Manufacturer Ups Efficiency and Agility, Cuts IT Costs by $325,000, with New Software

Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization Customer Solution Case Study

Overview “With the Microsoft business productivity Country or Region: United States infrastructure, we have the flexibility to integrate the Industry: Manufacturing—Packaging latest Microsoft solutions.… This is a real Customer Profile competitive advantage for us.” Scholle Packaging designs and manufactures bag-in-box packaging for Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network Systems, Scholle Packaging the food, beverage, and industrial markets. The company employs 1,800 Scholle Packaging is the leader in bag-in-box packaging for the people and has 20 manufacturing plants around the world. food, beverage, and industrial markets. When Scholle began producing products globally rather than regionally, employees Business Situation Scholle had an older, decentralized around the world needed better ways to communicate, but the Novell-based infrastructure that limited company’s older, decentralized server infrastructure was a communications options, saddled the IT staff with excessive management chores, barrier to flexible communications and business agility. Scholle and frequently failed. used its Microsoft® Enterprise Agreement to cost-effectively

Solution overhaul its business productivity and core IT infrastructures. It Scholle upgraded and consolidated its deployed modern communications and collaboration software to core infrastructure using Windows Server® 2008 with Hyper-V™, and facilitate information sharing and problem solving across the deployed a suite of Microsoft® business company. Using Microsoft virtualization and management productivity software to enhance collaboration. software, Scholle avoided U.S.$325,000 in hardware and staffing costs while reducing server downtime by 60 percent. Benefits  More agile responsiveness Employees are more productive, and the IT staff more  Faster product design responsive to business needs.  Hardware cost avoidance of U.S. $250,000  IT staff cost avoidance of $75,000  Downtime reduced by 60 percent “Teams wanted to use Situation than e-mail to succeed in fast-moving Scholle Packaging, headquartered in global markets,” Anderson says. “Teams instant messaging, Irvine, California, invented bag-in-box wanted to use instant messaging, Skype, Skype, blogs, forums, packaging (think boxed wine) more than 60 blogs, forums, wikis, video conferencing, years ago and has since evolved into a and other innovative communication wikis, video world leader of flexible packaging solutions methods, but our Novell infrastructure conferencing, and for the food, beverage, and industrial wouldn’t support them. Also, because we markets. Scholle has 1,800 employees, 20 couldn’t give vendors and customers other innovative manufacturing locations on five continents, access to our file-shares for security communication and sells its products in more than 60 reasons, we had to use e-mail as a countries. collaboration method. Management issued methods, but our a mandate to reduce time-to-market for Novell infrastructure For years, Scholle was organized new products, and our messaging regionally, with each geographical region infrastructure was slowing us down.” wouldn’t support them.” developing and marketing products for its Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network market. This led to a great deal of duplicate A richer, more flexible communications Systems, Scholle Packaging effort and products. In 2006, management infrastructure could also facilitate work on decided to restructure the business the company’s multiple LEAN initiatives, horizontally around strategic business which required input from staff members all units, each tasked with developing over the world. (LEAN is a manufacturing products for a global market. efficiency program that seeks to eliminate waste from business processes.) Scholle E-Mail Messaging Insufficient LEAN teams hold several weeklong events With this horizontal restructuring, teams throughout the year where staff members were suddenly working with colleagues focus on improving particular processes. around the world rather than with people in Team members communicated through their own region. It became apparent that overseas conference calls, sending the company’s older Novell-based documents back and forth as e-mail attach- messaging infrastructure provided limited ments. Overseas calls were expensive and communication and collaboration options. involved late-night meetings for many staff “Basically, all we had was e-mail and members. Communicating by e-mail was telephones,” says Keith Anderson, frustrating with so many parties involved, Manager of Global Network Systems for and it burdened the messaging system. Scholle Packaging. “This wasn’t enough to communicate effectively between plants in Server Downtime Interrupts Business different countries and time zones.” All of the company’s Novell servers were out of warranty, and its operating systems Employees experienced huge time lags as and Microsoft® Office productivity programs they waited for e-mail message replies were out-of-date. The older servers failed from colleagues on the other side of the frequently, for 24 hours or longer, which globe. Engineers spent hours assimilating slowed or stalled production, delayed edits to large CAD files that coworkers sent shipments, and sometimes upset as e-mail attachments. “E-mail messaging customers. Returning servers to service served its purpose, but we needed more “We looked at was difficult, because Scholle had IT staff collaboration infrastructure that would give in only 5 of its 27 server locations. global employees plenty of options for communications and sharing information. He wanted the core collaboration solutions “We were reactive in server management,” infrastructure to be consistent and easy to Anderson says. “If a server broke at a manage, and to offer common functionality from Novell, Oracle, location with no IT staff, we had to work —such as user account information, and Microsoft, but the with the local staff to identify and install workflows, and search—that could be needed parts. We also flew IT staff around centrally maintained and reused across Microsoft solution set the world to perform server upgrades.” multiple applications. offered the centralized, Also, because there were no IT staff members in most plant locations, Scholle Integrated Productivity Suite integrated could not securely place domain controllers In 2008, Scholle sought the help of Project management solutions there, which forced local users to Leadership Associates (PLA), a Microsoft authenticate over the wide-area network, a Gold Certified Partner in Chicago, Illinois, we were looking for.” slow and often frustrating process. to better understand how the Microsoft Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network Infrastructure Optimization model could Systems, Scholle Packaging In addition, many newer business applica- help Scholle employees be more tions that Scholle added needed to connect productive and IT staff be more effective to the enterprise e-mail system for sending and efficient. alerts and providing other e-mail integration services. However, it was time-consuming, “We looked at communications and and sometimes impossible, to integrate the collaboration solutions from Novell, Oracle, applications with Novell GroupWise and Microsoft, but the Microsoft solution set messaging software; once integrated, the offered the centralized, integrated new applications were often unreliable. management solutions we were looking for,” Anderson says. “Novell’s solutions When the company restructured, the IT seemed like a forced fit and based on old staff was asked to do more but not given protocols, and Oracle’s products solved more resources; in fact, IT headcount was some issues but not all.” cut. Yet two full-time staff members were dedicated to managing the 18 GroupWise Rapid, Economical Infrastructure messaging servers. “I wanted my people to Replacement work on new solutions that impacted the Scholle decided to deploy an integrated business, not on messaging services, suite of Microsoft business productivity which I consider a utility,” Anderson says. infrastructure products:

