Estuate helps a major wireless telecom curb data growth with IBM Optim

CHALLENGE
A major wireless telecom wanted to curb data growth and reduce hardware and storage costs across its enterprise. After years of accumulating transaction records, the telecoms databases had become difficult and costly to maintain and operate.

SOLUTION
Estuate and IBM worked together to implement IBM Optim Solutions and enhance the telecoms data governance function.

RESULTS
Using enterprise data management best practices, the telecom expects to: Save potentially tens of millions of dollars per year. Minimize the need to purchase new server and storage hardware. Eliminate at least one petabyte of storage over the next few years. Maintain a consistent set of processes for data management. Reduce the cost of database administration and IT operations. Speed time-to-market for new products by streamlining testing.

HIGH CALL VOLUMES CAUSE DATA GROWTH AND HARDWARE SPRAWL

A major wireless telecommunications provider recently assessed its transaction processing volumes and realized it needed to change the way it manages data. Thanks to the telecoms high daily call volumes, the databases for its customer management, billing, and service systems had grown to staggering sizes. But due to the ever-falling cost of new hardware, the telecom had simply purchased new hardware and let transaction records and other data accumulate. Over time, the telecoms developers continued to proliferate copies of production databases for non-production purposes such as testing, development, and training, resulting in hundreds of copies of massive databases. When the telecoms overall storage requirements reached multiple petabytes, the company decided to create and implement an enterprise data management (EDM) strategy that would drive cost savings around archiving data and retiring out-of-use applications. Although the costs of storage hardware and CPU have continued to fall with Moores Law over the past decade, the cost of managing that hardware can be crippling to an IT department, explains Marc Hebert, chief operating officer, Estuate. Rather than simply continuing to let its disk farms grow, as so many companies have done, this telecom took a strategic look at managing its data and minimizing its storage requirements.

EXPERIENCED CONSULTANTS DEMONSTRATE THE VALUE OF EDM The telecom embarked on a detailed process of evaluation. After considering an enterprise data integration solution from Informatica, the telecom began to investigate IBM Optim Integrated Data Management Solutionsan integrated, modular environment to design, develop, deploy, operate, optimize, and govern enterprise data throughout its lifecycle. IBM Lab Services prepared a proof of concept to demonstrate the benefits of a data archiving factory. The telecom engaged Estuate to provide valuable implementation assistance and apply its methodology for implementing a data management factory. Our telecom client decided to work with Estuate because of Estuates depth and breadth of experience with IBM Optim, says Jodie DeMuth, Optim Sales Leader, IBM. We recommend Estuate with confidence because we trust their EDM methodology, the depth and breadth of their Optim implementation resources and experience, and their extreme service culture. During the proof of concept, IBM used InfoSphere Discovery to show that one of the telecoms key business applications, which were to be retired, touched far more databases than anyone had previously realized. This insight convinced the telecom that IBM and Estuate were the right solution partners to power the new data factory. With IBM InfoSphere Discovery, we proved that its not always obvious how much data any given application accesses and generates over the course of its lifecycle, Hebert remarks. You have to perform very careful analysis. Having a tool that provides a view of those data relationships can accelerate any EDM project.

www.estuate.com - t: 408.400.0680

HANDS-ON TRAINING HELPS COMPANY BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN EDM Because the telecom faced tight budget constraints and lacked the core competence it needed in data archiving, Estuate spearheaded the implementation of IBM Optim to support the companys EDM initiative. The project is progressing in phases. So far, Estuate has analyzed 10 of the telecoms applications, archiving and retiring four of them. The target for the second year is to address up to 12 more applications. Once the initial archiving is complete for each application, Estuate hands over archiving responsibilities to the telecoms IT operations group. This will enable the telecom to be largely self-sufficient in EDM after the project has been completed. Since were dealing with fairly complex tools, theres no substitute for actually doing the work, says Hebert. Thats why were delivering all the training in the form of project execution, with a mentor guiding staff members in hands-on work. Well also remain available to provide classroom training and documentation to reinforce that knowledge after the fact.

DATA ARCHIVING AND APPLICATION RETIREMENT PAVE THE W AY FOR ONGOING SAVINGS With IBM Optim and Estuate, the telecom projects it will save hundreds of terabytes (TB) of storage over the years to come. Not only has the company established a consistent set of processes to implement a data management factory, but it has transitioned toward a governance model with a competency center around data management.

Within the first year of the project, weve achieved some significant breakthroughs in retiring and archiving applications. That sets the stage for much more to come. Our client is using the principles of EDM to reverse the data proliferation that caused this outgrowth of hardware.
Marc Hebert COO, Estuate

www.estuate.com - t: 408.400.0680

Working closely with the telecoms vice president of IT, Estuate continues to transfer knowledge to the IT staff. Already, a major organizational transformation is taking place within the telecom. There has been a significant cultural change associated with this project, says Hebert. Weve helped our client get away from the mindset of throwing more hardware at problemsnot just because IT budgets are getting too tight for that sort of thing, but because EDM can deliver real, ongoing cost savings. Over the next three to five years, the telecoms savings will come from freeing up about one petabyte of disk storage space. Associated with this reduction, the company will achieve labor savings in database administration and IT operations. The potential savings run into the tens of millions of dollars annually. The telecom will also be able to enhance its time-to-market for new products by provisioning test systems more quickly and deploying systems sooner.

ABOUT ESTUATE
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Estuate is a global information technology services company that specializes in helping companies establish and improve enterprise data management strategies and best practices. Estuate is IBMs go-to partner for the implementation of IBM Optim Solutions for custom applications, Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel and JD Edwards. We have expertise on distributed platforms and IBM mainframes. Estuate was one of the early partners involved in the Oracle-to-DB2 migration program. We work closely with IBM account teams

When you cut down on the overall data burden across a major organization like this, you help all of IT to run more efficiently. That results in bottom-line cost savings. Our corporate sponsor within the telecom is excited and pleased by the progress so farand so are we.
Marc Hebert COO, Estuate

to meet our mutual clients' Enterprise Data Management needs.

For more information, please contact: Marc Hebert, Estuates COO marc@estuate.com T: 510-468-7132

www.estuate.com - t: 408.400.0680