Tatweer significantly reduces annual operational expenditure through Fujitsu Siemens Computers' deployment

Backed by state-of-the-art data centre solutions by Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Tatweer completed a successful transition to an independent, fully-functional IT infrastructure in less than six months.

In line with Tatweer's directives to maximise the benefits of its Oracle eBusiness Suite implementation, Fujitsu Siemens Computers undertook complete project management and provided Tatweer with its FlexFrame™ for Oracle solution (FF4O). Within a stipulated time-frame of less than six months, a dynamic infrastructure for application and database services running on the Oracle solution was implemented.

"With a fixed timeframe in which to disengage our IT operations and run our own data centre, we decided to take a fresh approach to the project and implement something that would help Tatweer derive the most benefit from our Oracle eBusiness Suite implementation. A primary criterion for selection was the solution's ability to rapidly scale the infrastructure upward in line with the fast growth of the company,"

said Dean Polley, Director Information Technology, Tatweer.

"We chose equipment based on Fujitsu Siemens Computers' blade server technology and Network Appliance storage infrastructure. The company's solution for Oracle was radically different, but at the same time met our business requirements. A visit to Hof in Germany to see the Fujitsu Siemens Computers systems in operation convinced us of the solution's viability for our operations, and the company's capability to deliver and meet project timelines," Polley added.

The new Fujitsu Siemens solution provides Tatweer with intelligent virtulisation and automation, and ensures optimal use of server resources. Additional benefits to Tatweer include boosting availability of computing capacity on demand, simplifying lifecycle management, and significantly lowering administration expenses. The current system supports more than 700 e-mail users, and about 250 Oracle eBusiness Suite users, with these numbers expected to grow rapidly. Migration of mission critical applications with minimum disruption and downtime, without the loss of data, enabled a smooth transition to the new system.

Tatweer currently employs more than 450 staff, but this number will increase to 700 by the end of 2008. It is anticipated that this number will increase substantially over the next 5 years, and any systems implemented need to be flexible and upgradeable to handle both planned and unplanned growth - a scalability issue that has already been managed by Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

"A truly scalable, flexible, and cost-effective solution has been put into place for Tatweer. With FlexFrame™ for Oracle, we have provided Tatweer with the ideal platform for consolidating the company's Oracle databases," said Stephane Rejasse, Managing Director for the Middle East, Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

"Using Fujitsu Siemens Computers' local expertise the FF4O solution is constructed as a unit to ensure a "switch on and go" capability for Tatweer. Fujitsu Siemens Computers has been a pioneer in delivering Service Oriented Infrastructures with FlexFrame Solutions and builds on its portfolio of Service Oriented Infrastructures with FlexFrame for Oracle. The solution is based on an innovative approach that takes maximum advantage of available potential for enhancement. Throughout the project, we employed and co-coordinated resources to ensure that all parties were pulling in the right direction and working as a team, to guarantee success."

The FF4O - a pre-integrated IT infrastructure - will dynamically assign servers to Tatweer's Oracle services for database and application server on demand. Tatweer's Oracle software and operating system is stored on a central storage system and can be started on any server in the FlexFrame™ pool within minutes, dramatically reducing installation and maintenance. The solution uses the grid computing capability of Oracle 10g to dramatically improve the quality and efficiency of applications and databases.

The Tatweer project includes the delivery and implementation of an IT service management, a service desk, and an Executive Dashboard - an executive information system that provides executives with a view of business issues, complaints and an overview of the business at any given time. Tatweer has also taken delivery of its second FF4O and storage infrastructure that is to be deployed as a disaster recovery system at its secondary data centre.