In only a few months, Triaton, ThyssenKrupp`s full-service IT provider, carried out a migration project for Aventis Pharma, a leading worldwide pharmaceutical company. It entailed the migration of the German organization`s client system landscape within the framework of a Windows 2000 rollout project. Circa 7,000 computers of Aventis employees were changed over from Microsoft Windows 95 or, respectively, Windows NT 4.0, to Windows 2000 and Office 2000.

Thanks to this standardization, Aventis has achieved, above all, an optimum in IT service quality for all users. Through the improved stability of the client infrastructure and the resulting increase in productivity, this migration project is bringing Aventis cost savings and a sure and quick return on investment. Besides the Hoechst Industrial Park, seven other sites in the Frankfurt area were affected by the migration.

Good planning is essential

The planning effort required for this project with over 7,000 computers was enormous, for every additional last-minute measure can have an adverse effect on other steps of the migration project. Such complex planning is always necessary when interference with the user`s work is to be kept at a minimum. "High service quality during the conversion process, user acceptance and minimal downtime were our top priorities. That`s why we included seasoned experts and an IT service provider in the design of the migration process", according to the project leaders Konrad Hecker and Mechthild Meiwes from Aventis.

Total commitment was a must

Especially for this project, Aventis set up a technology center in the Hoechst Industrial Park where the notebooks and PCs were changed over. In addition, Triaton made a hotline service available here: Besides making appointments per telephone for the changeover, general questions and problems regarding the migration were solved in short order by a call center set up especially for this purpose. Specialized questions were directly passed on to so-called senior technicians, specially trained experts, for an immediate answer. The technical center was also the location from which the individual service assignments were planned, coordinated and controlled by Triaton coordinators.

Triaton employees picked up the respective end devices from the Aventis employees and ensured that the device was available again within 24 hours, changed over and ready for operation in the user`s desired configuration. In conclusion, the Aventis employee`s personal settings were installed on site - for example the Outlook configuration or a link to a handheld device, so that the user could work with his computer again as soon as possible. Within seven months, all devices - first the notebooks and then the desktops - were changed over in this manner.

Everything rolled in the right direction

Beside the technical realization and the high service quality that was achieved, user acceptance of the changeover was among the essential success factors. "Every user had the opportunity to assess - in "school grade" fashion - the various criteria of the overall project, such as timeliness, friendliness, technical changeover, etc. The resulting grade "good" reflects our colleague`s satisfaction with respect to the project`s course and the achieved service quality in this largest-to-date migration project at Aventis Pharma Germany", ascertains Konrad Hecker with pleasure.

With the introduction of Windows 2000 and the accompanying standardization of the client operating system, Aventis Pharm has increased the client systems` stability and productivity considerably. As a result, resources are created for administration with which additional IT projects to optimize the company`s IT service quality can be realized.

The Triaton GmbH, headquartered in Krefeld, is a company of the ThyssenKrupp Serv AG and among the leading international IT service providers. The company has 2,400 employees domestically and abroad and achieved revenues of 360 million euro in the fiscal year 2000/2001. Triaton stems from the IT units of the Thyssen, Krupp, Hoesch and Hoechst groups and thanks to this history, has long-standing expertise in industry, particularly in the automotive, chemical, manufacturing, metal/paper/wood and pharmaceutical segments. With over 500 operated systems, Triaton is one of Europe`s leading SAP service providers.

Contact:

Dieter Remy
Triaton GmbH
Phone: +49 (0)211/ 967 5374
E-mail: remy@tkserv.thyssenkrupp.com