Midsized Sports Equipment Manufacturer Improves ...



Overview

Country: United States

Industry: Manufacturing

Customer Profile

Vashon Island, Washington-based K2 Sports manufactures skis, snowboards, skates, bikes, snowshoes, and accessories. The company has 200 employees at its corporate headquarters, with additional personnel in domestic and international satellite offices.

Business Situation

K2 Sports IT infrastructure was unstable and hard to manage, forcing the company’s small Network Operations team to spend all of its time fixing problems and supporting users.

Solution

Upgrading to Microsoft® Windows Server SystemTM eliminated the need to constantly troubleshoot systems and gives K2 Sports the capability to centrally manage and support both servers and user desktops.

Benefits

■ Facilitates centralized management and administration

■ Enables remote support for desktops and servers remotely

■ Allows IT team to lock down desktops and automate patch deployment

■ Reduced help desk calls by 50 percent

■ Decreased IT workload by 2,400 hours per year

| | |“When you take a big chunk of your day away from just troubleshooting and put that into planning and implementing, it makes you really excited to come to work.”

Heather Baker, IT Director, K2 Sports

| |

| | | |K2 Sports, a leading manufacturer of performance-oriented sports equipment, is improving the |

| | | |manageability, stability, and supportability of its IT infrastructure with Microsoft® Windows Server |

| | | |SystemTM integrated server infrastructure software. Upgrading to Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003 and |

| | | |using Active Directory® to centrally manage and support user desktops and servers is expected to |

| | | |reduce the IT team’s workload by close to 50 percent, or 2,400 person-hours per year. Deploying |

| | | |Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 also has improved manageability, and its new Microsoft Office Outlook®|

| | | |Web Access interface is making users more productive. Together with new Windows Server System |

| | | |products like the beta Virtual Server 2005, the scalability and reliability of Windows Server 2003 |

| | | |will allow K2 to consolidate from 17 servers onto 13, reducing by close to 25 percent the number of |

| | | |systems that need to be managed. |

| | | | |

| | | |[pic] |

| | | | |

Situation

In February 1961, Bill and Don Kirschner, brothers and avid skiers, were convinced they could create skis that were stronger and livelier than ones made of wood and metal. Setting out to build some for themselves and their friends, they produced the first pair of fiberglass skis and started K2 Sports. Much has changed since the company’s founding some 40 years ago, but K2 Sports is still driven by a spirit of innovation and a passion for sport. The company’s brand portfolio now includes K2, Ride, Morrow, Liquid, 5150, Dana Design, V2 Optics, Tubbs, and Atlas. For sports enthusiasts, these names have come to represent the ultimate in performance for skis, snowboards, skates, bikes, snowshoes, and the accessories that complement those products.

For K2 Sports, “innovation” is the application of science and technology to fun and games, resulting in products that provide sports enthusiasts with a competitive edge. Similarly, the company relies on technology to maintain its own competitive edge, with an IT infrastructure that includes some 200 desktop PCs, 20 Microsoft® Windows®-based servers, and one NetWare-based server. Two years ago that environment was managed and supported by a team of five, but those systems are now supported by a staff of three. Another 6 people—down from 8 two years ago—support four HP/UX-based servers and the Epicor Avanté business software that runs on them.

To handle the same workload with two fewer staff members, K2 Sports Network Operations team had to make its infrastructure more manageable. Server and desktop administration and support were demanding most of the group’s time, and constant troubleshooting and firefighting left little time to make improvements.

“When I joined the company, it was chaos on the network operations side,” says Heather Baker, IT Director for K2 Sports, who manages the Network Operations team and six other IT personnel. “We spent 110 percent of our time trying to fix things. When someone mentioned IT, people would just laugh and say to call someone else.”

Unstable Server Environment

Part of the problem was that K2 Sports infrastructure was based on older technology. Most servers ran the Microsoft Windows NT® Server operating system version 4.0, and were proactively rebooted once per week. Many of the servers ran unneeded services, which added to complexity and made troubleshooting more difficult. For example, although K2 Sports had a single Windows NT domain, most of the servers were set up as domain controllers. And, although only one server hosted a Web site, half of the servers ran Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0, making the environment more vulnerable than necessary to Internet-based threats.

“We don’t have the time to constantly baby-sit all of our servers—reliability just has to be there,” says Baker. “It may not seem like a lot, but when one or two people have to keep track of the thousands of messages and events generated by 17 servers, it can get pretty unmanageable.”

