mac

Success Story

mac worked with Opitz Consulting to upgrade its database software to Oracle* 10g on Novell® SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server. The Novell solution provides a stable, high-performance and low-cost environment for mac's business-critical logistics systems, helping the company to meet tight customer deadlines.

Overview

For more than 30 years, mac (messe- und ausstellungscenter Service GmbH) has provided services to companies attending trade exhibitions, including project management, and the design and construction of fair booths. The company also offers logistics, market analysis, light and sound, and storage facilities. With 250 employees, mac completes some 2,100 projects annually for more than 500 customers worldwide, and generates revenues of approximately €51 million.

Challenge

The main business challenge for mac is the complex logistics of delivering all the components of stands to different shows at the right times, and ensuring that the correct staff are available to set them up. When many shows take place at the same time, or many clients attend the same show, this process becomes increasingly complicated, and mac relies on an Oracle database to manage ordering, stock control, production, delivery and employee tracking.

As the business grew, the database was becoming increasingly business-critical, and mac was concerned that its recovery systems would not sufficiently guarantee the company against data-loss. More important, with customer satisfaction the company's top priority, mac needed to minimise downtime to eliminate the risk of being unable to fulfil its obligations to customers.

"At peak times it is very important that our systems are running properly," said Eduard Puchner, CIO at mac. "A failure during or shortly before one of these periods would substantially decrease efficiency and could become a critical situation for mac."

Novell solution

"We needed an operating system with the support that can only come from a large software developer like Novell, but which did not compromise on security, flexibility, performance or cost-efficiency. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was the only option for our business."

Eduard Puchner
CIO
mac

The company decided to improve disaster recovery processes by upgrading to 64-bit hardware and implementing a new instance of the Oracle database on a second server, using Oracle Recovery Manager to ensure consistency of data across both systems. Because the success of the project was so important to the business, mac worked with an expert external partner, Opitz Consulting.

"Opitz did a professional job," said Puchner. "The know-how level of the consultants and the way they worked with us was 100 percent satisfactory."

To take full advantage of the new 64-bit hardware, mac opted to upgrade to Oracle 10g on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The Novell operating system is one of just two Linux* platforms certified by Oracle, so mac could be confident that the new infrastructure would support its systems in a stable and reliable manner.

"Oracle has made a long-term commitment to enabling Linux adoption in the enterprise," said Puchner. "So mac can be confident that SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a sound investment for the future. We did consider using a Microsoft platform, but SUSE Linux Enterprise Server seemed more secure, and we have always trusted in the quality of Novell software - Novell ZENworks®, Novell GroupWise® and NetWare® are key parts of our IT infrastructure."

Because Novell develops SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, businesses can rely on professional levels of stability and 24/7 support, without being bound to the high licensing costs of proprietary operating systems and software.

"We needed an operating system with the support that can only come from a large software developer like Novell, but which did not compromise on security, flexibility, performance or cost-efficiency," said Puchner. "SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was the best option for our business."

Results

"Oracle has made a long-term commitment to enabling Linux adoption in the enterprise, so mac can be confident that SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a sound investment for the future."

Eduard Puchner
CIO
mac

With two instances of its core logistics database running on the highly reliable SUSE Linux Enterprise Server platform, mac has been able to reduce its maximum downtime period from several hours to just 15 minutes. This performance increase ensures that stock, staff and stands will not go astray even in the complex logistical environment of the company's peak business times.

"We make a commitment to our customers that their stands will be ready a certain number of days before the fairs open," said Puchner. "To ensure that we can keep our promises, we need the database to be running at all times. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server does not just provide a platform for our new disaster recovery system - it underpins the daily running of the database itself. The reliability of the Novell operating system substantially reduces our business risk."

The open source Linux environment offers superb price-performance, enabling mac to make more productive use of its IT budget to invest in support, consultancy and training. The open nature of the platform also acts as future-proofing: mac will be able to choose from numerous vendors for its future application or development requirements, rather than being tied into a relationship with a single vendor.

"With this solution from Novell and Oracle, we can handle mac's projected growth for the next three years," said Puchner. "And with its capacity for low-cost expansion and flexible development, we can expect SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to serve our business for much longer than that."