ICT Server Infrastructure Refresh - Wiltshire PCT
Background
Wiltshire PCT IT department has 18 employees and provides IT services for Wiltshire County Council staff based on local health sites and 3000 staff in the district of Wiltshire and Swindon.
Requirement
Wiltshire PCT needed to consolidate it’s existing server infrastructure for messaging, file and data storage and a network backup solution to provide reliability and business continuity in the event of failure. The Trust also needed to ensure that new software and hardware were deployed to ensure efficiency and reliability of an updated solution, to enable delivery of high-quality patient and public services.
Approach
The Trust chose BDS Solutions to consolidate the legacy server infrastructure onto new Dell PowerEdge server hardware. In addition, BDS Solutions also provided consultancy for:
- the migration of the Trust’s legacy Microsoft Exchange 2000 clustered server to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
- the implementation of a new Microsoft Windows 2003 File and Print cluster
- a new Microsoft SQL 2000 data cluster
- the deployment of the new enterprise backup solution.
Results
BDS Solutions delivered a technical design specification for a proposed infrastructure, assessed migration options and recommended an approach which allowed the Trust to transition network resources to the new infrastructure during a staged migration. A key objective identified by the Trust for any resulting implementation was to minimise end-user disruption and risk to the business whilst ensuring the projects outcome was not compromised.
Benefits Realised
The modernisation of the Trusts legacy server environment strengthened security increased the availability of business critical applications and reduced operational costs through a reduction in the administrative overhead associated with maintaining legacy systems. Strategic benefits provided by the introduction of the new architecture include a technology platform prepared to support future developments, including the ability to accommodate additional directory-enabled applications.
Testimonial
"BDS Solutions has been a valued support partner for many years and has always provided professional and fully-managed consultancy services in a large number of areas. BDS Solutions has been recently engaged to provide a proposal to upgrade our Exchange 2000 implementation to Exchange 2003 and also to upgrade existing aging hardware hosting our file and print cluster to more current hardware and operating system.
"The projects were both major and BDS Solutions took ownership from conception to completion, managing the projects using PRINCE2 methodology. As a customer we were involved in each step of the design, with regular project meetings at key stages throughout the design and implementation.
"As a result, smooth transition was achieved with minimal downtime. The project clearly identified responsibilities which helped during the implementation stages. The consultants supplied were able to carry out the installations with minimal input from Trust IT staff as the initial engagements between ourselves and the BDS Solutions project team addressed all potential queries."