Time-Consuming End User Support

When the Network Operations team wasn’t troubleshooting servers, it spent the rest of its time supporting user desktops, most of which ran the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system or Windows 98. “The need to constantly troubleshoot problems and support users left no time to plan and implement strategic projects,” says Pius Oleskey, Network Operations Manager for K2 Sports. “I would come in at 7:30 on a Monday morning, and the phone would ring or somebody would be at my desk before I could set my laptop down. Then Heather would come to me at the end of the week and say, ‘Hey, where are you on this project?’ and I would have to reply that I hadn’t done a thing because I had been fixing user problems all week. We often stayed late and came in on weekends just to keep everything running—getting ahead of the game seemed impossible.”

Multiple Sites to Manage

Supporting K2 Sports IT infrastructure was further complicated because the company has two facilities. Approximately 90 percent of employees work at its headquarters on Vashon Island, Washington. The remaining 10 percent work at a distribution center in Fife, Washington—only 10 miles away, but a 30- to 60-minute commute because it requires a ferry ride.

“We don’t have any dedicated IT staff at the distribution center,” says Oleskey. “When someone calls with a problem, we’re usually not able to address the issue until someone can travel there the next day.”

Solution

K2 Sports improved the manageability, stability, and supportability of its IT infrastructure by upgrading to Microsoft Windows Server SystemTM integrated server software, which is designed to help simplify solution development, deployment, and management so that IT professionals can focus on delivering new value to the business. Together with the improved reliability provided by Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003, the foundation of Windows Server System, the centralized management capabilities built into Windows Server System have reduced the time and effort required to keep K2 Sports existing systems up and running and have allowed the Network Operations team to be more proactive in supporting the business.

“The industry as a whole has been waiting to decide on upgrading to Windows Server 2003—many have grown comfortable with Windows NT, even with all of its issues,” says Baker. “We weren’t going to jump just to jump, but the improved stability, security, and centralized management capabilities were exactly what we needed. Things are a lot easier to manage today, and there are still lots of Windows Server System capabilities that we haven’t taken advantage of yet.”

Timeline

Due to its heavy existing workload, K2 Sports IT team had to start small. They began by upgrading a single system, and then took advantage of the reduced management workload resulting from that first project to make more improvements. So far, K2 Sports has:

■ Improved the stability and performance of its file and print server by upgrading to Windows Server 2003.

■ Built a foundation for centralized system management and administration by migrating the company’s Windows NT domain infrastructure to the Active Directory® directory service.

■ Increased the manageability and functionality of its e-mail system by upgrading to Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003—another Windows Server System product.

Projects that are underway include:

■ Improving the stability and supportability of user desktops by standardizing on the Microsoft Windows XP Professional operating system and Office XP and using Active Directory to centrally manage all systems.

■ Decreasing the number of systems that need to be managed and supported by consolidating onto fewer servers.

■ Further improving the manageability and cost of ownership of its IT infrastructure—and realizing new business capabilities—by eliminating NetWare and possibly migrating the UNIX-based environment to Windows Server System.

Improved File and Print Services

K2 Sports began standardizing on Windows Server System by upgrading its file and print server from Windows NT Server to Windows Server 2003. Before the upgrade, users often complained that they could not get to files or that it took a long time for them to open, resulting in a trouble ticket and yet another task for the Network Operations team. On average, supporting file and print services took at least an average of an hour per day for one person.

Working with consultant Steve Bunda of Tectura Corporation, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Oleskey upgraded the server in 90 minutes. “Our first upgrade to Windows Server 2003 went flawlessly,” says Oleskey. “We installed it on our file and print server one evening, and the next day all of that system’s problems and stability issues were gone. We haven’t had to reboot the server once since then, and files open far faster now.”

Like many of the upgrades that Oleskey has done since that day, he took advantage of the server installation wizards in Windows Server 2003. “It used to take half a day to install and configure a server, and it was hard to know if the system was locked down correctly,” says Oleskey. ”With the installation wizards in Windows Server 2003, you can get a new system ready in 60 to 90 minutes and put it into production knowing that it’s properly configured and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Oleskey plans to implement the Volume Shadow Copy feature in Windows Server 2003 to let users restore files that are accidentally deleted or overwritten. With the new feature, they can right-click on a file and select a previous version—a far faster and more efficient approach than the process required today: the user filling out a trouble ticket, the help desk assigning it to a technician, pulling backup tapes or ordering them from offsite storage, and then manually restoring the files.

“With Volume Shadow Copy, users can instantly restore files instead of placing the burden on the IT team and waiting up to a day for a backup to be restored,” says Oleskey. “Not only will Volume Shadow Copy eliminate one more frequent source of distraction and added work for our team, but it also will allow users to immediately get back to work.”

