Solution synopsis
Familiprix consolidates its infrastructure, simplifies the production environment and increases system uptime when it has IBM Gold Business Partner Present implement an IBM Power E850 server that runs a Linux operating system and an IBM Storwize device to support its new SAP S/4HANA application.
The Client
Familiprix, established in Québec since 1977, is the only network of independent pharmacies that encourages the uniqueness and distinction of each pharmacist. Familiprix has its own pharmacy management software, distribution centre, point-of-sale software, mobiles apps and rewards program. As a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry with its positioning 100% dedicated to health, Familiprix puts people at the heart of everything it does. With a strong presence across Québec and New Brunswick, it has over 370 pharmacies. The entire Familiprix family believes that a pharmacy's priority should be the health of its clients and that concrete actions should be taken so that this priority is reflected in all of the products and services it offers. For Familiprix, it is as important to prevent health issues as it is to cure them. That is why its over 5000 employees are committed to having a positive impact on people's health each and every day.
Business need
Familiprix Inc. needed to replace an outdated ERP system with the SAP HANA application to apply the software’s newly developed functionality. To adequately support the SAP HANA application, the company needed an automated, high-performing and highly available IT solution that would help increase capacity for production and nonproduction environments and for new projects. Familiprix sought a cost-effective server and storage device to meet its goals.
Solution implementation
Familiprix engaged IBM Gold Business Partner Present to implement an IBM Power E850 server, running the SUSE Linux Enterprise operating system, to provide superior performance and reliability. The Power Systems server resides in the production environment to support all workloads, including the new SAP S/4HANA enterprise resource-management suite. The client can scale the system by using the IBM Capacity on Demand function and then implement additional SAP modules over time.
Then, the company installed an IBM Storwize V5020 Gen2 device to provide more reliable, centralized storage in support of production workloads. The final architecture will support two Power E850 servers, with the second server supporting a disaster-recovery environment and the next version of the SAP application.
Present’s architecture team assisted the organization with the entire implementation, using its mutual trust based on previous projects and facilitating contacts with key IBM resources for the HANA application. Present also built storage configurations, offered recommendations and answered questions and concerns voiced by Familiprix.
Benefits of the solution
By engaging IBM Gold Business Partner Present to implement an IBM Power E850 server that supports a Linux operating system and an IBM Storwize device, Familiprix gained the ability to deploy the SAP S/4HANA application on a flexible, consolidated hardware infrastructure. With the consolidated infrastructure, the client simplified the production environment, reduced system management time and increased system uptime. It also decreased its data-center footprint.
Familiprix can now support a fully virtualized environment, can share resources and can mix workloads in the production and nonproduction environments on the same platform. Last, the client increased system reliability and availability with enterprise-class servers and storage solutions.
Are you looking to migrate to SAP Hana? Contact the experts at Present to make sure your project is a success from start to finish.