Solution  Microsoft Exchange Server 2007— Anderson knew that Scholle needed to messaging and calendaring software modernize its communications and  Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server collaboration infrastructure, consolidate 2007—collaboration software and centralize servers, and simplify IT  Microsoft Office Professional 2007— management tasks if the company was to productivity programs continue to grow. He envisioned a  Microsoft Office Communications Server centralized, flexible messaging and 2007—software that integrates instant messaging, presence, Web releases, which has always been a conferencing, and software-powered struggle.” voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)  Microsoft Office Communicator 2007—a PLA provided overall project management, unified communications client that people best-practices guidance, help with setting use to move seamlessly between e-mail up virtual machines, assistance in messaging, instant messaging, voice, deploying Exchange Server 2007 and and video communications from within migrating mailboxes from GroupWise, help any Microsoft Office application migrating the company’s directory structure from Novell eDirectory to Active Directory® Modernizing its business productivity Domain Services, and more. “There’s no infrastructure and replacing the older way that we could have tackled this Novell servers would require about 25 new ambitious project ourselves,” Anderson servers, however, which was a significant says. expense. At that point, PLA introduced “It was far more cost- Scholle to the Windows Server® 2008 The business productivity optimization effective to license operating system with Hyper-V™ project began in January 2008 and ended virtualization technology, which would in August 2008. In just seven months, these new programs enable Scholle to move forward with its Scholle was able to completely replace its through the Enterprise business productivity enhancement with companywide business productivity about one-third the expected server infrastructure and consolidate servers for CAL, since we were expenses. Scholle was able to replace 40 easier management and more flexible rolling out so many Novell servers in 27 locations with 13 new response to business needs. Windows Server 2008–based servers in 4 Microsoft solutions. It locations. also helps us to stay PLA also helped Scholle get the maximum Unified Communications current with the latest benefit from its investment in the Microsoft Scholle runs Microsoft Exchange Server releases.” Enterprise Client Access License (CAL) 2007 on a cluster of four physical servers in Suite, which gives organizations an easy the Scholle data center, which provides Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network way to license 11 popular Microsoft nonstop reliability and easy IT oversight. Systems, Scholle Packaging business productivity infrastructure Scholle employees now have programs. Until then, Scholle had only conveniences such as shared calendars, taken advantage of the Windows Server which they did not have in GroupWise, and 2003 operating system to run custom and a far more intuitive e-mail client (the third-party business applications and Microsoft Office Outlook® 2007 messaging Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 data and collaboration client). “Training takes no management software. “It was far more time, because most employees have used cost-effective to license these new Office Outlook at home, in school, or in programs through the Enterprise CAL, previous jobs,” Anderson says. “In contrast, since we were rolling out so many it took a month or more for employees to Microsoft solutions,” Anderson says. “It learn GroupWise.” Employees similarly also helps us to stay current with the latest embraced Office Communications Server 2007 with no formal training. collaboration devices in branch offices. With this integrated suite of RoundTable is a video conferencing phone communications technologies, Scholle that captures and broadcasts a 360-degree employees now have access to security- view of everyone in a meeting room. enhanced instant messaging, presence, RoundTable follows the conversation and computer-based Web conferencing, and broadcasts a close-up of the speaker. software-powered VoIP. This abundance of flexible communications options helps Online Collaboration project teams collaborate faster and more Teams across Scholle have also embraced easily. For example, international design Office SharePoint Server 2007 for posting teams can use the presence indicator to and sharing documents, creating blogs and see if colleagues are online any time of the collaborative Web sites (wikis), sharing day or night, to get fast answers to project calendars, hosting discussion questions over instant messaging. With just groups, providing contact lists, and more. a few mouse clicks, they can add new To