Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Food Manufacturer Consolidates Servers, Reduces IT Costs with Virtual Machines
Overview
Country or Region: Greece
Industry: Manufacturing
Customer Profile
Based in Tavros, Greece, Delta Holding S.A. produces more than 300 different dairy and other food products, including milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and frozen foods, and operates two leading networks of quick-service restaurants in Greece.
Business Situation
In recent years, many subsidiary companies have joined the Delta Group, and those companies have their own IT systems.
Solution
Delta implemented Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005 to centralize the IT systems of its individual companies.
Benefits
n Reduced hardware purchases and maintenance
n Improved reliability and security
n Better system performance
n Improved IT productivity / Managers are now able to spend less time on the system and can devote time to other daily tasks.
Delta Holding S.A.
Delta Holding S.A. has experienced rapid growth in recent years as more subsidiary companies have joined its food manufacturing group. To accommodate that growth and improve the organization’s IT infrastructure, Delta decided to centralize the IT systems of its individual companies. Delta deployed Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005, the virtual machine solution designed to run on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system. The solution has helped the company replace physical servers with virtual machines, resulting in considerable savings from reductions in both hardware purchases and maintenance costs. Virtual Server 2005 simplifies the installation of applications and updates, and it eases disaster recovery. In addition, the solution has improved system performance and increased IT productivity.
Situation
Delta Holding S.A. is the parent company of the Delta Group, one of the largest food manufacturing groups in Greece. Through its subsidiary companies, Delta is active in the following areas: fresh dairy products, ice cream, fresh juice, frozen food, ready-made meals, and catering. Based in Tavros, the company started in 1952 as a family business producing yogurt and distributing milk. It was incorporated as Delta Dairy S.A. in 1968, and evolved into Delta Holding S.A. in November 1999.
Since 1999, Delta has been adopting a flexible organizational structure to support the operations and development of its subsidiaries. This structure has resulted in major operational demands being made on the organization’s IT system, which is continually upgraded to keep up with the increasing needs of the Delta Group.
In recent years, Delta has experienced considerable growth. Specifically, the introduction of a great number of companies into the group necessitated an immediate solution that would centralize the information systems of all the individual companies. The group’s IT department decided to create a centrally controlled system, in terms of both equipment and organization, in order to give the company an improved technology infrastructure.
Establishing centralized control of the Delta Group information systems could be achieved in two ways. One was to consolidate hardware (bringing all servers together on central machines); the other, to consolidate software. Initially, Delta consolidated hardware by installing all programs in a large central system. This solution, however, did not meet the particular needs. Thus, Delta decided to retain hardware consolidation but keep each service separate.
Solution
Delta decided to deploy Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005, the virtual machine solution designed to run on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 operating system; both products are part of Microsoft Windows Server System™ integrated server software. The company had confidence in the potential of Virtual Server 2005— a new Microsoft technology at that time—and wanted to remain true to the Delta philosophy of being in the forefront in all areas, including IT.
Virtual Server makes it possible to reduce the number of physical servers through virtual machine isolation. A virtual machine is a server that is implemented through software and mimics the performance of a physical server, appearing to users and applications as a separate physical server. Multiple virtual machines can reside on one physical server, running multiple operating systems and applications.
The Delta IT department installed Virtual Server on an Intel-based server computer running Windows Server 2003. Virtual Server provided a Web-based working environment, where communication with the Web administration page takes place through HTTP.
Delta set the following requirements for the successful operation of the system:
n Precisely determining the services to be consolidated
n Assessing their importance for the productivity of the group
n Ensuring the uninterrupted provision of each service
On the basis of these parameters, Delta transferred selected services to the virtual machine in the same way that they would be transferred to a hardware device. The procedure started with less-critical services, so that the correct functioning of the system could be checked.
Delta first used Virtual Server in a pilot project, conducting trials with applications before installing them in production. In the trials, Virtual Server demonstrated excellent performance. Delta then gradually increased the number of production servers that were incorporated in the program. According to Delta, the result was that the system continued to operate impeccably.
Benefits
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 has helped the Delta Group achieve its goal of creating a centrally operated system. The group has realized considerable cost savings by consolidating its server hardware. At the same time, it has improved system reliability and performance, thereby enhancing productivity for the company.
Reduced Hardware Purchases and Maintenance
By replacing physical servers with virtual machines, the Delta Group has reduced hardware and maintenance costs. In addition, the reduction in hardware has freed up useful space in the computer room. The group expects the consolidation of even more services using Virtual Server to further reduce IT management costs.
Improved Reliability and Security
When using its previous system, the Delta Group would sometimes experience problems when installing new applications or updates. The new solution operates smoothly regardless of any modifications the IT department makes to it. New applications and updates can be added to a virtual machine without compromising the functioning of any of the other machines. In addition, it is possible to revert to the original state of the system, even when new applications are added. This is done simply by saving the machine under a different name and copying it in another file, so as to safeguard it against any negative effects from new updates or programs.
The Virtual Server solution also provides easier backup and disaster recovery. All virtual machines are treated as physical files. Should the hardware device break down, the virtual machines can function immediately on another hardware device running Virtual Server.
Better System Performance
Virtual Server is designed to take advantage of Microsoft technology, so applications like Microsoft Exchange Server run much faster than they would if run on a hardware device. The smart allocation of resources allows the dynamic transfer of computing power where it is needed at any time. And when the virtual machines are installed on a hardware device, their intercommunication creates no network traffic since no network resources, such as wiring, are involved in the process.
Improved IT Productivity
Managers are now able to spend less time on the system and can devote time to other daily tasks. Virtual Server administrators do not require any special installation in their computers to operate it because the working environment is Web-based. Virtual Server also provides fully controlled management of the hardware device for the virtual machines, and it permits the quick introduction of new services.
Windows Server 2003
The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 family helps organizations do more with less. Now you can: Run your IT infrastructure more efficiently; Build better applications faster; Deliver the best infrastructure for enhancing user productivity. And you can do all this faster, more securely, and at lower cost.
For more information about Windows Server 2003, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003