Retailer Expects to Improve Network Security

and Cut Both Costs and Carbon Emissions

Overview “Windows Server 2008 will help us save money and Country or Region: United Kingdom Industry: Retail improve the security and manageability of our

Customer Profile infrastructure now and in the future.” The John Lewis Partnership includes Tony Godwin, PC Systems Architect, John Lewis Partnership department stores and supermarkets. With more than 68,000 employees, the company had consolidated revenue of The John Lewis Partnership was founded in London 143 years £5.7 billion (U.S.$11.4 billion) in fiscal year 2006. ago. The company, which operates John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, had consolidated its diverse Business Situation The John Lewis Partnership wanted to IT infrastructure over several years, which included installing continue the improvement of its IT Windows Server® 2003. It wanted to take the next step to operations by enhancing security, increasing productivity, and cutting costs. improve its network operations. In 2007, the company evaluated Windows Server 2008 features, including new security Solution The company deployed Windows Server® enhancements. It plans to deploy the Read-Only Domain 2008 and plans to take advantage of the Controller option to more than 200 remote sites. With the new new Read-Only Domain Controller feature. solution, the John Lewis Partnership anticipates that it will be able to remove at least one server from each remote site. The Benefits  Reduces costs company expects to improve security, increase productivity, and  Supports company initiative to reduce reduce energy consumption and costs. carbon emissions  Increases productivity and security  Enhances disaster prevention  Optimizes foundation

“We gained significant Situation problems and helped IT staff resolve issues The John Lewis Partnership was founded by before they affected users. benefits from an early John Spedan Lewis, who believed that his company’s unique ownership structure, In 2007, as the company analyzed its Windows Server 2003 which makes each employee a business operations, IT staff recognized that domain deployment and partner, is the foundation for success. From security and disaster prevention techniques a single small shop that opened on Oxford were areas that could be enhanced. IT staff wanted to establish Street in London in 1864, the partnership also wanted to find ways to conserve power has grown to include 26 John Lewis usage and save money as part of the whether an early department stores and 187 Waitrose company’s initiative to reduce carbon adoption of Windows supermarkets. As one of the United emissions. Kingdom’s top 10 retailers, the John Lewis Server 2008 offered Partnership has two head offices, several Solution distribution sites, and more than 68,000 The John Lewis Partnership decided to similar advantages.” employees. In fiscal year 2006, the participate in the Microsoft Rapid Tony Godwin, PC Systems Architect, company’s consolidated revenue was £5.7 Deployment Program for Windows Server John Lewis Partnership billion (U.S.$11.4 billion). 2008. “We have a commitment to Microsoft products, so we set out early to look at Prior to 2006, the John Lewis Partnership IT what Windows Server 2008 could give us,” infrastructure included a workgroup in each explains Tony Godwin, PC Systems of its 187 supermarkets. The company Architect at the John Lewis Partnership. consolidated this infrastructure by adding “We gained significant benefits from an its supermarkets to its existing Windows early Windows Server 2003 deployment Server® 2003 Active Directory® domain, and wanted to establish whether an early which was already deployed at its adoption of Windows Server 2008 offered headquarters and department store similar advantages.” branches. This single forest now contains 2,000 server computers running the In August 2007, the company deployed Windows Server 2003 operating system Windows Server 2008 Standard in a test and 17,000 workstations running the environment that replicated its production Windows® XP operating system. The infrastructure. The IT staff tested Windows Windows XP Embedded operating system Server 2008 over several months in a was installed on an additional 5,500 devices reference branch that mirrored a retail for point-of-sale applications in the store and made plans to move it gradually retailer’s branches. into production.