date, about 120 teams have created people to the conversation and even their own SharePoint team sites, and escalate the conversation to an audio or Anderson has moved the corporate intranet Web conference. to Office SharePoint Server 2007. All information across all the SharePoint sites “Presence, Web conferencing, and instant is searchable, and business users have the messaging are big home runs with Office ability to control document-access rights Communications Server 2007,” Anderson without going through the IT staff. Scholle says. “If I get an e-mail message from uses SQL Server 2005 to store its someone and see from the presence SharePoint site documents and data. indicator that they are online, I can send them an instant message and get an Scholle Corporate, for example, has answer without waiting on, or burdening, created a SharePoint site where the chief our e-mail system. Communication across financial officer posts monthly financial the company is much faster now. Also, we reports and announcements for Scholle had no chat capability before, because we executives. Previously, this information was didn’t want our intellectual property being sent in e-mail messages or shared in discussed across our firewall. With Office conference calls that were tricky to Communications Server 2007, we have organize because of multiple schedules secure instant messaging that can be and time zones. Now, the information is monitored.” always online and up-to-date, so executives can access it anytime, from any Scholle is interested in pursuing additional Web browser. communications enhancements: replacing its branch-office PBX systems with Office The packaging group created a SharePoint Communications Server 2007 VoIP; site where executives and upper-level integrating e-mail, voice-mail, and fax management can collaborate on daily, inboxes through Exchange Server 2007 weekly, and monthly financial, marketing, unified communications; and implementing and market-assessment information. Microsoft RoundTable™ conferencing and Participants are able to post information in “I can see from Office real time for rapid consumption and the operating system that hosts read-only feedback, rather than waiting to discuss it partitions of the Active Directory Domain Communicator that a in monthly meetings. Services database. An RODC provides a colleague in Brazil is security-enhanced way to deploy a domain Another SharePoint site provides a forum controller in locations that require fast and online, tell him or her in which the 27 Scholle manufacturing reliable authentication services but cannot what I need, and get facilities can report quality issues as they ensure physical security for a writeable arise, rather than sharing them through domain controller. an immediate lengthy e-mail trails and waiting for replies. response.” Scholle is deploying several Microsoft Virtualization, Centralized Management System Center data-center solutions to Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network The company’s business productivity centralize and further simplify the Systems, Scholle Packaging infrastructure now relies on 13 physical management of its server and client servers running Windows Server 2008 computers: Datacenter with Hyper-V. To date, Anderson has created 143 virtual machines  Microsoft System Center on these 13 servers, which host the Configuration Manager 2007 is company’s messaging, collaboration, and used to automate the deployment of file-server workloads. Guest servers (virtual operating systems, applications, and machines running on a host server) run the security updates to computers in any Windows Server 2008 Standard and location, and to easily report on the Windows Server 2003 Standard operating company’s technology assets. systems.  Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 is used Scholle still has about 20 stand-alone to proactively monitor the company’s application servers that will eventually be distributed servers. moved to virtual machines. In the  Microsoft System Center Virtual meantime, Scholle has connected them to Machine Manager 2008, planned for its Active Directory Domain Services mid-2009, provides easy physical-to- directory structure, which has made them virtual server migration, virtual-machine much easier to manage. Scholle also found performance optimization, and easier it easy to integrate third-party applications management of both physical and virtual such as the Baan enterprise resource servers. planning system with Active Directory and  Microsoft System Center Data Exchange Server 2007. Anderson was able Protection Manager 2007, also to to use Active Directory Domain Services to be deployed in mid-2009, will be used to create a single sign-on to all key automate the backup of data on servers applications, which simplifies logon in all locations and store that data on procedures for employees. both disk and tape.

