<p>Microsoft SQL Server Customer Solution Case Study</p><p>Manufacturer Speeds SAP Performance and Helps Employees Make Better Decisions</p><p>“Because SQL Server 2008 R2 helps us process more data and access it faster, we can make better decisions and analysis about pricing considerations and where products should be shipped.” Boon Beh, Vice President of Information Technology, Americas, Incitec Pivot Limited</p><p>Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL), which has major manufacturing and distribution operations in Australia, the Americas, Europe, and Asia, is a global leader in the production of industrial explosives and fertilisers for the mining and agricultural industries. Because the company wanted to upgrade its large SAP environment to gain better performance and standardize systems, it migrated to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 software. As a result, IPL employees can access data faster and make better decisions, and the company has reduced some batch processing jobs from 24 hours to 2. Also, the firm has a better disaster-recovery solution in place and can restore its systems faster than before.</p><p>Business Needs are used to extract minerals including Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) iron ore, coal, and gold, and its manufactures and markets explosives fertilisers help increase the production and fertilisers to customers in many of food and natural fibers. countries. The company’s explosives </p><p>This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published July 2013 IPL manages a large, 2,500-user SAP migration tools, BNW completed the IPL has also benefited from reduced environment running on two databases, migration with no issues. “The batch processing times, a direct result including SAP enterprise resource migration process has matured over of the new solution’s improved planning (ERP) and modules for the years to a point where we can performance. “Some batch processing accounting, materials management, migrate any customer to SQL Server in jobs that could take 24 hours before sales and distribution, logistics, and a weekend,” says Warwick Chai, can now be completed in about 2 plant maintenance. “Our SAP Principal and Founder of BNW hours, because of this SQL Server 2008 environment is critical to our business,” Consulting. IPL also took advantage of R2–based solution,” says Eckman. says Boon Beh, Vice President of database compression functionality in “That’s a big time savings, and it Information Technology, Americas at SQL Server 2008 R2 to reduce the size means we can direct our staff IPL. “We need to make sure that it’s of its database. elsewhere to work on more important performing well, so employees get the IT projects.” business data they need as fast as possible. We needed to upgrade to the Benefits Additionally, because the IT latest SAP releases to support business With its new, higher-performing SQL infrastructure is now streamlined requirements.” Server 2008 R2–based solution, IPL across the entire IPL business, system employees can access data faster and management is greatly simplified. “By IPL also sought to standardize the make better decisions, and the aligning all of our business units and database software and hardware among company has cut some processing standardizing on SQL Server 2008 R2, all of its business units, including Dyno jobs from 24 hours to 2. The company we have greatly streamlined Nobel, a company that it acquired in has also expanded its disaster- maintenance,” says Eckman. “We’re 2008. Dyno Nobel had been running its recovery capabilities and can restore down to just one environment to SAP system on Microsoft SQL Server systems 80 percent faster. support our SAP system, instead of software. “Dyno Nobel was on SQL trying to manage different database Server, which was actually showing Helps Employees Access Data Faster software and hardware. Everything is great performance,” says Gary Eckman, and Make Better Decisions About unified, which makes my job easier and IT Infrastructure Team Lead at IPL. Products less time-consuming.” With SQL Server 2008 R2 powering its In late 2011, IPL decided to standardize SAP system, IPL is seeing 50 percent Provides Stronger Business the entire company on Intel commodity faster database query times. “With SQL Continuity and Restores Systems hardware, as well as Windows Server Server 2008 R2 and our new hardware, Faster and SQL Server. “It seemed like the right we’re seeing millisecond query Using database compression in SQL time to upgrade IPL to SQL Server,” says response times, which is a huge win Server 2008 R2, IPL has been able to Beh. for our users,” says Beh. “That means reduce backup volumes. “With the our employees who need to get at compression capabilities in SQL Server Solution data for analytical purposes can access 2008 R2, we’ve been able to greatly IPL engaged local technology partner it much faster than before.” reduce our backup database size,” says BNW Consulting to assist in migrating Beh. “That gave us the confidence to the IPL and Dyno Nobel SAP Because IPL workers can get to critical expand our disaster recovery across environments to Microsoft SQL Server business data faster, the organization the globe. So instead of a regional 2008 R2 Enterprise running on the can make more-informed decisions disaster-recovery site for each SAP Windows Server 2008 R2 operating about the business. “Because SQL instance, we have now consolidated to system. Server 2008 R2 helps us process more one site in the United States. Our data and access it faster, we can make business continuity is much stronger In early 2012, BNW helped IPL complete better decisions and analysis about as a result.” the migration, in addition to upgrading pricing considerations and where its hardware to Dell PowerEdge R720 products should be shipped,” says Beh. IPL has also been able to lower the servers and moving IPL to a virtual “That ultimately means we can deliver time it takes to restore its systems. server environment our products to customers faster.” “With our new hardware, better disaster recovery processes, and the Following standard SAP migration Cuts Processing Jobs from 24 Hours database compression in SQL Server procedures and using SAP database to 2 and Eases Management 2008 R2, we’ve been able to lower our service level agreement statistics,” says</p><p>This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published July 2013 Beh. “Previously, it took 24 hours to recovery test, but we can do it in less example of how this solution was the restore our systems in a disaster- than 2 hours now. That’s another great right choice for our business.”</p><p>This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published July 2013</p>