"So much room for development and dynamism is only possible through the increased use of information and communications technology", says Dietmar Lummitsch, CIO of TÜV Holding. He also lists the reasons for this. "Only this will give the Group the flexibility it needs to cope with changes both on the market and within the organisation. The effectiveness of its network and applications is maintained and the costs/benefit ratio remains at an economically-viable level".

To achieve this specific goal, Lummitsch launched the "IT standardisation" project (known as ITS) at the beginning of 2001. The aim of this project, which calls on support from COMPAREX Professional Services, was to bring about a more for a new generation in terms of the TÜV Süddeutschland's system technology, and to establish a general, binding Group standard across the entire IT system - from PC workstations and servers to the IP network and the applications. "With this project", says the CIO, "we wanted to standardise as much as possible the heterogeneous system environments that have grown up in the various companies over the years"

In future, Windows 2000 and Windows XP would be used on all client PCs, along with the relevant Office (2000/XP) and Exchange (2000) packages. Furthermore, the PC workstations would be served as much as possible from the central office in Munich via a defined basket of basic hardware, software and company-specific programs. Windows 2000, with Active Directory as its directory system, was to be used as a binding network server platform. Some 400 domain controllers would then be used to facilitate the group-wide operation of some 360 sites with more than 7,500 Windows 2000 / Windows XP clients. The high number of network and application servers - which at that time numbered 800 - needed to be reduced as much as possible through consolidation at the main sites of Munich, Filderstadt, Mannheim and Darmstadt.

The scope of the project was also to embrace the establishment of a DHCP/DNS (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol / Domain Name Server), so that the IP address assignments could in future be managed automatically in the background. Last but not least, a binding storage solution throughout the group needed to be implemented, consisting of a combined NAS (Network Attached Storage) and SAN (Storage Attached Network) solution. Furthermore, maximum availability of data needed to be ensured for the entire holding company.

The rollout of the client systems for the TÜV Bau und Betrieb is already well underway with support from COMPAREX Professional Services. The client rollout for the TÜV Akademie and TÜV Holding is taking place in parallel. Alongside the software distribution, the pathbeater for this fast rollout, other SMS (System Management Server) disciplines such as inventory management, asset management and remote control/helpdesk have also now been implemented - as has the automatic IP address assignment function. The implementation of the Active Directory domain concept is currently in full swing. The Microsoft Review Center Central Europe, to whom the concept was submitted in advance by the Managing Board, has accredited it as "excellent". The detailed concept and the implementation plan for the NAS/SAN installation have been drafted. Once implemented, the foundations for a group-wide, reliable emergency concept will be in place.

Even though the ITS project is still underway, the advantages available to the TÜV Süddeutschland with support from COMPAREX Professional

• Overall fewer interfaces and less complexity
• Greater availability of communications
• More stable applications
• Regulated access to and seamless adoption of customer data, both within and between companies
• Easier management of clients, servers and IP addresses
• More effective and inexpensive support and maintenance
• Concentration of knowledge and experience within the group
• Less training outlay overall
• Greater transparency for the overall system
• Considerable cost savings for IT operations, plus in future in IT projects and IT investments
• Best possible prospects for group-wide controlling and cost allocation of clients, servers and applications

Gerhard Bader, Project Manager at TÜV Informatik Service (TI Information Technology Services), TÜV Süddeutschland's internal information and communications service provider, is also delighted with the way the project has progressed so far. "The project culture between the team of COMPAREX specialists, led by Andreas Martin, and TÜV Süddeutschland has been excellent at every stage". He particularly praises the comprehensive expertise, high level of strategic consulting, excellent know-how transfer and practical concept that has been geared to practical needs with every new phase of the implementation process. Bader anticipates a ROI for the entire solution in less than three years after conclusion of the project.