Auckland based IBM business partner Integral Technology Group will provide Zespri with new infrastructure and business continuity capabilities built on IBM hardware in Tauranga - in a deal expected to save Zespri close to $2M over a five year period.

The deal was put in motion after Zespri moved its head office to Tauranga. Once there the company explored its options for achieving greater control over, and saving from, its investment in infrastructure. Integral proposed locating the technology in Tauranga and managing the hardware remotely.

"The Integral solution gives us the best of both worlds," says Zespri IS manager, Kevin Loasby. "Our technology on site with the all advantages that brings, but the reduced overheads of outsourced management." Loasby says the solution was not originally one Zespri had thought possible. "The remote management features of the IBM servers and the advanced failover features of the Integral solution enabled this to be a viable proposition for us."

Zespri's existing six racks of Hewlett Packard Unix servers will be consolidated onto two IBM eServer pSeries Unix server racks. A number of Hewlett Packard Intel servers will also be replaced with smaller IBM eServer xSeries servers, all remotely managed from Auckland by Integral. Loasby says applications hosted include Zespri's SAP solution, Lotus Notes and a range of databases and document management solutions.

The Integral technology is complemented by a communications and hosting solution supplied by Telecom Advanced Solutions. A Private Office Network (PON) incorporating a managed firewall provides secure communication between Zespri's Tauranga office and its operations in Auckland, Belgium and Japan. The network will also support remote access for Zespri employees and partners. Loasby says that as the communications hub is actually housed at the exchange, Zespri's communications costs (and the comm's costs for their suppliers) have also been considerably reduced.

A new dedicated hosting facility has been installed in Telecom's Tauranga Exchange, providing Zespri with server back-up and disaster recovery support. Telecom Advanced Solutions business manager (Information and Communications Technology), Maria Robins says the facility will provide Telecom's other Bay of Plenty business customers with access to world-class hosting services. "Zespri are an example of the ways ICT can enable regional enterprise to operate on a global stage," she says.

April 2004