When DMD decided to update their ERP the intention was to develop a platform of innovation – something that would allow them to provide a series of ongoing developments that enhance their competitive advantage. When DMD’s Finance Manager, Mark Bennett, showed the plans to Unify’s Network Architect, Daniel Oliver, the opportunity to deliver something powerful was evident.

“When I saw the brief from SAP I knew that the moment to virtualise DMD’s server infrastructure had arrived,” said Daniel. “And I put forward a solution that would deliver capacity and flexibility to DMD for many years to come.”

Partner Technologies:

VMWare, Lenovo, Microsoft, Fortinet

Virtual Infrastructure

“We’ve seen the power of the VMWare platform that Unify installed as we have progressed our SAP development,” said Mark, “SAP have often come back asking for more servers as we customise our system and Unify have been able to build them very promptly without needing to buy more hardware.” DMD have essentially established their own internal computing cloud that can be used to deploy server resource on demand, as much as 70% faster and cheaper than with physical servers.[1] The VMWare virtualisation platform allows Unify to aggregate server resource and use small chunks of it as required. This means that server hardware is consolidated and is utilised optimally. In fact DMD are running 12 Windows Servers using just three physical servers.

Backup and Replication

A complex infrastructure needs a solid backup process. Unify Digital have helped DMD move from a slow and complex tape system, to a fully automated, onsite/offsite, backup and replication system using Veeam software and hard disk storage. “We need to know that backups don’t interrupt normal operations and can be recovered very quickly,” comment General Manager, Scott Reynolds, “we have had to recover some servers for various reasons and the Veeam solution meets the need perfectly.” Unify have even taken advantage of the WAN between DMD branches to replicate backup data offsite without invoking additional cost for offsite storage.

Conclusion

DMD have established a powerful system that allows them to innovate their product offerings, and accompanying digital services. The key to their confidence is the support and professionalism of Unify Digital.

“Unify respond very promptly when we call,” said Scott Reynolds.

“They talk to us regularly about how our digital strategy aligns with our business strategy and have no problem staying a step ahead of our evolving needs. We like to keep them involved in our digital strategy and I thoroughly recommend them to anyone looking for a trusted IT partner.”