Novacoast

Success Story

Frustrated with the costs and security risks of managing a decentralized Microsoft* Windows* environment, Novacoast moved its enterprise to Linux*. The company created a more secure and manageable environment, while reducing its software licensing costs by 50 percent.

Overview

Novacoast, Inc. is an IT professional services company that builds and manages business-critical networks. With locations in 15 U.S. states, Novacoast takes a vendor-neutral approach to offer its customers the most appropriate and effective solutions.

Challenge

Novacoast is also a rapidly growing company, opening up several new satellite offices each year. Although many of these small offices do not warrant a big infrastructure, each of them still needs access to all Novacoast services and applications. Novacoast needed a way to set up new offices quickly and without a huge IT investment.

Novacoast was also experiencing challenges in running a decentralized Microsoft Windows environment. The company lacked centralized desktop control and backup, and was concerned about the security of its infrastructure, particularly its laptops. Novacost considered creating a managed Windows environment, but it would have proved costly and the company was already facing increasing licensing costs.

Novell solution

"Novell is the only company with the capacity to provide the enterprise Linux support we needed. We do most of our maintenance on evenings and weekends. Novell is always available and supports everything in our SUSE Linux environment, including the applications that run on it."

Adam Gray
CTO
Novacoast

Novacoast decided to move its business to Linux and began experimenting with Red Hat* servers. After having difficulty getting timely and helpful support from Red Hat, the company moved to Novell® Open Enterprise Server to provide advanced network services on SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server.

"Novell is the only company with the capacity to provide the enterprise Linux support we needed," said Adam Gray, CTO of Novacoast. "We do most of our maintenance on evenings and weekends. Novell is always available and supports everything in our SUSE Linux environment, including the applications that run on it."

Novacoast runs a variety of applications on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server including its SugarCRM application, Novell GroupWise® on Linux, and a customer portal based on Novell technology. The company is also migrating to SAP on Linux.

"We are taking advantage of the virtualization capabilities of Linux to make the best use of our hardware and are averaging 4-5 virtual servers per machine," said Gray. "We expect that number to double with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, which integrates Xen3.0, the new open source virtualization technology, directly with the Linux kernel."

Novacoast manages its Linux environment from a central location using ZENworks® Linux Management. The IT staff can quickly distribute patches to keep its environment secure, without having to reboot servers each time. Novell AppArmor, a Linux application security framework that ships with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, is a key component to protect against malicious attacks.

With a centrally managed Linux environment, Novacoast can easily set up new offices using VoiceRD, an open source PBX than runs on Linux appliances configured for VoIP. The IT staff simply ships a few laptops, printers and VoIP phones to a new location; establishes a broadband connection; and plugs the new office into the corporate firewall.

"We can set up a new office for less than $3,000," said Gray. "If we had not moved to Novell solutions, we would not have been able to expand to new offices without doubling or tripling our staff. We would be spending at least an extra $250,000 a year for additional staff and licensing."

In addition to its Linux servers, Novacoast also migrated its workstations and laptops to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and immediately saved $50,000 a year in licensing costs.

"We are a beta site for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 and the usability is terrific," said Gray. "We especially like having AppArmor available out-of-the-box so we can easily secure our desktops. We couldn't be happier from a security standpoint."

All Novacoast applications are tied to Novell eDirectory™, creating a single repository to manage user identities. Novell Identity Manager synchronizes user identity information across applications and automates user provisioning and de-provisioning.

"Identity management is the building block for our network and is what really makes Linux ready for the enterprise," said Gray. "And nobody does it better than Novell."

Results

"With a secure and stable Linux environment, we are no longer prone to viruses and downtime. There is no more 'Patch Tuesday' for us because our patches are now automatic. This not only gives us great peace of mind, but helps us deliver the same kinds of results for our clients."

Adam Gray
CTO
Novacoast

Creating an open enterprise with Novell Open Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server not only created a more secure and stable environment for Novacoast, but also helped reduce its software licensing costs by 50 percent. The company paid for the complete migration of its desktops and laptops with what it would have spent renewing its Microsoft Office licenses.

The ability to create virtual Linux servers has also dramatically reduced the company's hardware and administration costs. Novacoast can keep pace with rapid growth without hiring additional staff, and can set up a new office in hours.

"With a secure and stable Linux environment, we are no longer prone to viruses and downtime," said Gray. "There is no more 'Patch Tuesday' for us because our patches are now automatic. This not only gives us great peace of mind, but helps us deliver the same kinds of results for our clients."