Office of Fair Trading
“Optimisation services have included the virtualisation of the OFT's server environment, typical cost and resource savings on such a project run to 50%, with similar reductions to be had in power useage - delivering immediate environmental impact. ”
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) plays a leading role in promoting and protecting UK consumer interests, educating both businesses and their customers on regulatory trading requirements.
Running multiple operating systems and software, the OFT needed to consolidate, integrate and optimise the IT platorm to provide a solid foundation for its modernisation programme. It also wanted to run a new PROMOD application that could only run on Microsoft.
A feasbility study found that migrating to a Microsoft platform, based on Office 2003, Exchange and Outlook, provided the most effective solution with benefits including: reduce management time; an environment in which new Microsoft systems management technologies could be easily introduced; improvements to security, reliability and the SAN architecture.
SCC handled the migration process, underpinned by pilot projects which aimed to ensure the large scale roll out ran smoothly. "The migration to a new, consolidated and fully optimised Microsoft platform went exactly as planned. Whilst typical support cost savings of some 30% per annum have been achieved, in addition to a 20% increase in organisational productivity." IT Manager, OFT
The OFT has also reported long term benefits, including the ease with which new applications can be integrated. For example, the decision to mirror the 'live world' of the OFT through building a new working environment based on Microsoft's Collaborative Solutions: SharePoint 2007, Exchange 2007, Groove, Office Communicator and Microsoft CRM. Optimisation services provided by SCC have also included the virtualisation of the server environment, involving 1ESX server and 8 physical servers running on an ESX Server, leveraging VMWare's implementation services.
Moreover, SCC has worked with LogicaCMG to create a consolidated, optimised web platform for the OFT online. Designing a high availability application, architecture and infrastructure, underpinned by a fully managed platform delivering capacity, performance and reporting services. Security features include IPS, IDS and a managed firewall, in addition to full back up and restore capabilities. The benefits include the provision of a highly resilient and scaleable web platform, fully managed 24/7, underpinned by an SLA.
“Infrastructure Optimization has helped the OFT to become more agile, secure, and better-managed, whilst reducing overall IT costs and making better use of our existing resources. As a result, our technology has become a strategic asset. ”IT Manager, OFT
