SES on NT a user upgrade story Ian

SES on NT a user upgrade story. Ian Anderson Fawcett Christie Hydraulics You have heard theory, now learn the facts.

Agenda • Background of FCH • Initial System – Reasons for change • Tetra CS 3 Solution – Reasons for change • Current Sage Enterprise Solution – Feedback on the process • Summary and Questions

Background • Fawcett Christie Hydraulics – Established over 250 years – Part of the Olaer division of Expamet PLC – Assemble to order and distribution of hydraulic accumulators, coolers and filters – Market leaders – £ 8 m turnover, very profitable

Background • Key Performance Indicators – Delivery promises met – On time quotations – Customer service – Sales and margin – Budgetary control

Initial System • Heavily bespoke Chameleon 1. 7 - 32 Users – – – HP 9000 G 40 28 dumb terminals 4 networked PC’s running terminal emulation 1 segment thin net LAN 7 serial line printers Checkpoint BACSBOX fax. bacs system • Bespoke Issues – Auto dekit of works orders 30 days forward – Integration with Uniplan word processing for quotations – All very clunky to upgrade and maintain

Reasons for Change • Technology was obsolete • Bespoke was dictating the business process and constraining behaviour • Y 2 K and all that • New IT manager, young bright and forward thinking

Original CS 3 Solution • CS 3 v 2. 02 - 32 Users – – – – – HP 9000 D 220 - CS/3 2. 0. 2 C-Isam Business objects 27 Networked PC's running GUI 5 Character terminals 6 Remote Access Laptops running GUI 72 Point 10 Bbase. T network 7 Serial line printers 3 HP Jetdirect Line Printers Checkpoint BACSBOX fax/bacs system • NT Office Server • No Bespoke

Original CS 3 Solution • Key Benefits of Change – Windows Concurrent sessions – Predict future stock feature used across the business – Reseller focussed on business process rather than sales for the sake of it, genuine trust. Integration with Microsoft office automated at the client end e. g. quotes and certificates of conformity

Reasons for Change • Internet based order taking foreign agents selected customers • SES Preferred platform • Simplified reporting interfaces • Reducing the total cost of ownership of the IT system • Single server technology

Current Sage Enterprise Solution • Sage Enterprise System – – – – – Compaq Proliant ML 350 Business objects 32 Networked PC's running GUI 6 Remote Access Laptops running GUI 72 Point 10 Bbase. T network 9 HP Jetdirect Line Printers 4 HP Laser printers 1 Serial Line Printer Checkpoint BACSBOX fax/bacs system

Feedback on the process • Initially asked reseller for an upgrade to Informix online • Reseller put forward the business case for NT/SQL, significantly cheaper over 3 years • Retraining for NT not a big issue, already an NT server in place. • Common technology across all the business • Conversion done over a weekend, no system downtime.

Feedback on the process • Potential pitfalls to avoid – Give yourself time for testing, particularly reporting – The change in printing environments needs to be considered, new hardware may be needed – Don’t forget the need to review the additional functionality in the new version, some things will change anyway.

Summary • FCH strategy is to evolve systems inline with business needs • We were stuck in a bespoke loop • Current systems have the benefit of all the latest technology • We trust the advise of our reseller • Next step B 2 B web sales

Questions • Ian. Anderson@FCH. co. uk • Tel 01244 535515