Centralized Management and Administration

After upgrading its file and print server, K2 Sports prepared to take advantage of the centralized system management capabilities of Windows Server System and Windows XP Professional by upgrading its Windows NT domain infrastructure to Active Directory part of the Windows Server operating system. During a four-hour period, Oleskey and Bunda upgraded the domain controller at the company’s headquarters. A few months later, they upgraded the distribution center’s domain controller. “Planning our migration to Active Directory was easy—the upgrade went so smoothly that nobody realized it had taken place,” says Baker.

With Active Directory, K2 Sports has a single repository for managing information on users, devices, and resources, as well as a comprehensive tool set for system administration and the delegation of administrative authority. (See Figure 1.) Giving help desk personnel the capability to add users and reset passwords used to require granting them full administrative rights. Today, help desk personnel have only the permissions that they need to support users, freeing the Network Operations team from those tasks while ensuring that the ability to affect core network services remains limited to a select few.

“Active Directory helps to facilitate more efficient use of IT resources,” says Baker. “We can assign roles and responsibilities according to skill levels, giving each team member the specific administrative rights needed to do the job. In the past, it was all or nothing. Today, we no longer have senior IT people adding users and resetting passwords.”

With Terminal Server, another Windows Server 2003 feature, the Network Operations team can remotely administer servers without leaving their desks. In the past, the team used a third-party shareware product for remote server administration, but the software provided limited reliability and did not let more than one person at a time log on to a remote server.

Enhanced E-Mail Environment

As initial upgrades began to pay off, Oleskey found that he had time to plan and implement new projects, one of which was an upgrade of the company’s e-mail system from Windows NT Server 4.0 and Exchange Server 5.5 to Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2003. Like the previous two upgrades to Windows Server 2003, the time and effort required were minimal and the upgrade has resulted in further manageability gains.

“It took two hours to set up the server and two evenings to migrate all of the users,” says Oleskey. “With Exchange Server 2003 and Active Directory, we no longer need to maintain user data in two places like we did in the past. We just create a user in Active Directory and it takes care of provisioning the new e-mail account.”

The upgrade to Exchange 2003 also makes users of the company’s e-mail system more productive. (See Figure 2.) “Users are very happy with the new e-mail environment,” says Oleskey. “[Microsoft Office]Outlook® Web Access now has a look and feel that’s very similar to the Outlook client, which makes Web-based access to e-mail much more intuitive.”

Greater Desktop Stability, Supportability, and Manageability

To extend the centralized management and administration capabilities provided by Active Directory to its desktop environment, K2 Sports is upgrading all PCs and laptops to Windows XP Professional. Scheduled for completion by the end of April 2004, the project includes upgrading all desktops to Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003, including the new Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 messaging and collaboration client that will allow users to benefit from the new capabilities provided by Exchange Server 2003.

Standardizing on Windows XP Professional will reduce the IT team’s workload in several ways, including greater desktop stability, improved security, and fewer system images to maintain. More important, though, K2 Sports can lock down and centrally manage all user desktops using Group Policy objects. For example, Group Policy objects can be used to stop users from installing unapproved software or to automate the deployment of software updates. Group Policy objects are created, tested, and applied using the Group Policy Management Console, a Microsoft Management Console snap-in that allows system administrators to manage distributed IT assets with a single tool.

“The ability to lock down desktops using Group Policy is going to save the Network Operations team probably half of its work day—time that they’re now spending troubleshooting user issues,” says Baker. “Using Group Policy, we can prevent people from taking actions that might negatively affect stability and security—like installing software that they’ve downloaded from the Internet.”

Another feature that will improve the supportability of user desktops is Remote Assistance, with which IT personnel can remotely connect to a user’s computer and troubleshoot problems. “It’s a good five-minute walk to anywhere on our corporate campus, during which I usually get stopped at least once by someone with a problem,” says Oleskey. “We currently spend half of our time on user support, so the ability to troubleshoot user issues from our desks will be a huge time saver.”

Reduced Management Overhead

Now that K2 Sports IT infrastructure is more stable and manageable, the company is further reducing the complexity of that environment by consolidating existing applications onto fewer servers. One project involves consolidating two servers that feed the company’s ERP system onto one system. In a parallel effort, K2 Sports is consolidating an FTP server and the Web server for its e-commerce site onto one system.

K2 Sports will evaluate Microsoft Virtual Server 2005—a new Windows Server System product—as a way to consolidate applications that typically require separate physical servers. The virtual machine (VM) solution for Windows Server 2003 will allow K2 Sports to consolidate three sales and order management-related programs—each today running on its own server—into isolated virtual machines running on a single more powerful and reliable server.

