1. IBM-SAP Alliance
Industrial Products
HELLA – Driving SAP solution infrastructure simplicity with IBM Flex System
50 percent
reduction in network latency between servers migrated to IBM
10 percent
increase in network connectivity
Helps to reduce
time-to-market for new business applications in the future
The transformation: In the past, HELLA’s IT environment could not support a future-oriented, next-generation landscape, which could seamlessly integrate with its existing infrastructure. By running mission-critical SAP Business Suite applications, middleware and other business software on the IBM Flex System, the company has achieved a fully integrated, forward-looking IT infrastructure across two data center locations.
Solution components
Client Name:
HELLA
Case study Link:
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Pull Quote:
"The design of IBM Flex System really helped us optimizing our SAP ERP application performance."
—Radek Petrik, Head of IT infrastructure, HELLA
Company Background:
HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co is a global, independent, family-owned company with more than 30,000 employees at 100 locations in more than 35 countries. The HELLA Group develops and manufactures lighting and electronic components and systems for the automotive industry and also has one of the largest trade organizations for automotive parts, accessories, diagnosis, and services within Europe. In addition, complete vehicle modules, air-conditioning systems, and vehicle electrical systems are produced in joint venture companies. With more than 5,800 people working in research and development, HELLA is one of the most important innovation drivers on the market. In addition, with sales of approximately EUR5.3 billion in fiscal year 2013/2014, HELLA Group is one of the top 50 automotive parts suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest German industrial companies.
Solution components:
Hardware
• IBM® Flex System®
• IBM Systems solution for SAP HANA
Software
• IBM AIX®
Applications
• SAP Application Servers
• SAP Business Suite
• SAP ERP
• SAP Business Warehouse
• SAP Product Data Management
Business challenge:
Based on HELLA’s hardware refresh cycle, the company looked into modernizing its environment to create a simplified and future-oriented next-generation IT landscape. The new IT platform needed to seamlessly integrate with the existing infrastructure, remove the constraints of the existing peripheral and network devices, and not limit the choice of software stacks. Additionally, the HELLA team determined that the new platform should help reduce the number of physical systems, cut the complexity of the installed hardware, minimize the physical footprint, and enable standardized cross- platform administration.
The benefit:
Reduces network latency between servers migrated to the IBM Flex System by more than 50 percent. Increases network connectivity by a factor of ten and requires 70 percent fewer network cables, improving overall performance and reliability. Helps to reduce time-to-market for new business applications in the future.
Hardware
• IBM® Flex System®
• IBM Systems solution for SAP HANA
Software
• IBM AIX®
Applications
• SAP Application Servers
• SAP Business Suite
• SAP ERP
• SAP Business Warehouse
• SAP Product Data Management
"The design of IBM Flex System really helped us optimize our SAP ERP application performance."
—Radek Petrik, Head of IT infrastructure, HELLA
SPP03230-WWEN-00 1