Case Study: Horns of a Dilemma http://www.aberdeen.com/ab_abstracts/body2.htm Preface Aberdeen conducts continuous research in North America and Europe on how technology impacts the operations of businesses and organizations. These on-site interviews produce a wealth of information, but often the research is part of a custom consulting project for a client, and the results are seldom published. This is the second report based on independent research, each of which is being published as a case study — a traditional means of sharing universal lessons learned though the examination of an individual experience. The first sections of the report describe an organization’s problems implementing a new technology, and is based on interviews and research conducted over several months. Aberdeen also received help in understanding the Organization’s operations and technology issues from the head of a consulting firm which works extensively with the Organization. Both Microsoft and Novell were given copies of this report to review prior to publication, but no significant changes were made based on their input. Since the problems are not yet resolved, the last section includes possible solutions and our comments on each choice. Background The Organization, headquartered in Europe, has global IT operations to support well over 20,000 IT users. Some details about the Organization have been changed or withheld to protect its identity. As with most institutions, the Organization underwent several business re-structurings during the 1980s and 1990s in the universal attempt to become leaner and more agile in order to better respond to the vast increase in competitive and market pressures. Entering the 1990s, the Organization consisted of seven independent divisions, each with its own independent IT group and infrastructure. Several years ago a new management team reduced some of this independence in order to, in part, reduce operational expenses. This change in the business model led to the merger of the seven independent IT operations — a necessary move, but one which caused much short-term and typical staffing and political turmoil. Another change — both triggered by the Organization’s unique operational changes and as part of an international trend — is the increased involvement of Line-of-Business executives in IT decisions. In this instance, the LOB executives felt that the increased use of technology could give the Organization a tremendous competitive advantage, and IT budgets were increased in order to build a single global network and global messaging system. Concurrently, several key LOB and IT executives saw Microsoft as the ideal technology partner for the new millennium, and began to forge a relationship with Microsoft that includes annual meetings between the Organization’s Chairman and the Chairman of Microsoft. E-mail One of the first major decisions made by the merged IT organization — again driven by business needs — was to implement a universal e-mail system. After an analysis by IT, the short-list of e-mail vendors consisted of Microsoft’s MS-Mail and Da Vinci Systems’ Da Vinci e-mail and Novell’s Global MHS running on top of Novell’s NetWare. The rational for the two options was quite simple: Microsoft because of its presence on the desktop; Da Vinci since it was installed in several divisions and had a good consultancy behind it; and Novell because of NetWare’s growing presence as the network backbone. Some key IS staff supported the Da Vinci on Global MHS solution since it seemed the only product set which could scale well enough to meet the growing needs of the Organization. After several internal battles, it was finally chosen, and implementation to service over 20,000 users began. While other changes and issues effected the IT operation, for the purposes of this case study, the implementation of the business-critical e-mail system is the focus. Novell Implodes The problems Novell has had over the past three years are well documented, while the impact on customers such as the Organization is less well known. Aberdeen has often heard that Novell’s staff within the Organization’s home country have a reputation for mediocrity. The staff are seen as having been order takers in the days when Novell and NetWare were the only game in town, then collapsing when sales and marketing actually had to be done to win business. While Novell’s new management under Eric Schmidt has cleaned house in the US, this more independent European operation seems to have escaped notice. Novell’s representatives had a limited presence during the e-mail buying process, and completely disappeared afterward. On the other hand, Microsoft’s team was very active, and even after losing the e-mail deal they kept up a very highly visible presence in the account. After the Global MHS implementation was well underway within the Organization, Novell announced its move from Global MHS to a WordPerfect product — now called GroupWise. Aside from one critical visit from a NetWare MHS expert from Utah, Novell’s support of the product locally was dropped so fast that the Organization has been, for all intents, left alone by Novell. Microsoft is Persistent Microsoft’s marketing and sales efforts within the Organization gained so much ground that the Novell installation was effectively surrounded. Windows 95 on Compaq — bundled with Office — became the corporate standard, with 12,000 installed to date. Microsoft then convinced key LOB