The global aerospace supplier now enjoys the latest generation of IBM Power 8 technology, which expands its ability to tap the potential of big data and business intelligence.

With a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place, company leaders are reassured that unexpected events like earthquakes, hurricanes and power failures cannot put them out of business.

And with OnX’s Managed Services team supporting them, the company’s IT staff will always have access to people certified in the intricacies of mature iSeries software.

All these outcomes ensure the company soars in the minds of its aerospace customers.