Kiekert AG, a specialist in vehicle locking systems, decided in 1999 to migrate the SAP R/2 ERP solution from the mainframe to SAP R/3 on Windows NT. 600 users have now been connected. The mainframe was disconnected on 1st July, 2000. So far the system has not experienced a single failure and availability is 100 per cent. The objective to continuously reduce IT costs - and thereby minimize TCO - is bearing fruit.

"The end users are relatively satisfied with SAP R/3, but like every R/3 user are struggling to properly comprehend the close integration of the business processes. The NT platform and COMPAREX processors have so far provided 100 per cent availability. The bias in some of the press in favour of UNIX and against NT is something that I can't share from our own experience of this installation." MICHAEL GRAULICH

Kiekert: Complete Systems for Vehicles

Kiekert, the world's leading manufacturer of vehicle locking systems, produces systems for everything designed to open and close or lock and unlock vehicles. Its portfolio includes a full range of products from highly integrated system locks to complex door modules.

ERP: R/2 on Mainframe

Kiekert AG has been a SAP R/2 customer since 1989. All available R/2 modules were implemented on the mainframe. In 1998, the decision was taken to migrate to R/3. In early 1999, a project planned to run for 15 months examined the question of the platform to be adopted (mainframe, UNIX or Windows NT). The project was carried out in conjunction with KPMG.

Availability and Scalability All Important

The first prototype was developed by April 1999. By October the integration tests got underway. A decision was taken during this phase to run R/3 on the Intel platform with COMPAREX processors and an Oracle database system. Michael Graulich, Manager of the "Organisation and Data Processing" Department at Kiekert AG adds "In addition to the technical implementation of the application, we also availed ourselves of COMPAREX's advice as regards SAP R/3 and the Oracle data-base system."

The servers on the shortlist included two COMPAREX S1000-870 systems, each with four processors and 2 gigabyte main memory. One of the two servers was to be configured as an application server and the other as a database server. "The hardware", states Michael Graulich, "made such advances that, by February 2000, the new 890 systems from COMPAREX came equipped with eight processors and 4 GB main memory. These two servers were connected to a disk subsystem purchased the previous year." During the installation and configuration discussions, particular weight was attached to availability and scalability. It was also important to keep system management as straightforward as possible. In implementing these requirements, the 890 servers were equipped with "Path Failover". Accesses are made via two cross-over paths. A failure of one of these paths has no effect on the availability of the system as a whole. The RAID subsystem provides excellent availability such that Michael Graulich can proudly claim "So far we have not had a single failure of any sort." This applies not only to the central site in Heiligenhaus with its some 600 users, but also to a further 400 users worldwide who are also served by Heiligenhaus.

Migration to NT: A Strategic Decision

Kiekert AG chose the Microsoft platform for strategic reasons. Michael Graulich explains, "All our servers use Windows NT. This means that we can not only replace the mainframe by Windows NT, but also the UNIX-based client/server systems. Our objective with this measure was to achieve TCO benefits and simplify administration - and this is exactly what we did."
The NT installation was undertaken for the most part by COMPAREX as a service in February/March 2000. With the support of COMPAREX, the NT installation proved to be relatively simple and straightforward. The actual migration took place at Easter 2000. All in all, 80 gigabyte of SAP data were migrated from the mainframe environment to SAP R/3 via a direct channel link to the NT server. Since the migration, the entire platform has provided 100 per cent availability. Around 6 million dialog steps are processed every month.

Thin Clients with Citrix Software

"We had to replace 150 old '3270' terminals, which of course would not function in an R/3 environment, with either classical PCs or Thin Clients," explains Michael Graulich. "In pursuance of our efforts to reduce TCO, we decided to implement together with COMPAREX Citrix MetaFrame for Windows NT terminal servers."

Mainframe Have Now Been Discontinued

After three to four months' of parallel operations, the mainframe was shut down on 1st July, 2000. The TCO calculation worked out well. Annual IT costs are falling. "The end users", sums up Michael Graulich, "are relatively satisfied with SAP R/3, but like every R/3 user are struggling to properly comprehend the close integration of the business processes. The NT platform and COMPAREX processors have so far provided 100 per cent availability. The bias in some of the press in favour of UNIX and against NT is something that I can't share from our own experience of this installation."

COMPAREX: An Expert Partner You Can Rely on

Michael Graulich is more than satisfied with the partnership with COMPAREX. "COMPAREX's personnel were friendly, competent and highly experienced and also undertook every aspect of the implementation very efficiently and without error - COMPAREX monitored the migration all the way and its advice and recommendations were always right. Looking back, we know that we made the right choice. And that is something that cannot always be said of such large projects."

Facts and figures about Kiekert (1999)
Company: founded 1857; today a public limited company (AG)
Head office: Heiligenhaus near Wuppertal
Sites: 12 (in 9 countries)
Area of operation: manufacturer of vehicle locking systems
Sales: DM 1.2 billion
Employees: 4,120
www.kiekert.de