Business Situation
Prior to the start of this project, Hannover Re had successfully completed the migration at its headquarters from Banyan Vines Operating and Messaging to Windows/Exchange 2000. Given the imminent expiration of the Banyan Vines support contract for the offices and the costs associated with renewing that contract, they had decided to quickly replace all Banyan software products. It then faced the challenge of:

• replacing the existing Banyan and Novell installations in 9 local offices spread over 7 countries with a standardized, high-performance and consistent W2000/Exchange2000 implementation
• delivering the new environment in time to save substantially on service contracts for Novell and Banyan
• reducing the complexity of its IT environment via a significant streamlining of its IT architecture.

Solution
The Avanade team has been working closely with the customer to:

• Finalize the Windows 2000 architecture to support global rollout
• Implement a Meta-Directory based user administration
• Prepare and deliver the rollout of the Windows and Exchange 2000 environment in all local Banyan based offices
• Complete the parallel rollout of the Windows 2000 environment in all local Novell based offices.

The result is a standardized infrastructure platform as a basis for future enhancements.

Results 

• Managed cost, risk, and performance of the global infrastructure
• Extended network administration and global operations capabilities
• Enhanced system security, availability and functionality
• Reduced complexity via a managed infrastructure allowing the standardization of applications and processes
• Business owners in the foreign offices can focus on core competencies while their IT is managed centrally