In plant sites where there is no IT staff, Benefits Scholle uses read-only domain controller With its new business productivity (RODC) technology in Windows Server infrastructure, Scholle Packaging can 2008 to deploy a Server Core installation of quickly respond to global market demands “Our investment in 13 by enabling employees to communicate important as the communication time and collaborate faster. Ultimately, these savings is the fact that all documentation is servers running Hyper- efficiencies will translate into faster time-to- posted on a SharePoint site for later V gave us the market with new products. reference.” Although LEAN events still last Using server virtualization, Scholle was a week, participants save two to three processing equivalent able to avoid a U.S.$250,000 hardware hours every day during the LEAN event. of 143 servers, a expense and a $75,000 IT salary. The Instead of working late into the night, they more reliable infrastructure has led to a 60 finish by 5:00 P.M. or earlier. hardware cost percent reduction in downtime, which avoidance of further increases companywide Use of presence, instant messaging, and productivity. audio and Web conferencing across the $250,000.” company similarly accelerate reaction Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network More Agile Responsiveness times and enrich phone and e-mail Systems, Scholle Packaging With its integrated business productivity conversations. “We can accomplish in a infrastructure, Scholle employees are able five-minute Web conference what to distribute and share information much previously might have taken hours,” faster, which increases productivity, speeds Anderson says. problem resolution, and increases overall business agility. Management has access Scholle also has a technology foundation to fresh financial and operational data that can accommodate new productivity- throughout the day, rather than waiting for boosting innovations without extensive conference calls to be organized. development work. “With the Microsoft Employees throughout the company can business productivity infrastructure, we contact one another over instant have the flexibility to integrate the latest messaging and Web conferencing to Microsoft solutions, third-party software, resolve issues the very same day, or hour, hosted solutions, and custom applications,” rather than waiting for meetings or wading Anderson says. “This enables the business through lengthy e-mail threads. Using the to embrace innovation without technology designated SharePoint site, for example, being a barrier. This is a real competitive the manufacturing facilities can react to advantage for us.” quality issues in minutes or hours rather than days. Faster Product Design Improved productivity is expected to have a The enhanced productivity infrastructure long-term positive impact on product has also positively affected the efficiency of development. “With a more flexible the company’s LEAN events. Scholle communications and collaboration created a SharePoint site for each LEAN infrastructure, we’ll be able to get products initiative, and a sub-site for each event to market faster in our new global business under those initiatives, where all structure by connecting team members information related to an event is stored. “I around the world,” Anderson says. can see from Office Communicator that a colleague in Brazil is online, tell him or her Scholle also is already communicating and what I need, and get an immediate collaborating more closely with customers response,” Anderson says. “Just as and the suppliers with whom it works to “IT always seemed to develop custom products for specific eliminate the work of one full-time staff customer needs. Scholle implemented person, valued at $75,000, by consolidating be a roadblock to the federation in Office Communications our servers with Hyper-V and managing business in our old Server 2007 so that employees can extend our entire infrastructure with Microsoft the efficiencies of presence, group software.” Novell environment. conferencing, and instant messaging to We can now give these external users. Anderson’s team is Scholle has not only reduced IT now using Office SharePoint Server 2007 management time and costs, but opened business users the to build an extranet that will enable Scholle up more possibilities for creating innovative power to drive the staff to share documents, online business solutions that weren’t possible, or discussions, and development schedules were cost-prohibitive, in a Novell business…. with customers and vendors with optimized environment. For example, Anderson’s Technology is now a security. Sharing drawings and other staff recently implemented two new hosted project documentation on SharePoint sites solutions and was able to use single sign- help rather than a will eliminate the need to send large on created with Active Directory to enable hindrance.” documents as e-mail attachments, reduce access to those solutions. “This would not miscommunication, and accelerate overall have been easy to do with Novell,” Keith Anderson, Manager, Global Network time-to-market. Anderson says. Systems, Scholle Packaging Hardware Cost Avoidance of $250,000, Staff-Time Reduction of $75,000 With its use of Windows Server 2008 with Downtime Reduced by 60 Percent Hyper-V, Scholle was able to consolidate Scholle now has a highly available 40 physical servers to 13 physical servers, messaging and collaboration infrastructure and still increase capacity. “Our investment that employees around the world use to in 13 servers running Hyper-V gave us the communicate without interruptions. processing equivalent of 143 servers, a “Unscheduled Novell downtime averaged hardware cost avoidance of $250,000,” 50 hours annually. In the nine months that Anderson says. we have been on the Microsoft infrastructure, we’ve had 15 hours of Scholle now has a consistent technology unscheduled downtime,” Anderson says. infrastructure that is easier to manage and “We’re on track to reduce unscheduled more flexible, making it possible for the IT downtime by 30 hours annually.” staff to keep headcount stable as it expands its IT role. “The IT staff was being When there is a problem, it’s far easier to asked to perform more duties with fewer take remedial action. “I’m definitely resources, and we now have an sleeping better at night,” Anderson says of infrastructure that enables us to do that,” his new infrastructure’s stability. “I have a Anderson says. “The System Center very high comfort level from the fact that all solutions will give us additional efficiencies servers are in locations where we have IT that will enable us to proactively manage personnel, so if something happens, we our infrastructure, avoid problems that used can reduce recovery time from 24 to 4 to eat up huge amounts of time, and hours. Or, using virtualization, we can automate many routine tasks. We will transfer workloads to new virtual machines in minutes. It used to take 6 hours to set up a physical server; now it takes 10 minutes to create a virtual machine.”

