Enginetics Aerospace Corporation, a leading provider of complex metal formed components and fabricated assemblies for the global aerospace industry, was seeking ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14001 is a framework that companies can follow to assure management, employees and other stakeholders that environmental impacts are being measured and improved. The certification would not only boost the company's reputation but also lower operating costs. However, the process of achieving this certification was challenging due to the need for accurate, timely Safety Data Sheets (SDS) information. Enginetics was already committed to ensuring compliance with other global mandates for product stewardship and sustainability, including Tier II chemical inventory reporting under the US Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), and the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). However, managing these compliance mandates manually was proving to be inefficient and prone to errors.

SAMTEC, a manufacturer of specialized electronic components, was facing challenges in managing and monitoring its chemical materials due to the growth of the company and the expansion into new product lines. The company needed to ensure compliance with regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which required constant monitoring of certain chemicals used in their manufacturing processes. The DHS provides companies with a list of thresholds for quantities of selected chemicals that they are permitted to have on site at their facilities at any one time. If the aggregated amount of a restricted chemical reaches thresholds specified on the “Chemicals of Interest” list, then the company must report the variance to DHS. EPA’s Tier II inventory reporting for EPCRA is another threshold-based regulation that provides a limit (in pounds) of specified chemicals that may be managed over a reporting year. If a business operation exceeds that threshold, then the company must provide an annual report to EPA. SAMTEC was committed to ensuring compliance with these and other regulations by constantly monitoring and managing all of its chemical materials but the job was getting more difficult.

Vale, a global mining company, was striving to achieve best practices in risk management. The company’s operational risk management team had historically focused primarily on loss recovery, looking at how the cost of assets could be protected through insurance. In 2006, however, Vale’s risk managers saw that they needed to take a broader view by identifying potential events or circumstances that might impede their company from achieving its business objectives, assessing those issues in terms of their likelihood and magnitude, determining preventive or remedial actions, and then monitoring the progress of those actions to completion. The Operational Risk team at Vale recognized that the success of their evolving strategy would depend upon their ability to collect, aggregate and analyze vast quantities of information from across the company so they established a framework for integrated risk management.

Sipchem, a globally recognized chemical manufacturer in Saudi Arabia, has always been committed to safety and environmental responsibility. The company continually works to follow international standards and improve processes surrounding safety, health, the environment, and security. In 2011, it became the first chemical manufacturing company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to achieve the prestigious Responsible Care® certification. However, by 2011, the company was looking to take the next step. It wanted to adhere to industry best practices by implementing a new Management of Change (MOC) solution to improve its ability to ensure that the recommended changes were completed and implemented properly. The company had previously used several simple workflow systems to manage change. While these solutions could manage basic workflows, they were not designed by plant safety experts and lacked the sophistication to handle the change management processes and sub-processes necessary for chemical plants.

Eglin Air Force Base, the largest base in the U.S. Air Force, conducts a wide range of mission-critical activities, many of which involve the use of chemical materials and generate waste materials. These materials are regulated under local, state, and federal environmental, health, and safety (EHS) regulations. In addition, base personnel must maintain compliance with Air Force standards, some of which are even more stringent than comparable federal government mandates. The challenge was to implement a material management system that would meet USAF Mission Readiness requirements, comply fully with federal, state, and military EHS regulations and ISO 14001 standards, and minimize the burden of compliance processes on base operations, aligning with overall goals.

The consumer appliance manufacturer was facing numerous challenges from increasing global competition. To stay competitive, they developed a strategy centered on R&D and innovation to produce new technology that would satisfy client needs. To preserve the quality of its design from conception to manufacturing, post-market upgrades and productivity changes, the Manufacturer performed Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This approach helped reduce errors throughout the product lifecycle and avoid costly failures and recalls. However, the FMEA process required many manual hours using standard spreadsheet software to edit, update and format risk reports. The manufacturer was struggling with inefficient analysis of risk, difficulty upholding standards and reactive mitigation of product failures and recalls.

UPM, a global company with operations in 12 countries, faced challenges in maintaining safety standards due to its diverse locations and growth in new business areas. The company had clear priorities and goals for social responsibility at work, including creating a safe and healthy working environment for all stakeholders. However, the various international, national, and local safety laws, regulations, and rules necessitated a global OHS&E solution for all sites and countries. The solution needed to ensure overall compliance with the UPM Safety Standards and assess and mitigate health and safety risks. The company faced challenges as different sites used different solutions for safety and environmental data, there was no common tool and processes for UPM in place, and there was a lack of global reporting for UPM Safety & Environmental KPIs.

The multinational footwear and apparel company was struggling with a manual material approval process and difficulty managing safety data sheets and inventory. The lack of documentation led to the repetition of tasks and confusing communication to internal stakeholders. The company's processes were spread across multiple software solutions, which were cumbersome and often created redundant work.

