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The Challenge
In 2001, A&C’s infrastructure was running over an antiquated Novell NetWare 4 system,
with insufficient capacity, very little redundancy, and no disaster recovery capabilities. “It was not uncommon for us to have e-mail to go down for 24 hours at a time, run out
of file space, or have to access backed-up files as a result of a system failure,” said
Stephen White, A&C’s Director of Information Technology. Furthermore, there was no
such thing as a live backup - backing up the system took at least three to four hours and
nobody could access anything on the network for that period—and there were major
incompatibilities between Novell, Microsoft applications, and A&C’s proprietary tax and
accounting software.
“The Novell system would inadvertently lock users out of files and it would take hours
for the environment to be reset so employees could log back in and access the files they
needed,” said White. “Also, because we were running Microsoft Office, we found that
Novell wouldn’t let users repeatedly regain access to files within Microsoft Access for 24
hours at a time. Additionally, if we had a large file to print, the system would begin its
downward spiral and we’d get a Novell warning that the network was about to go down.
All of this was completely unacceptable.”
Furthermore, with recent accounting industry changes fueled by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
demand for talented accountants was extremely high. New college graduates were
choosing to join firms with cutting-edge technology and A&C knew it needed to be one
of those companies.
The Benefits
Maximum Reliability
For every eight hours of downtime, White estimates that A&C, with over 12,000 active
clients, could lose up to a half million dollars. With the Novell system, that was more
than possible – it was common. A&C would have to bring the network down frequently
for hours and hours. Windows Server 2003 delivers dependability by providing
improved reliability, better availability, and increased scalability.
“I don’t know what downtime is anymore,” said White. “In the first half year that we had
it deployed, the Microsoft solution more than paid for itself with the downtime it saved
us, and I have the confidence that we can scale without limitation. I trust my environment
now will meet the growing demands of this organization and of the business as
a whole. It also supports our proprietary accounting applications beautifully. We’re so
happy with the Microsoft environment, we’re now using Share Point and soon we’ll be
deploying more Microsoft products.”
“[With the new system Nortec provided,] I don’t know what downtime is anymore. In the
first half year that we had it deployed, the Microsoft solution more than paid for itself with
the downtime it saved us, and I have the confidence that we can scale without limitation.”
-Stephen White, Director, Marketing, Sales and I.T.
The Microsoft solution also helps A&C to meet compliance regulations, such as Sarbanes-
Oxley. “Microsoft helps us set appropriate purge rules that help us comply with
strict regulations,” said White. “Also, when we have instant messaging or email communications,
all of that information has to be entered into a record, which can be
subpoenaed. The Microsoft environment makes it easy to retain that information
for the required period of time.”
Higher Performance
A&C’s backup process is now seamless. In the days of the Novell system, the environment
was much smaller and IT had to shut down the network for three to four hours
nightly to conduct a backup. “Now our environment is ten times the size and we’re
able to run 24/7,” said White. “Backups can now be done without bringing the network
down, and we don’t see any of the latency we used to see in the Novell environment
Everyone has said that this system is more powerful and responsive —they liken it to
driving an economy car and then upgrading to a high-performance vehicle. It’s that
dramatic.”
“Commitment to technological strength and operational efficiency are major draws for
college grads deciding on a company to join,” said White. “We took a hard look at what
we could do toimprove the infrastructure so that it appealed specifically to that market.”
In order to maintain its leadership position, A &C knew a change needed to be made
quickly. “We knew we wanted Microsoft and we knew we couldn’t go through another
tax season with the aging Novell system,” said White.
The Choice
A&C interviewed a dozen integrators, including Nortec, the top Microsoft Enterprise
Infrastructure and Security Partner in the Washington, D.C. metro area. After a thorough
evaluation, which included interviews and reference checks, A&C chose Nortec.
“We needed a partner that had a solid track record of moving from Novell to Microsoft
and was dedicated to keeping our system up and running during the transition,” said
White. “Nortec came with an abundant amount of references in that respect. And I
don’t just mean all positive references—we asked for all levels of references, from
mediocre to excellent. We called all of them and not one of them said they had a
negative experience with Nortec. If any of customers had problems of any kind, not
one of them was a Nortec issue.”
“We knew we wanted Microsoft, but what we needed was a partner that had a solid
track record of moving from Novell to Microsoft and was dedicated to keeping our
system up and running during the transition. Nortec came with an abundant
amount of references in that respect.”
-Stephen White, Director of Marketing, Sales and IT
The Solution
Before Nortec began the deployment, A&C, which employs 220 people in its Rockville,
Maryland headquarters, had the integrator conduct an in-depth study of the human
resources within the IT department to make sure that the team could handle both the
transition and the ongoing support for the new environment. Once the initial study
was done, Nortec then audited the environment to find out what A&C wanted,
compared to what they needed and where A&C wanted to be five years down the
road. With that information, Nortec designed an environment that would enhance
reliability and performance as well as allow maximum scalability. Nortec provided A&C
with an end-to-end solution, including hardware and software. The company’s existing
servers were replaced with new Hewlett-Packard Proliant servers. Microsoft products
include Server 2003, Exchange 2003, SQL Server, and Remote Desktop Connection.
Nortec used their Microsoft Solutions Framework-based delivery methodology to define roles and responsibility. After reviewing the scope of work, Nortec dedicated
one Novell-to-Microsoft specialist and one project manager to the implementation.
Based on the scope of work, A&C determined there was a role for one of their own IT
staff members to mirror Nortec’s specialist during the implementation. By adhering
to their methodology, which included regular status reports to monitor and communicate
progress versus previously set milestones, the implementation was completed
on time, despite a few necessary scope changes. The project took just over a
month and A&C was ready for the next tax season without a hitch.
Low Maintenance
A&C is happy with the implementation Nortec deployed, and while the integrator remains “on call” for support, A&C has no maintenance agreement with them. “Nortec,
surprisingly enough, assured us that everything would be seamless and easy, and they
didn’t see a need for a maintenance contract,” said White. “They were right. It just
worked from day one because Nortec did everything perfectly. And if I do ever need
them, I know that within seconds I can have the right person on the phone, and within
hours there will be someone onsite.”
“[Our new Microsoft] environment is ten times the size [of the old one] and we’re
able to run 24/7. Backups can now be done without bringing the network down, and
we don’t see any of the latency we used to see in the Novell environment.”
-Stephen White, Director of Marketing, Sales and IT
Ready for Growth
A&C is more than ready for the growth it anticipates it will experience over the next
few years. “Nortec created a modular environment that would support our ongoing
growth, which is mandatory,” said White. “With the new system, we can add and subtract
existing components to meet growing demands of the organization. We are
growing quickly, and downtime could mean a loss of clients. The new solution provides
us with the redundancy, load balancing and reliability we need to maintain
our market leadership position.”
“If I ever need Nortec, I know that within seconds I can have the right person
on the phone, and within hours, there will be someone onsite.”
-Stephen White, Director of Marketing, Sales and IT
A&C looks forward to working with Nortec on additional Microsoft product rollouts,
including Live Communication Server, and Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA)
Server. “We are maximizing our infrastructure now with the Microsoft system in place,
and Nortec is the perfect Microsoft partner,” said White. “They are knowledgeable,
responsive, and professional and we look forward to working with them on future
infrastructure enhancements.”
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