The Client

Originally established in 1847, Robert Price Builders Merchants Ltd are the largest Independent Builders Merchants in South Wales. Their headquarters are in Abergavenny with 14 branches from Swansea in the West and Chepstow in the East. As a family run business and major employer and supplier in the South Wales area, Robert Price currently employ over 300 people and have a policy to train and develop its workforce.

Diane Barrett is Business Administration Manager for Robert Price and is also responsible for their IT. She wanted to increase the existing user base and to improve network performance, but found that her demanding role meant she had limited time to focus on IT. “Security and maintenance of the systems had become a major headache for us and I was keen to look for a solution that would minimise the daily management and support I had to undertake but allow us to increase the number of users and offer more services,” said Diane.

History

During the 90s the IT Infrastructure for Robert Price consisted of a Wide Area Network that linked all branches to a UNIX based retail system and a separate stand alone PC system at their headquarters.

Early in 2000 a project was undertaken which involved the installation of Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Services, Active Directory, the replacement of 20 PCs and rollout of business critical software to 100 additional users using thin client devices. “A server based computing solution was recommended to provide easy management, improve network performance and make it easier for Diane to look after the company’s IT needs,” said technical consultant, Paul Robinson.

This initial deployment was augmented with thin client terminals which have a longer life span than PCs. In the event of device failures, swap outs could easily be made, instead of costly PC rebuilds requiring Diane to call an expensive engineer to one of their sites. Data is stored on the server not on the device so the thin clients also help keep the company’s data secure. “My eyes were opened to the cost savings in maintenance that thin client technology could offer us,” said Diane.

There was also a requirement to provide secure Internet access and email, “It was important that access was controlled so that staff could only access programmes and Internet sites that they had been given permission for,” added Diane.

Microsoft Exchange was implemented to give users access to email, but also to allow them to share calendars and collaborate between branches. NetIQ Web Marshal and Mail Marshal software, and Trend Anti Virus were installed to allow Diane to control access to the Internet and filter email as she had requested.

“We provided training for all our staff so they could use the windows based system and email,” said Diane, “Many of our users had only ever used text based systems and some had never used mice. Having access to email got people more interested in the benefits of IT.”

The Challenge

The solution had been in place and working for a number of years when thinstore was contracted to provide ongoing support and maintenance for this business critical system. “This was a logical step for us,” said Diane, “As members of thinstore’s staff implemented the original solution and had in depth knowledge of our needs”.

“Then in 2005 we asked them to update our IT infrastructure to the latest Microsoft solutions including Exchange 2003, Windows 2003 Terminal Services and Active Directory 2003” Diane continued.

The challenge for thinstore was to introduce these new technologies whilst maintaining continuity of services for the Robert Price business.

Upgrading The System

“It was a fairly straightforward in-place upgrade from Windows 2000 Active Directory to Windows 2003” said Robinson. “Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 was more complex, requiring the integration of Exchange users into Active Directory.”

“We were pleased with the way the Exchange upgrade went because the staff had no idea that anything had been done and were able to carry on working as normal.thinstore understood our business needs and knew we had to keep downtime to a minimum,” said Diane.

thinstore also introduced Windows 2003 terminal servers to Robert Price with new load balancing software and had to ensure that all existing software applications in use within the company would work with the new Microsoft Operating System.

In order to support a document management system thinstoreimplemented a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive for Robert Price’s critical data, making backups easier for the company.

Ongoing Support

Robert Price have a bespoke annual support contract with thinstorewhich also entitles them to bi- monthly on site support and maintenance days. “thinstore look at any problems that we may be having, apply patches as necessary and discuss new products and solutions that might be suitable for us,” said Diane, “it’s always a good opportunity to talk face to face.”

Robert Price also use thinstorefor the supply of their terminals and flat screens and the online store allows them to keep up to date with the latest pricing and information.

Conclusion

To summarise, the most important objectives for the upgrade were:

• To increase the number of active concurrent users
• To replace some ageing hardware
• To increase their storage capacity
• To introduce more up to date, reliable and secure Microsoft operating systems
• To improve backup facilities

All this needed to be achieved whilst Robert Price continued to run their business with the minimum of disruption.

“We are pleased to say that with thinstore’s assistance we achieved all our objectives for this upgrade,” concluded Diane.

For more information call us on +44 (0)8707 520570 or email sales@thinstore.net