Overview
Wakefield Pork, Inc. is a leader in the pork industry, ranked nationally in the top 25 by Successful Farming magazine. Their mission to grow a superior animal comes from an abundance of quality in their assets, operations, people and leadership. They have built a well-managed system of lease and contract farrow, nursery, finish, and wean-to-finish facilities that has known continual growth since 1991. Today, their operations extend from central Minnesota to northern Iowa.
Challenge
Wakefield Pork had been operating an outdated DOS-based application called PigCHAMP, developed in the 1980s by the University of Minnesota, and another program called FarmBusiness Services (FBS) Accounting. The existing Novell Small Business 5.1 server was over three years old, had only 512 MB RAM and supported 24 users. In addition, the company was using several generations of PCs with various programs, as well as redundant internal and external e-mail applications. Many of the PCs had Windows 98 operating systems, which created security issues.
The company accountant spent much of his time handling computer issues. One computer took a half-hour to boot up every morning. Dealing with spam and PC issues had greatly decreased employee efficiency. A friend of owners Steve and Mary Langhorst referred Wakefield Pork to Solbrekk.
Solution
Becky Jacobs, Director of Small Business Services, met with Steve and Mary Langhorst and Jorja Bleess to learn more about their business and their computer needs. The goal of the upgrade was to reduce administration time, implement a single e-mail system, provide a network plan for the future, increase efficiency and provide remote access for traveling employees.
Because of the mission-critical DOS applications and multiple network applications, Becky suggested researching application compatibility as the first phase of the project. She also recommended immediate installation of a spam filter to assist with the e-mail issues.
After assessing their current needs and planning for the future, Becky proposed to upgrade the Novell server and Windows 98 PCs to Microsoft Small Business Server 2003, which includes Microsoft Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003 and a Microsoft Server 2003 with Terminal Services. Becky proposed the Microsoft Open Value licensing program, which includes the Software License and Software Assurance. The Open Value program affords upgrade protection, home use and employee purchase programs for three years.
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HP equipment was used on all new hardware, including servers, laptops and thin clients. Existing PCs that met system requirements remained in use to keep the project costs down. With the installation of the mixed terminal server environment, users were divided into “power users” and “thin client users.” Power users stayed with a PC and thin client users worked through the terminal server.
Benefits
The company will realize financial benefits from the Microsoft Open Value licensing program. Wakefield Pork will automatically be licensed for new versions of Microsoft Server and Office for a period of three years, and can pay the software assurance renewal rate, rather than the new product price. “This helps them stay up to date,” says Becky. “Maintaining the network was costly because of outdated equipment and software. This gives them the ability to do planned upgrades, instead of upgrading in a crisis.”
With the installation of the new HP ML350 servers, Small Business Server and Terminal Server, users have a significant increase in processing speed, hard drive capacity and reduced administration. Both servers were designed to handle the new Microsoft software expected to be released within the next year. The new system allows employees remote access via the terminal server or Outlook Web Access. OWA is a browser-based service that allows access to e-mail from any PC with an Internet connection.
Results
The process, says Jorja, was “Awesome! Seamless! I think Steve and Mary were expecting more bumps in the road.”
After completion of the project, Becky and Jason Erickson, Senior Network Engineer, recommended a Proactive Service schedule to assist with routine maintenance. “Solbrekk’s Proactive philosophy has been financially beneficial to our clients by eliminating downtime and reducing reactive emergencies,” says Becky.
Once a month, a Solbrekk engineer visits to maintain the network and take care of any users’ issues that have occurred during the month. Solbrekk also has remote access to the network if Jorja needs immediate assistance. Jorja, who now has day-to-day computer administration in her job description, says, "I had faith in you guys. I felt comfortable when we met. I wasn't too worried about the cutover. It went so smooth! I am very happy." | “I had faith in you guys. I felt comfortable when we met. I wasn’t too worried about the cutover. It went so smooth! I am very
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