»When migrating is the best remedy

Baxter switches NetWare 4.11 for Windows Server 2003 to create VPN

Focused on the development of innovating therapies for patients in critical conditions, Baxter has been manufacturing medical hospital equipment for more than 70 years. Present in more than 100 countries, the company has been operating in Brazil since 1974.

Throughout the years, Baxter has been developing around 200 thousand products which currently are enough to supply 70% of the needs of a big hospital. All of this thanks to the high investments made in research and technology. In the last eight years these areas have had investments in the order of 1.5 million dollars a day.

The constant search for innovation also influences the IT area of the company. Recently, the Baxter’s Brazilian subsidiary detected a technological imbalance before the market, chiefly related to the impossibility to use a private virtual network (VPN). The idea was to facilitate the external access to Baxter’s applications for professionals actuating in the field. “In order to allow the technological evolution we looked for with the use of VPN, it was necessary to improve the performance of our network, at the time based on Novell NetWare 4.11”, explains Yuri Véris, Infrastructure Supervisor at Baxter.

The solution

The need to offer an environment to enable the use of new technologies by Baxter’s business areas concurred with the company’s intention to fit to the American headquarters. “All over the world, Baxter had already adopted Windows as its standard platform. We decided, then, to renew our corporate network, migrating to Microsoft Windows Server 2003”, says Véris.

The project involved three servers and 727 workstations, among desktops and notebooks, and counted on the participation of InfoSERVER Informática, a partner company with Microsoft specialized in the implementation of IT solutions. The migration process was concluded in 46 days, five days less than estimated in the schedule. “The migration of the technology was facilitated by Microsoft Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT)”, says José de Oliveira Fernandes, Business Manager at InfoSERVER. The transition of the stations from the former environment to Windows Server 2003 did not cause loss of information and access to the users’ data. “We carried out the migration of the users and directories from department to department”, explains Fernandes. “This way, there was no impact for the users during or after the migration.” In the Baxter’s Infrastructure Supervisor’s opinion, the commitment of InfoSERVER’s and the professionals’ involved in the project have also contributed to the success of the migration. According to him, the planning was designed and previously discussed with everyone in charge and involved. “The timely accomplishment of all tasks, activities and checks ensured the success of the project”, remarks Véris.

The benefits

The replacement of NetWare 4.11 for Windows Server 2003 has brought Baxter many of advantages, among which the significant improvement in network performance and the use of servers processing. One estimates that the gain with the new platform can reach 50%.

Microsoft solution has also simplified the logon process and decreased considerably the number of helpdesk calls. Besides reducing Baxter’s costs with supporting calls, the migration provided a productivity gain of the professionals involved. This way, it was possible to have a 20% reduction in the personnel dedicated to the support area at Baxter.

“With Windows Server 2003, we are able to accomplish more tasks with much less contingent”, tells Véris. He mentions the policies of Windows Server 2003, which can be automatically implemented in the stations. “The management as a whole is much simpler and easier to me made, speeding up the work of the network manager”, he says.

The quickness and reliability of the new system have also provided a secure access to Baxter’s professionals working in the field. Currently, around 1801 people access remotely, via VPN, Baxter’s applications, such as e-mail, BI, ERP, and CRM. “Home office culture has been growing a lot at Baxter, what corroborates the efficacy of the new network”, concludes Véris.