The John Lewis Partnership also turned to The John Lewis Partnership was particularly Microsoft® Operations Manager 2005 to interested in the Read-Only Domain monitor all remote domain controllers, Controller (RODC) feature of Windows which now number more than 250. The Server 2008. It planned to install an RODC company was pleased that Operations in the first of the company’s live branch Manager 2005 identified potential offices in early 2008. An RODC hosts read- only partitions of the Active Directory “We want the agility, Domain Services database and will cache Reduced Costs only the passwords that have been With Windows Server 2008 and the RODC flexibility, and security configured, which makes it ideal for remote option, the John Lewis Partnership can John Lewis Partnership locations where streamline its Active Directory that we will get from physical security cannot be guaranteed. infrastructure. Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 RODCs also meet the company’s criteria for supports hardware advancements including enhancing disaster prevention. 64-bit processing and addressing, and System Center multicore processors, and larger caches. As The company will maximize the potential of a result, the company expects to reduce the products. That is very the RODC by consolidating it with an number of data center domain controllers important to us.” existing branch infrastructure server from 16 to eight. providing the Dynamic Host Configuration Tony Godwin, PC Systems Architect, Protocol service, a client and server IT staff expect branch domain controller John Lewis Partnership deployment mechanism, and Microsoft and infrastructure server consolidation will Systems Management Server 2003 allow the removal of at least one server functions. This will be made possible by from each remote site. This will save delegating management of the RODC to approximately £40,000 annually (U.S. nonadministrator accounts and ultimately $79,881) in maintenance costs alone. will allow the John Lewis Partnership to remove one server from each of the Additionally, the company plans to double company’s branches. in size over the next 10 years. The ability to deploy a smaller number of servers in each In March 2008, the company will begin branch could save £500,000 (U.S.$980,392) installing products in the Microsoft System in hardware costs. Finally, because IT staff Center family, including Microsoft System will be able to modify power management Center Configuration Manager 2007 to settings and build a custom power plan simplify system deployment, task using Group Policy in Windows Server automation, and compliance automation, 2008, the company also will be able to and System Center Operations Manager more efficiently control its clients and 2007 to improve IT monitoring and servers, which will help it reduce power reporting. bills.

Benefits Increased Productivity By deploying Windows Server 2008, the Windows Server 2008 improves the John Lewis Partnership expects to see productivity of IT engineers at the John benefits that include reduced costs, Lewis Partnership, who have been required increased productivity, improved security, to build new domain controllers as newly and enhanced disaster prevention. The acquired branches are established. The company also anticipates that the new company expects to use the RODC feature solution will easily accommodate future to reduce by one day the amount of time it enhancements. takes IT staff to add a new branch to the network. IT administrators also expect to increase productivity because the RODC includes a The company is also evaluating the Server feature that allows domain controller Core installation option of Windows Server installation and management to be 2008 to reduce server maintenance and delegated to nonadministrative personnel management requirements. at a branch office. “Windows Server 2008 will help us save Enhanced Security and Disaster money and improve the security and Prevention manageability of our infrastructure now The John Lewis Partnership was concerned and in the future,” says Godwin. about the risks of running writeable domain controllers in branches. Installing the RODC option on its branch domain controllers allows an authorized branch user to effectively manage the RODC while reducing the security risk to the company’s Active Directory forest. An RODC does not cache any passwords by default, but it may be configured to cache certain passwords to ensure it can service authentication requests in the event of a network outage. In such cases, an RODC can be configured to store only the passwords of the users and computers in a particular branch, so only those passwords are at risk should the RODC be compromised.

By deploying Windows Server 2008 RODCs, the John Lewis Partnership also reduces the risk of unplanned updates to or malicious corruption of Active Directory replicating throughout the forest.

Optimized Foundation for the Future The John Lewis Partnership plans to use Windows Server 2008 and System Center products as the foundation for optimizing its IT infrastructure. “We want the agility, flexibility, and security that we will get from Windows Server 2008 and System Center products,” says Godwin. “That is very important to us.” For More Information Windows Server 2008 For more information about Microsoft Windows Server 2008, with built-in Web products and services, call the Microsoft and virtualization technologies, enables you Sales Information Center at (800) 426- to increase the reliability and flexibility of 9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft your server infrastructure. New Canada Information Centre at (877) 568- virtualization tools, Web resources, and 2495. Customers who are deaf or hard- security enhancements help you save time, of-hearing can reach Microsoft text reduce costs, and provide a platform for a telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) dynamic and optimized datacenter. 892-5234 in the United States or (905) Powerful new tools like IIS 7.0, Server 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 Manager, and Windows PowerShell™, allow United States and Canada, please contact you to have more control over your servers your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access and streamline Web, configuration, and information using the World Wide Web, management tasks. Advanced security and go to: reliability enhancements like Network www.microsoft.com Access Protection and the Read-Only Domain Controller option for Active For more information about the John Directory Domain Services harden the Lewis Partnership, call 020 7592 6110 or operating system and help protect your visit the Web site at: server environment to ensure you have a www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk solid foundation on which to build your business.

For more information, go to: www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008

Software and Services  Technologies  Microsoft Server Product Portfolio − Active Directory − Windows Server 2008 Standard − Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Hardware − Microsoft System Center  IBM System x server computers Configuration Manager 2007 − Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 − Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Document published February 2008