and IS managers to move to Exchange as the e-mail of choice for any new desktop users. Microsoft’s persistence combined with Novell’s disappearing act eliminated Novell from further considera-tion. NetWare is still the Organization’s networking backbone, but Novell’s suicidal tendencies combined with Microsoft’s forceful presence could soon change that. Exchange only runs on NT Server, so expertise in managing NT Server is being developed within the Organization, making it easier to install for other uses. Migration Status After spending $3 million, the migration to Exchange is over half finished. The Organization has worked closely with Microsoft throughout the implementation, including using Microsoft Consulting Services. However, problems related to NT Server’s behavior are occur-ring with such frequency that senior IT and LOB management have agreed to halt the migration and re-assess it. There are several problems, including increased network traffic due to Windows 95 behavior and the inability of NT Servers to scale as advertised. But the primary issue is the enormous amount of time and resources the Organization is spending to fix collapsed WINS servers. All feel that without action, what is a now major problem with 12,000 users and hundreds of servers will become a nightmare with double the users and servers. A Technology Interlude TCP/IP has become the predominant networking protocol for communications across networks. In a networked environment, each device is given a name and a Domain Name Server (DNS) maps each name with an IP address. However, current IP implementations from Novell and Microsoft are not considered to be "pure" until their respective next releases (NetWare 5.0 mid- 1998 and NT Server 5.0 early 1999) — they still have to use their older protocols along with IP. Novell’s NetWare has its IPX protocol and Microsoft’s Windows product family uses its NetBios protocol. Microsoft has developed a sophisticated technology called the Windows Internet Name Service to automatically map a PC’s or Server’s NetBios name with its IP address. WINS is essentially an authentication database residing on a NT Server, housing the various device names so that a PC named "Bob" automatically becomes IP address 204.49.54.7 to allow seamless access to all network services. A system trying to log on to a network through Windows 95 will continuously broadcast messages until a naming server, such as WINS, answers. Aberdeen’s initial case study noted that many companies experience significant increases in network traffic due to this behavior. In a small network, when a WINS authentication database collapses, it can be re-started from a back-up copy, and not much is lost. In a large network, when WINS collapses it creates havoc, especially if administrators at remote sites are not aware a problem has occurred. If a WINS server becomes corrupted, remote users on other WINS servers will experience problems when trying to send mail to users on the downed server. If the remote users try to fix the problem by re-booting their WINS server before the original problem is fixed, the corrupted WINS database will be replicated throughout the network as the other servers are re-booted. Options The Organization made an informed decision to migrate to Exchange, and regardless of its current problems the e-mail system does not seem to be the culprit. The Organization also has made a wise decision to step back and review its options, but the Organization’s focus is on how to make the migration work, and opting for a different e-mail system does to not seem to be a viable choice. The short description in this case study of the problems experienced with the underlying NT Server’s shortcomings understates the massive costs in time, money and human resources to the Organization. One strong LOB Microsoft supporter voted for the pause because the implementation had become "too much like real work." Some options — with Aberdeen’s comment in italics — include: The Organization can totally replace its NetWare 3.x backbone and go with a pure NT Server implementation. While this might reduce the problem by a small percentage, WINS still has to be used even in a pure NT Server network. Install several third-party applications which might be able to fix some of the problems. There is no one solution available, so the Organization would have to patch together its own package of products and hope that they work. Wait for the release of NT Server 5.0 which Microsoft claims eliminates the need for WINS. Aberdeen does not expect the official release of NT Server 5.0, with the appropriate service, packs until early 1999, and the Organization’s policy is to wait a year after release before installing a product. This potential solution is at least two years away. Upgrade the NetWare 3.x servers to NetWare 4.x with Novell Directory Services (NDS), and add NDS for NT to manage the NT Servers and Exchange. The technology would work, but Novell needs to demonstrate to senior management that it can deliver a solid product as advertised, that it can survive as a viable company, and that it is willing to install a competent sales, support and service team in the Organization’s home country. A case study should have a neat ending, rather than this Perils-of-Pauline-tune-in-next-week closing. While this is not fiction, we do have to wait for the sequel, hoping that the hero will step in to rescue the fair Organization from the run-away train.