Case Study: IBM Distributor

If You Knew What You Know Now, Would You Marry That Solution Again?

One end-user asked this question and said, "Yes."

Installing a new system is one of the most critical decisions a company faces. It demands a sizable investment, a major commitment plus long hours—and it can disrupt operations. Make the wrong decision and getting out is as difficult and expensive as ending a bad marriage. Imagine experiencing results first and then making a decision. That's what one company did—in a manner of speaking.

A large oil exploration company based in Dallas, TX, needed a new storage system to attach to its existing Sun Microsystems server (an E4000) to store and process a terabyte of seismic graphic data for a new project. Requirements included high performance and availability, competitive pricing and scalability—for adding and accessing an additional one-half to a full terabyte in another year or two. They planned to continue using their old storage system, an IBM AS/400 and some NT and Sun servers, for ongoing business.

"The company decided to investigate Sun's new high speed storage system, a fiber (FC-AL) offering," says Doug Kennedy, Product Manager-Platform Online Storage for Dallas Digital Corporation, a Dallas-based IBM Solution Provider of KeyLink/Dickens focusing on data management and backup solutions in the open systems market. "They wanted to make sure they invested in technology that would be around in the next two years. Our team offered a better solution."

Master storage distributor KeyLink/Dickens configured a new SBUS card technology solution. Ken Scott, IBM Storage Specialist in Dallas, then worked with Dallas Digital Sales Representative Joe Heitmeyer to present their optimal solution to the client.

Outhead: A large oil exploration company bonds with its solution provider for a long-term relationship.

Their proposal: An IBM storage solution—an IBM 7133-020 disk subsystem with two enclosures, each holding sixteen 9.1 gigabyte disk drives—to attach to their Sun server. An IBM SBUS Interface Controller card would connect the server with IBM Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) enclosures.

The team showed the client how the IBM solution was superior to the Sun offering. Installation began, and KeyLink/Dickens offered cabling alternatives when a card cabling problem arose. The client's new project was soon up and running.

It was a happy marriage between solution and user. "They were very pleased with the excellent performance and competitive pricing our solution provided," says Kennedy. Commenting about the IBM and Dallas Digital team effort, he added, “We couldn't have done it without them—and they without us."

Since the installation, the client has added another half-terabyte of storage space and is planning for more in the future. "It was time to re-evaluate," Kennedy states. "Were they still getting the best product for their needs? They looked at competitive offerings and determined that the IBM SSA was still the best solution and a sound additional investment."

This oil exploration company had the opportunity to determine, based on actual performance, whether to marry the same solution and solution provider again. High performance, scalability, competitive pricing and superior knowledge and service led them to the identical decision. They knew they had invested in the best solution for their growing needs—not only for today but tomorrow.