Distribution and Storage
About WH Barley
W H Barley (Transport & Storage) Limited provide Palletised Distribution for the domestic and European markets, along with general road haulage, secure commercial storage and warehousing solutions.
"As a service driven operation, the continuity of our service and operations is our number one priority and from very early on it was clear that AZTech understood this. Their attention to detail ensured there were no last minute problems and the project was a complete success with no disruption to the business. We really value the continuity of service and the level of commitment displayed by AZTech. The team have been consistent since we first started working with them and as a result we’ve developed an excellent working relationship and we know were in safe hands going forward"
Steve Latchford
Managing DirectorW H Barley
The Challenge
W H Barley are a business with limited internal IT resource, The IT systems at WH Barley have grown organically as the company have expanded, so they were running with ageing hardware and software and were proving to be inefficient and difficult to manage. There were also issues affecting the reliability of email, which was having an impact on productivity.
One major challenge we faced was introducing new technology onto their system, whilst ensuring operability with their existing line of business applications. This was made even more difficult due to old legacy applications which were running on XP, and some of those applications simply not working on the new operating system.
This issue was resolved with careful planning which took place with third party vendors.
WH Barley currently run a 24/7 operation so we had to ensure we migrated their systems with minimal user impact.
Our Solution
To ensure we delivered the best solution, the project was planned using our four stage process, which allowed us to plan, manage and oversee all aspects of the migration. With several onsite visits we were able to undertake an analysis of their current IT infrastructure and gain a thorough understanding of the business requirements.
We were then able to recommend a solution which would support the business going forward and improve efficiency. The solution included -
- Implementing new HP Desktops, running Windows 7 and Office 2013
- Migrating their email servers to Office 365
- Implement application servers
- Deploy pro-active support tools
Implementation and Results
The implementation of this project was delivered over the course of a two week period which resulted in a complete desktop refresh and upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7 ® and Microsoft Office 2013®.
All other third party business applications we deployed to the new desktop image and upgrades were coordinated with the relevant third party vendors.
Over the course of a weekend we completed the desktop refresh and new server deployment. The relevant records were also changed to complete the migration to Office 365 for email.
The migration path used for the email ensured that there was zero downtime involved in mail delivery. This was critical to WH Barley given their 24/7 operation.
As part of the upgrade we also implemented our own Dataguard solution to provide online backup and disaster recovery. This solution provided a greater level of protection for the business critical services.
After a thorough testing period, the migration was deemed successfully completed, the project was delivered with minimal disruption to the day to day running of the business.
Migration of their email server to Office 365 provided improved resilience and facilitated growth within the business and the implementation of the new, on – premise application servers, helped support the existing business functions and improved the stability of the line of business applications.
The infrastructure upgrade and streamlining of their technology has resulted in a vast improvement in business efficiencies to both WH Barley and their customers and with their infrastructure now fully managed by AZTech, it has provided them with continued support and allows us to facilitate growth.
Get In Touch
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