The Company’s operational data was siloed and difficult to access. Users wanted to leverage modern BI tools such as Tableau and Excel, and were being forced to extract data from databases and work with local copies. This “pump and dump” strategy of extracting data and working locally meant analytics were scattered across employees’ desktops, data governance and accuracy problems were endemic and the Company struggled to maintain one single version of the truth for their analytics. The Company developed strict criteria for their intended data solution: Ease of Use, Tool Agnostic, Disruption Free, and Single Source of Truth.

Rakuten, a shopping rewards company, had moved from their initial SQL database in 2014 to an AtScale-powered Hadoop solution in 2018. However, this wasn’t sufficient and they soon began to experience a resource crunch based on the sheer size of their database. Rakuten's existing architecture meant that business users didn't have the computing resources necessary to work with large datasets. This led to competition between business units for hard disk access, memory, and CPU time. The internal team was frustrated with the competition for resources, and the operational overhead and associated hardware and electricity costs also meant the solution was no longer cost-efficient. That, coupled with the continuous processing demands on storage infrastructure, forced Rakuten to consider new solutions for their data needs. They knew they needed more processing capability and flexibility to continue serving their customers effectively.

Today’s emerging HPC applications must handle complex and large volumes of data, which if not managed appropriately, may result in a serious performance bottleneck. CRL (Computational Research Laboratories Ltd.), a TATA Group company, was looking for a database engine running on a highly scalable Linux cluster. The company needed a solution that could offer sustained performance of complex analytics in the face of increasing data and seamless performance-oriented scalability of elastic database services underpinned by a tensile computing infrastructure.

The challenge was the rapidly growing number of users simultaneously accessing the same TV programs and channels via Internet. In this application domain, the database must provide fast access to rather complex data, easy integration into an ever evolving application code, and support massive concurrent access from potentially millions of consumers. The Fraunhofer FOKUS Open IPTV Ecosystem was in need of a database system that could handle these demands efficiently.

Geological Data Design (GDD) was facing the challenge of efficiently collecting, managing, and analyzing large volumes of exploration and mining data. The data collected during the day from various field instruments, GPS, and cameras often integrated into a very large database, in some cases hundreds of millions or even billions of records. This made it difficult for geologists to quickly analyze large volumes of sample data for complex scenarios such as project timings, cash flows, and profitability with greater sensitivity levels.

Northrop Grumman was tasked with developing a next-generation simulation application, the Cloud Depiction and Forecast System II (CDFS II), for the U.S. Air Force. The application needed to deliver results six times faster and with four times higher resolution than the previous system. The challenge was to program complex algorithms using object-oriented programming techniques. The previous system could only create a 48-hour forecast every six hours and a nine-hour forecast on request. The new system needed to improve on these capabilities.

Siemens Industry Automation was tasked with providing a scalable solution for the automation of batch processes in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food & beverage industry. The solution needed to ensure high product quality, production performance over time, complete traceability of production, quick response to market conditions, and efficient use of production equipment. The challenge was to find a database technology that would optimally match the requirements of the SIMATIC® BATCH program design, which provides an object-oriented view on models, procedures, and recipes for comprehensive batch processes. The system needed to be stable, performant, and capable of handling large database files up to double-digit Gigabytes in size. It also needed to provide fast and reliable real-time access to prevent any significant delay, failure, or shutdown that could potentially affect product quantity and quality.

Technisch Handelsbureau Rensa, a medium-sized enterprise in the wholesale distribution industry, was facing challenges with their existing infrastructure. They had purchased HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure as a result of a capacity purchase/upgrade of existing infrastructure that led to an overall platform review. Prior to deploying HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure, the company found the management of multiple solutions and vendors to be manageable, but not ideal. They were looking for a solution that could consolidate their data center and modernize their infrastructure.

Wausau Coated Products, a mid-sized manufacturing firm, was looking to simplify its IT infrastructure while maintaining 24×7 uptime requirements. The company needed to improve its disaster recovery, business continuity, and backup capabilities, and reduce operational costs. The IT environment at Wausau is sophisticated, with the team custom writing all of their ERP and accounting software in-house. Given the ERP system's role in running the operations of the business, downtime could not be tolerated. The company was also looking for a solution that was simple to manage, enabled significant operational cost savings, scaled in simple, low-cost increments, maintained high performance under system load, enabled rapid clones, and provided 24/7 support.

Dairylea Cooperative was facing challenges with their existing IT infrastructure. They were burdened with the management of multiple solutions and vendors, which was proving to be a significant burden. They were in need of a backup replacement and disaster recovery capabilities. The company was looking for a solution that could consolidate their data center, modernize their infrastructure, support Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), run production applications, support test/dev and QA, and facilitate data migration.

