Case Study ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Case Study ZF Friedrichshafen AG » Commissioning Fujitsu as the global supplier of our NetApp storage systems couldn’t have worked out better. Thanks to the swift and reliable service of the Fujitsu technical account management team, we have cut the procurement lead time for our NetApp systems by 30 percent globally « Gerhard Schauer, Head of Database & Storage and HV Systems, ZF Friedrichshafen AG
The customer ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a leading global supplier of driveline and chassis technology with 121 production companies in 26 countries worldwide. In 2012, the Group, which employs over 75,000 employees worldwide, reported global sales of 17.4 billion euros. ZF is one of the top ten automotive parts suppliers worldwide. The company was founded in 1915 for the development and production of transmissions for airships and vehicles. Today, the Group’s product range comprises transmissions and steering systems as well as chassis components and complete axle systems and modules.
THE CUSTOMER
Country: Germany / worldwide Industry sector: Technology Founded: 1915 Employees: Approx. 75,000 Website: www.zf.com CHALLENGE
To update and expand the NetApp storage environment at 21 international locations of ZF Friedrichshafen, including high-quality support services. APPROACH
Fujitsu manages the pricing, sizing, supply and implementation of the NetApp storage systems at ZF worldwide.
This poses particular challenges for the IT systems; for instance, a very high volume of design data alone has to be exchanged between the various global locations and with automotive manufacturers, and also requires secure storage. For ZF, therefore, a smooth-running storage management system, responsive support for the storage hardware, as well as swift procurement for this hardware, are essential.
The challenge The Group’s headquarters are based in Friedrichshafen, Lake Constance, Germany. The Corporate Data Center, which provides global IT services for the Group’s production companies, is also based here. ZF also has regional data centers in the US, Brazil and China. The Group’s virtual IT team, which provides IT services to all international locations, selected Fujitsu as its IT provider, awarding the contract to update all of the Group’s NetApp systems. “We were looking for an international supplier to provide an individual service and dedicated contact persons. We found this in Fujitsu, with the added advantage of prompt pre-sales support,” explains Gerhard Schauer, Head of Database & Storage and HV Systems for ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The first big step was to equip 21 international ZF locations with new NetApp storage systems of all performance classes.
Customer benefits The ZF Corporate Data Center has a redundant design and is connected to all locations via an MPLS network. ZF opted for NetApp for all of the NAS and SAN storage systems within its IT infrastructure, using the FAS6000, 3000 and 2000 series. Having a fully functional storage infrastructure is vital because it is used by a wide range of
Page 1 of 2
Case Study ZF Friedrichshafen AG
THE BENEFIT
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
■ One-stop sizing, configuration and installation ■ Provision of faster, global support by Fujitsu ■ A dedicated technical account management and pre-sales team
■ Storage systems: 50 x NetApp FAS6000/3000/2000 with a total storage capacity of approx. 4.9 petabytes ■ Services: Fujitsu storage integration services, pre-sales support, NetApp premium support (4h response time)
departments through to production. Other departments, such as development and logistics, are also directly dependent on these storage solutions. In view of this, ZF has assured a high level of redundancy for its clustered NetApp storage systems. This means that if a system at the Corporate Data Center or a plant should fail, an automatic failover process will redirect the ZF IT systems to an alternative storage system. Correct sizing of the infrastructure is key. As Schauer explains: “Fujitsu employs highly skilled engineers and sizing experts. Our dedicated technical account managers fully understand our requirements and are therefore able to offer exactly what we need from the outset.”
Conclusion Following the success of the first 21 locations, there are plans to equip additional ZF plants with NetApp storage systems, with Fujitsu continuing as the sole supplier. In the first instance, ZF intends to equip additional production locations with high-quality NetApp
In collaboration with
Page 2 of 2
Contact FUJITSU Fujitsu Technology Solutions Phone: +49 (0) 1805-372 100 E-mail: cic@ts.fujitsu.com Website: de.fujitsu.com 2013-09-05
storage systems. “Our cooperation with Fujitsu has evolved into a much valued partnership. Quotations are processed swiftly and the support provided by NetApp has been highly responsive, which has eradicated unnecessarily long downtimes for our storage systems.”
About Fujitsu Fujitsu is the leading Japanese provider of information and communication technology(ICT)-based business solutions offering a wide range of technology products, solutions and services. The team of approximately 170,000 employees support customers in more than 100 different countries. Fujitsu uses its expertise in ICT to shape the future of the company together with its customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702), based in Tokyo, Japan, reported a consolidated annual turnover of 4.4 billion yen ($47 billion) for the financial year 2012, ending 31 March 2013. For more information, please visit http://www. fujitsu.com/de.
© Copyright 2013 Fujitsu, the Fujitsu logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited in Japan and other countries. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Technical data subject to modification and delivery subject to availability. Any liability that the data and illustrations are complete, actual or correct is excluded. Designations may be trademarks and/or copyrights of the respective manufacturer, the use of which by third parties for their own purposes may infringe the rights of such owner.