The Customer
Founded in 1948, this retailer is one of the largest and most recognizable names in the United States. Their 700+ locations offer an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.
Advizex had been working with them for more than two years, doing several projects along the way, ranging from service management and consulting on delivery of IT services to security recommendations and working with partners to provide new tools, and more.
Business Impact Analysis.
Initial meetings discussed a variety of business issues they were facing and how we could help. In discussing the Advizex portfolio, we focused on the MAT framework. From that meeting, the opportunity came to analyze the data for specific data types and then document both the associated business processes and technology while identifying IT security improvements.
Advizex worked with two divisions within the retailer, both of which provide support services to non-professional sports teams. We performed a business impact analysis to understand where the data types were located that needed to be managed and controlled. We then provided detailed documentation on each business process and the associated risk, and the technology supporting those processes. Based on the findings, we:
- Identified critical processes
- Made recommendations to better secure the associated data
- Brought in a third-party data security company
Continuing the Relationship.
During the initial project, some Advizex team members were having lunch with the customer – and opportunity struck. We asked what issues they were encountering and then moved quickly to offer solutions. They mentioned issues with Oracle. The very next day, the Advizex Oracle team was on the phone with them to find out more. That quickly led to the full database re-platforming. They wanted to re-platform their Oracle Database environment from AIX to the more cost-effective Red Hat enterprise Linux (RHEL) on VMware/vShpere.
The databases included in the migration ranged from 1-2TB up to 30TB. With limited internal expertise running Oracle on Red Hat Linux deployed on a virtualized platform, the customer asked Advizex to provide a statement of work covering the support and services needed for the migration.
A Seamless Advizex Experience.
The Advisory Services team brought in Managed Services to provide professional services because of the team’s extensive AIX and Oracle Red Hat experience. In addition to re-platforming the RHEL environment, the migration involved developing a golden image to be used for all future deployments and knowledge transfer so internal IT staff would know how to fully utilize the new features of Oracle 12c Release 2 on RHEL.
From a customer perspective, however, it’s seamless. Regardless of where we draw from to meet the project’s needs, Advizex is one solution provider.
A Growing Partnership.
As a mega retailer, there are multiple opportunities for growing the account including:
- Additional security work at multiple sites
- Automating processes and procedures
- Continued database support
- Improved disaster recovery and backup procedures
This retailer has been a long-term customer because of the talented technical and consulting team. We understand their needs and requirements. We bring value to them in solving their problems through our talent, experience, and efficiencies in making it happen.
There is another key differentiator for Advizex. We have the ability to draw from many resources for any given project while providing one consolidated SOW. The customer works with a small core group to simplify the complex nature of these projects.
“This customer is always looking for ways to be more efficient and reduce costs in a competitive retail environment, and we’re well positioned to help.” – Dave Bossi, Director of the Advisory Services team
THE ADVIZEX TEAM
Key team members include:
- C.R. Howdyshell, President
- Dave Gibbons, Vice President and General Manager of the Ohio Valley Sales Group
- Director of the Advisory Services team
- Judy Corely, Senior Project Manager
- Kevin Gilpin, Oracle DBA & Solutions Architect
- Joseph Mixon, vSphere Delivery Consultant
- John McKeen, Account Executive
- Sridhar Avantsa, Director, Oracle Infrastructure Service