Francis Drilling Fluids, Ltd. (FDF) had been using an IBM BladeCenter infrastructure, IBM SAN storage, DLT tape solutions, and Veeam for VM backup protection. Over time, the company saw more demand for new applications and experienced significant growth in VM servers, which put significant strain on the existing legacy infrastructure and the small IT team. The added complexity from the VM server 'sprawl' coupled with initiatives to improve data protection, DR, and co-location hosting, the company's IT department decided to take a closer look at converged infrastructure. The company works hard to ensure alignment between business strategy and IT strategy, according to Steve Schaaf, Chief Information Officer for FDF. However, with a small IT shop, executing on that vision can be challenging.

iON Solutions, a managed service provider, was facing challenges with its aging IT infrastructure. The company's infrastructure included eight legacy servers and a Dell EqualLogic SAN, along with two backup SANs running Veeam Backup and Replication. The main driver for the project was infrastructure modernization, but the company also needed to improve its backup and disaster recovery capabilities. The company's customers rely on it to provide critical IT services, so availability, flexibility, and data protection are paramount in its IT infrastructure. The company pledges to minimize risk, drive cost savings, improve security, and to maximize efficiency for greener computing in commercial organizations and in government. Therefore, when it came time for a server refresh, President Derek Fowler decided to cast a wider net and consider new technologies for the company's aging infrastructure.

SwiftecIT, a small business in the computer services industry, was facing challenges with their existing IT infrastructure. They had a mandate to implement disaster recovery (DR) and improve backup/recovery. However, they found the management of multiple solutions and vendors to be manageable, but not ideal. The company was looking for a solution that could consolidate their data center, modernize their infrastructure, support Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and handle production applications, test/dev, and QA.

Coughlan Companies was in the process of a capacity purchase and upgrade of their existing infrastructure, which led to an overall platform review. Prior to deploying HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure, they found the management of multiple solutions and vendors to be manageable, but not ideal. The company was looking for a solution that could simplify their IT infrastructure and improve performance.

NewPage, a leading paper manufacturer in North America, was facing a high-cost, outdated legacy infrastructure. The company was maintaining an impressive 95% virtualized infrastructure, but the rigid “silos” of legacy compute servers and expensive, complex SAN-based storage were inhibiting the team’s ability to scale to meet business needs. The aging and underperforming 50TB EVA8000, 46TB EVA4400, and 150TB VNX5500 were also due for a refresh. The virtualized environment was becoming increasingly difficult to scale and manage, resulting in diminished productivity. The team of ten was spread thin managing their 166 RU legacy systems. The legacy infrastructure’s physical requirements continued to increase, a 100% virtualized infrastructure seemed increasingly unlikely.

NewPage Corporation was facing challenges due to the management of multiple solutions and vendors, which was manageable but not ideal. They were looking for a solution as part of a data center migration or consolidation initiative. The company was in need of a solution that could help them avoid managing multiple vendors and the associated multiple maintenance cost streams. They were also looking to consolidate their data center footprint and save on electricity and air conditioning.

Central One Federal Credit Union was facing challenges with their existing infrastructure. They were in the process of a capacity purchase and upgrade which led to an overall platform review. The management of multiple solutions and vendors was proving to be a significant burden for the company. They needed a solution that could consolidate their data center, modernize their infrastructure, and support their Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), production applications, and test/dev and QA processes.

Abba Technologies purchased HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure as a result of a data center migration or consolidation initiative. Prior to deploying HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure, they found the management of multiple solutions and vendors to be a burden.

The University of Namibia (UNAM) was looking to refresh their entire legacy infrastructure and simplify the management and maintenance of their systems. They were facing challenges with data center consolidation, infrastructure modernization, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), supporting Tier-1 applications, and virtualizing their physical infrastructure. They approached Salt Essential IT, a value-added reseller of SimpliVity, for advice on available VDI solutions. After several meetings and a Proof of Concept (POC) on Pivot3, a tender was offered for Pivot3. However, SimpliVity's OmniCube had become available and was presented as a potential solution.

Nuh Cement, a global producer and supplier of cement, ready-mixed concrete, and building products, was facing challenges with its legacy IT systems. The systems were becoming increasingly inefficient, risky, and expensive. The manufacturer’s siloed IT infrastructure included legacy servers and stand-alone storage systems—all deployed in a single data center. The company’s IT department relied on a variety of data backup and recovery tools for data protection. Disasters or hardware failures had the potential to impair critical IT services and disrupt business; restoring applications could take hours or even days using the legacy data protection solutions. Dissatisfied with the performance, reliability, and economics of its aging information systems, Nuh’s IT team launched a business transformation program to upgrade the company’s IT infrastructure.

Salt Essential IT, a small business in the computer services industry based in Namibia, was facing challenges with their existing infrastructure. They had to manage multiple solutions and vendors, which was manageable but not ideal. This led to a capacity purchase and upgrade of their existing infrastructure, which in turn led to an overall platform review. The company was looking for a solution that could consolidate their data center, modernize their infrastructure, and support their production applications, test/dev and QA, and data migration.

Capitol Anesthesiology Association was facing challenges in managing multiple solutions and vendors. The management was manageable but not ideal. They were looking for a solution to implement Disaster Recovery (DR) and improve backup/recovery. The company decided to evaluate and ultimately select HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure to address these challenges.