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Friday, March 12^th, 2004
Present and IBM: delivering an environment for optimization and growth

Do more with less!
Can't this be easier?
What happens if I can't log on?
Do we really need another server?
We can't afford to be down!
Read below to see how one iSeries customer have faced and conquered these challenges.

iSeries server delivers environment for optimization and growth

In the on demand world, business needs change rapidly and frequently. Successful businesses require an IT infrastructure that can respond in real time to almost any requirement. Memory Experts International (MXI) experiences these pressures every day. Their business required a modern IT architecture that can deliver robust security, improved service levels, low cost of ownership and a strong foundation for growth.

Memory Experts International worked with IBM and Present, a Premier IBM Business Partner, to analyze their business requirements and define a solution that helps support both current and future needs. They chose to purchase the IBM eServer iSeries solution over a Hewlett Packard recommendation for ProLiant, SAN and VMWare. MXI selected the IBM solution based on the viability of the iSeries solution and their confidence in the experience and skills that IBM and Present were able to offer.

"We're growing at over 50% year-over-year, and want to be treated like the company we will be," said John McGuinness, VP Finance, Memory Experts International. "IBM and Present were the only vendors that really listened to us and suggested solutions that reflect our focus on continued growth, as opposed to patching an existing solution. We chose IBM because of the strength of their vision, their professionalism, fast turnaround times, and their ability to understand our business"

MXI is implementing an iSeries Model 825 running both Windows and Linux applications. The i825 is configured with eight Integrated xSeries Server (IXS) cards and eleven dynamic virtual Linux servers. As a part of this IT Optimization project, MXI will transition their AccPac application server from Microsoft's Pervasive™ database to IBM's DB2 Server for Linux. MXI will also implement Bynari's Insight server under Linux, to deliver mail and calendaring capability to their Microsoft Outlook clients at a fraction of the cost of a Microsoft Exchange 2003 solution.

Fully implemented, the i825 will allow MXI to bring email in-house, improve database availability and performance, harden security across the entire environment, and deliver a flexible architecture that adapts to MXI's needs. By consolidating all of their existing servers onto a singe iSeries, MXI will be able to meet growth targets without hiring the additional IT headcount that was anticipated with competing architectures.

"IBM proposed a true enterprise solution. We looked at rack mount, blade and VMWare Intel solutions, but found the iSeries to be a proven architecture that delivered both a technical leap over competition and a more compelling financial case in our cost of ownership calculations," John said.

Memory Experts International is a privately held, ISO9001 certified manufacturer of Memory, Storage Subsystems, and Networking technologies for the Office Equipment and Computer Industries. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, MXI has over 14 years experience in delivering quality products. Memory Experts International's products expand and enhance the capabilities of products from leading equipment manufacturers. MXI also manufactures highly secure portable data storage devices that are being wildly accepted as leading edge solutions for the transportation of sensitive information. Visit their web site: http://www.canram.com.

Present is a Premier IBM Business Partner with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City . The company specializes in iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, Storage as well as in the following solutions; WebSphere, Lotus, Linux and Windows Integration. Present recently received the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Award from IBM. Considered the highest level of recognition by IBM to its business partner community, the award was established in 1991 to recognize those partners with a superior commitment to integrating business excellence and customer satisfaction into all aspects of their planning, operations and processes. Present has received the highest level (Gold) of the award. Visit their web site: http://www.present.ca.

To view the original article on the IBM web site:
http://www-1.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/takecontrol/mxi.html

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