IBM - Vishay

Vendor: IBM (NYSE: IBM)
Channel Partner: SAP www.sap.com 
Customer: Vishay www.vishay.com   
Vertical Markets: Manufacturing

Technology Used: SAP R/3 4.6, IBM Power Systems (multiple p5-570, p5-560, p550 and p520 servers), IBM System Storage DS8000, IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM FlashCopy, IBM PowerHA, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, Oracle.

Solution: Headquartered in Malvern, PA, Vishay is a major manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components. Their products can be found in almost all types of electronic devices and equipment, including those used by aerospace, automotive, computing, consumer, industrial, and telecommunications industries.

When Vishay's existing Tru-64 hardware platform was retired by its manufacturer, the company began searching for a suitable replacement that would provide long-term stability. The company needed a partner that could assist them with migrating to a new global server landscape and help with SAP application changes and upgrades. In addition, they required a solution that would support their around-the-clock operations in Europe, Israel, the Far East, and the Americas.

Vishay chose to utilize IBM's products and services to meet their needs. They implemented IBM Power Systems servers as a standardized platform, using both server and storage virtualization. To provide failover and disaster protection, Vishay deployed IBM PowerHA. To automate storage, backup, and archive services, Vishay used IBM Tivoli. Thanks to the Advanced Technical Support (ATS) Migration Workshop Program from IBM, the Vishay team was able to successfully perform the complex and extensive migration.

Vishay's decision to partner with IBM offers several lasting benefits for the manufacturer. The server virtualization of IBM's Power Systems allows for maximum utilization of computing capacity, avoiding the need to invest excessively in hardware, while the storage virtualization feature both simplifies management and reduces costs. The standardized landscape of IBM's Power Systems allows technical resources to be shared across global data centers, thereby cutting Vishay's expenses and training costs. Finally, the long-term development roadmap for IBM Power Systems will provide Vishay with a stable environment that is conducive to helping them realize their immediate and future business goals.

Further details: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/pm/ab/n/spc03096wwen/SPC03096WWEN.PDF