STME implements pioneering SSD-based storage enhancing solution in Middle East

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The project showcased STME's cutting-edge technology and expertise in conceptualising and implementing the pioneering project as the SSD solution had never been previously implemented in the region.

Typically, Almarai handles over 34,000 customers daily through more than 1,000 sales vans scattered in six countries in the Gulf region.

This translates to an average of 1.5 million records each day, which are gathered from various remote sources and processed in its central office in Riyadh.

In the past this information was summarised based on a few key parameters, but evolving market dynamics have increased the need to analyse the information based on a broader range of metrics and within faster time intervals.

STME's SSD-based solution dramatically improved Almarai's performance in managing the enormous data it receives daily by up to 18 times, subsequently boosting the DSS ability within Almarai's sales division. Moreover, STME offered full support for the solution, maintaining critical spares in-house and a highly competent support staff, which is crucial to the project as it involves a business-critical application.

'The Almarai project was distinctly challenging because it had never been previously attempted in the Middle East. In addition, the size of Almarai's operation and the amount of data the company processes on a daily basis was another significant challenge. STME assembled a special team to examine and analyse the company's existing systems, after which our engineers and storage experts devised and implemented a solution based on SSD technology. It was a very remarkable achievement considering the delicate nature of this pioneering project,'

said Jocelyn Adwani, Deputy CEO, STME.

The SSD-based solution adopted by Almarai utilises memory as the storage media, which makes it much faster than traditional hard drives and an ideal performance enhancement solution for transactional databases. STME utilised Texas Memory Systems' RamSan SSD for the project as it is recognised as the world's fastest storage device and reputed to have an industry-leading raw I/Os per second, while its massive bandwidth is likewise unmatched in its category.

'From the outset, we knew that storage was not the primary problem; the key was for us to develop a way to improve performance. STME provided the critical support to help us get through this complex project and achieve the results that we had wanted. The SSD solution introduced by STME was a perfect fit for us and we are very thankful to STME for helping us complete this groundbreaking project, which has become especially remarkable as we are the first to utilise this novel solution,'

said Tanseer Kunjan, Business Systems Manager, Almarai.

STME provided end-to-end support to Almarai throughout all the stages of the project. Initially, STME helped Almarai identify the solution that satisfied its business requirements in terms of performance, and then provided the necessary expertise and staff training support to overcome the learning curve. STME also mobilised a team of storage experts supported by a number of technical and database experts to provide ongoing support for the SSD solution.