The NEC Group ran two parallel environments; Novell NetWare for logins and file services and Active Directory for administering user accounts. This meant double effort managing the two systems as well as added complexity and increased support costs.
As part of a wider infrastructure upgrade project, the Group decided to migrate from the Novell platform to a complete Microsoft technology infrastructure.
“ComputerLand went through a bidding process for part of the wider infrastructure project, the upgrading of the SAN. A short list of six potential suppliers went through the selection process and ComputerLand was awarded the project with the file services migration element then forming part of the SAN project.”
Amr Arafa
Infrastructure Manager
The NEC Group.
ComputerLand provided a full review of the current infrastructure and facilitated the migration across to the new platform. The migration had been attempted before but due to the complexity of the infrastructure which had evolved over several years the results were not what as expected. Crucially through several planning sessions and pilot trials all stages of the project were proven before progressing with the client.
“The project went very well. We started with our ComputerLand Account Manager and technical consultants and worked for about two months on R&D and design. ComputerLand worked very closely with The NEC Group during the whole project. A Project Manager was assigned from ComputerLand and a Project Manager was also appointed at The NEC Group. We had a full time ComputerLand technical consultant on site for about four months who became very much part of the team,” explained Amr Arafa.
The migration was completed successfully and without disruption to The NEC Group’s day to day operations or users. The main benefits of the migration for The NEC Group have been quicker and easier administration with just one system, fast administration of file permissions and improved disaster recovery capabilities. With the addition of the SAN capabilities, The NEC Group has also provided its users with extra storage space.
"The project went very well. The project management was excellent. There were technical challenges along the way with the addition of the SAN – the challenges were handled professionally. There were no real surprises; it was very well planned and executed. An excellent collaboration…" highlighted Amr Arafa, Infrastructure Manager, The NEC Group.
* ComputerLand is now part of Capita IT Services.