Published on 30-May-2006
Validated on 16 Jul 2009
"With Intel-powered IBM System x servers and DB2 UDB, we have a platform for SAP software that is stable, easy to manage, flexible, and very cost-effective. " - Anton Seelos, Systems Analyst, AGCO Fendt
Customer:
AGCO Fendt
Industry:
Industrial Products
Deployment country:
Germany
Solution:
Enterprise Resource Planning, Leveraging Information, Optimizing IT
IBM Business Partner:
SAP
Overview
The AGCO Corporation is a major worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combine harvesters, hay tools, sprayers and forage equipment. AGCO Fendt is the corporation’s high- tech brand.
Business need:
AGCO Fendt wanted to create a more cost-effective and flexible environment for its SAP systems. The aim was to simplify administration and open up new possibilities, while decreasing both hardware and software licensing costs.
Solution:
As the first phase of a long-term project, AGCO Fendt has implemented two IBM System x 346 servers with Intel Xeon
processors to run its SAP HR with IBM DB2 Universal Database v8.2.2 (DB2 UDB). The company will add further IBM System x
hardware in the coming years to support the complete migration of its remaining SAP applications.
Benefits:
Faultless implementation and easy configuration of the new IBM System x hardware; low software licensing costs, high performance
and high availability from the DB2 UDB database; the new Intel-based architecture provides a flexible, stable, high-performance
and low-cost platform for AGCO’s SAP software.
Case Study
The AGCO Corporation is a major worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combine harvesters, hay tools, sprayers and forage equipment. AGCO Fendt is the corporation’s high- tech brand, providing top-end products to meet the most demanding customer requirements. Based in Marktoberdorf, Germany, AGCO Fendt has an annual turnover of €800 million and employs more than 2,500 people.
Many of AGCO Fendt’s applications run under Microsoft Windows on Intel-based servers; the company wanted to consolidate its SAP software landscape to the same platform, to benefit from improved flexibility and price-performance. Systems Analyst Anton Seelos explains, “With our former server platform for SAP solutions, configuration and administration were becoming laborious, and adding new applications was time-consuming and difficult. We wanted to enable our SAP software landscape to take advantage of the excellent price-performance and flexibility offered by a server platform based on Intel processors.”
AGCO Fendt chose to migrate its SAP software to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on IBM System x servers. The company has started with a test migration of its SAP HR system to two IBM System x model 346 servers, each with two powerful Intel Xeon processors.
Finding the right database
AGCO Fendt selected IBM DB2 Universal Database (UDB) v8.2.2 optimised for SAP solutions, supporting a total of more than 400 users, on the basis of its price-to-performance ratio and excellent integration with SAP software.
Says Anton Seelos, “The IBM DB2 licensing model was the best, when compared to its competitors. We also appreciate the SAP DBA Cockpit, which enables configuration of the database from within the SAP system. DB2 UDB has proved to be very stable in operation, and we are confident that it is the best database for our future requirements.”
Boosting price-performance
AGCO Fendt’s SAP HR system now runs on the two IBM System x servers – one for the production environment, and one for test and development. IBM Tivoli Storage Manager has also been implemented, to provide backup and recovery services.
Over the next three to four years, AGCO Fendt will gradually migrate more business-critical SAP systems – including financial accounting and production planning – to the new IBM System x and DB2 UDB platform. “With the migration of SAP HR to IBM System x, we have proved the value of the new platform,” says Anton Seelos. “Configuration is fast and easy, and the Xeon processors offer excellent performance for our SAP software – at very low cost of ownership.”
Making the most of investments
The migration to Intel-architecture servers will see AGCO Fendt standardise on a single processor family and operating system skill-set, enabling the company to derive the maximum value from its existing technology while keeping disruption and costs to a minimum. “Regarding security, availability, administration and performance, we give Intel and Windows top marks,” says Anton Seelos. “Another deciding factor in our new solution was the easy management offered by the IBM System x hardware. This will play an important role in decreasing the long-term operational costs.”
Taking the easy road
The AGCO team was able to install the new hardware and carry out the SAP HR migration to the IBM System x servers and DB2 UDB with very little external support. “The IBM technical team was very competent,” recalls Anton Seelos. “However, the new infrastructure is so easy to set up and manage that we have hardly needed to call on them.”
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Hardware:
System x
Software:
DB2 Data Servers, Tivoli Storage Manager, DB2 Universal Database for Linux, UNIX and Windows
Operating system:
Win NT/2003
Legal Information
IBM Deutschland GmbHD-70548 Stuttgartibm.com/solutions/sap IBM, the IBM logo, IBM System z, IBM System p, IBM System i, IBM System x, z/OS, z/VM, i5/OS, AIX, DB2, DB2 Universal Database, Domino, Lotus, Tivoli, WebSphere and Enterprise Storage Server are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Intel, Intel logo, Intel Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Celeron, Intel Xeon, Intel SpeedStep, Itanium, and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product or service names may be trademarks, or service marks of others. This case study illustrates how one IBM customer uses IBM and/or IBM Business Partner technologies/services. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described. IBM does not guarantee comparable results. All information contained herein was provided by the featured customer and/or IBM Business Partner. IBM does not attest to its accuracy. All customer examples cited represent how some customers have used IBM products and the results they may have achieved. Actual environmental costs and performance characteristics will vary depending on individual customer configurations and conditions. This publication is for general guidance only. Photographs may show design models. © Copyright IBM Corp. 2006 All Rights Reserved. © Copyright 2006 SAP AG SAP AG Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16 D-69190 Walldorf SAP, the SAP logo, mySAP and all other SAP products and services mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and several other countries.