Future Improvements Next, Scholle wants to use its intranet as an integration point for line-of-business applications and create workflows inside and around those applications. For example, different departments could use SharePoint sites as a central place for completing and routing forms or spreadsheets. Other business groups are very interested in using wikis, blogs, and social networking features on their SharePoint sites.

When RoundTable is deployed companywide, Anderson estimates that Scholle will be able to reduce travel costs by $8,000 in the first year, with savings increasing by 10 percent annually.

“IT always seemed to be a roadblock to the business in our old Novell environment,” Anderson says in conclusion. “Business users would request a new capability or application, but it was either not possible or would take months to implement. That is no longer the case. We can now give business users the power to drive the business. Technology is now a help rather than a hindrance.” For More Information Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization For more information about Microsoft With infrastructure optimization, you can products and services, call the Microsoft build a secure, well-managed, and dynamic Sales Information Center at (800) 426- core IT infrastructure that can reduce 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft overall IT costs, make better use of Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- resources, and become a strategic asset 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- for the business. The Infrastructure of-hearing can reach Microsoft text Optimization model—with basic, telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) standardized, rationalized, and dynamic 892-5234 in the United States or (905) levels—was developed by Microsoft using 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 industry best practices and Microsoft’s own United States and Canada, please experiences with enterprise customers. contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. The Infrastructure Optimization model To access information using the World provides a maturity framework that is Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com flexible and easily used as a benchmark for technical capability and business value. For more information about Project Leadership Associates products and For more information about Microsoft services, call (312) 441-0077 or visit the infrastructure optimization, go to: Web site at: www.microsoft.com/io www.projectleadership.net

For more information about Scholle Packaging products and services, call (888) BAG-N-BOX or visit the Web site at: www.scholle.com

Software and Services  Microsoft Office  Microsoft Server Product Portfolio − Microsoft Office Communications − Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Server 2007 − Windows Server 2008 Enterprise − Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 − Windows Server 2008 Standard − Microsoft Office Professional 2007 − Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 − Microsoft Office SharePoint Server − Microsoft SQL Server 2005 2007 − Microsoft System Center  Technologies Configuration Manager 2007 − Active Directory Domain Services − Microsoft System Center Operations − Hyper-V Manager 2007 Partner  Project Leadership Associates

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Document published June 2009