Outsourcing of IT services at Blažek Praha

Baseline

The IT environment was previously managed by a small IT company without service support rules set, without SLA, with no helpdesk system. Each user communicated directly with a technician who was not always available. The server infrastructure and IT technology were very outdated, the administrator did not have time to solve common problems or develop the company. Unsolved problems accumulated, dissatisfaction with technical support grew, and the user comfort of employees decreased. At the moment when the company was dealing with major changes in the server infrastructure, the existing provider was not able to offer an adequate solution and therefore the IT service provider needed to change.

Intent

The company was forced to replace the existing IT support due to the unsatisfactory situation, so we prepared a solution proposal in XANADU to take over the management and provision of IT support, then a contract was signed. The main objectives were the delivery of a new server infrastructure, the takeover of the customer’s IT environment management, assistance with the deployment of economic software and setting up standard IT environment management.

Implementation

In 2010, the entire IT in Blažek Praha was taken over and standard IT management (helpdesk system, hotline, etc.) was set up. As part of the company IT development, we began to rotate and standardize all computing resources, which in the long term led to a reduction in IT management costs and an acceleration of SLA.

In the next step, a new server infrastructure was delivered to satisfy the needs of all business applications and systems. The delivery consisted of the following elements: 3× HP server, 1× HP DataStore, license and virtualization. In the following years, the company developed significantly and expanded its business representation, the number of users and the number of technology increased. At the end of 2016, the server infrastructure was no longer sufficient for the company’s needs both in terms of performance and generation, a new version of the information system was planned, the number of business applications was increasing, and so a proposal for a solution for the renewal of the server infrastructure was prepared, which was implemented at the beginning of 2017. The design included a new generation of HP servers HPE DL360 Gen9 in HA mode, new HP MSA P1040 data storage, new versions of the VMware virtualization system, a new Veeam B&R backup solution, and due to the high availability of servers and applications, we placed the entire SRV infrastructure in the O2 data center.

Status quo

Currently, Blažek Praha uses new servers where we run all corporate systems and applications on the VMware platform, the security of the entire company is ensured by a high-quality firewall, backup takes place to external network drives and remote locations. Thanks to the clustered server connection and the placement of servers in the O2 data center, the company is guaranteed high availability and minimal downtime. We manage about 100 end stations at several locations, each user has a helpdesk system and a hotline to solve their problems with IT.

Benefits for the company

The key benefits for the company are a functional IT environment, server infrastructure with high availability, safe and fast operation of business applications and systems. Furthermore, the standardization of IT technology was set up, IT processes of approval, reporting and control were set. Users have received available technical support to solve their problems and requirements.