“We’re in the process of consolidating four servers down to two, and there are many other places where we could reduce the number of systems that we need to support,” says Baker. “With the improved stability and performance provided by Windows Server 2003, we’ll be able to run our entire IT infrastructure on 13 servers instead of the 17 servers that we have today.”

During its deployment of Windows Server System, K2 Sports is standardizing on Dell hardware, primarily PowerEdge 650, 1650, and 2650 rack-mount systems instead of the tower servers and desktop systems that used to clutter its server room. “When I started with K2 Sports and first walked into the server room, I just about cried,” recalls Oleskey. “Network cables were strung all over the place; across the floor, over fire extinguishers—just everywhere. You had to tiptoe to get to certain areas. Today, with the new Dell rack-mount servers, our server room is far more manageable.”

Greater Simplicity

K2 Sports plans to further reduce the complexity of its IT infrastructure by standardizing fully on Windows Server System, eventually eliminating all other platforms. The company will soon retire its single NetWare server and transition the solitary program that it runs—a payroll application used by one person—to an externally hosted, Web-based solution. In the longer term, the company will look at migrating its existing UNIX-based Epicor Avanté business applications to versions that run on the Microsoft Windows platform.

“Our long-term plan is to standardize fully on Windows Server System,” says Baker. “It provides all of the manageability, stability, and performance that we’ll need to realize that goal.”

Benefits

Standardizing on the Windows Server System is improving the stability of K2 Sports IT infrastructure and reducing the time and effort required to manage and support that environment. In turn, those improvements are allowing the company’s small IT team to provide greater value to the business.

Greater Stability

With most of its servers now on Windows Server System, K2 Sports network environment is far more stable. Users are more productive, and IT personnel spend far less time troubleshooting recurring issues. “A month ago, we upgraded our tenth server to Windows Server 2003,” says Baker. “Our environment is now much more stable; we don’t have to reboot our servers, and we’re no longer fixing the same problems over and over again. We still have proactive procedures and monitor our environment, but life today is kind of like the Maytag commercial—we’re sitting there waiting for something to go wrong, but it rarely does.”

Improved Manageability and Supportability

The centralized management capabilities provided by Windows Server System are helping K2 Sports to manage its desktop and server infrastructure with less time and effort. Active Directory and Group Policy allow for the delegation of common support tasks to the company’s help desk, and help to eliminate common recurring problems by allowing the IT team to lock down network resources in a secure, known-good state. And with tools like Terminal Server and Remote Assistance, any problems that do arise can be addressed far more quickly and effectively than in the past.

“The ability to centrally administer and support all servers and all desktops will make a huge difference,” says Oleskey. “With Windows Server System, all the tools we need to manage our infrastructure are in one place and accessible from our desks.”

Time to Work on New Projects

Improved manageability and stability have already considerably reduced the workload placed on the Network Operations team. Oleskey expects that benefit to further increase when the rollout of Windows XP Professional is complete and the team will be able to manage all desktops using Group Policy and to remotely support all users.

Baker estimates that the time the Network Operations team spends on user support will be reduced by 1,200 hours per year. She expects a similar time savings for desktop and server management, bringing the total time savings that Oleskey’s group will realize to 2,400 hours per year—roughly a 50 percent workload reduction for the three-person team.

“We’ve already seen a 50 percent reduction in help desk calls, and the average time required to resolve those calls is going down too,” says Baker. “As a result, my team no longer spends all of its time fighting fires. Today, we spend half of our time proactively planning new projects and figuring out how we can further improve our infrastructure.”

One potential new project is the rollout of Microsoft Windows SharePointTM Services—also part of Windows Server System—so that employees in the company’s brand services group can better collaborate and share documents. K2 Sports may also use other Windows Server System products, such as Microsoft Operations Manager 2004 for proactive, real-time monitoring of server health, and Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 as a comprehensive solution for software deployment, configuration management, and change control.

Better Security

By allowing K2 Sports to lock down desktop systems, Active Directory will help to reduce the security risks that can occur when users install unauthorized software. Active Directory also will allow the Network Operations team to push out new security patches in an automated and consistent manner, ensuring that its antivirus software is not the company’s only line of defense against virus attacks. And because Windows Server 2003 is locked down by default, the team can be confident that newly deployed servers will not present unnecessary security risks.

Hardware Costs Savings

By consolidating existing systems onto newer, more powerful Dell servers, K2 Sports can avoid purchasing as many new systems as old hardware is replaced. The two projects currently underway will save roughly U.S.$7,000, with added savings resulting from the need to purchase fewer software licenses. Similarly, eliminating the NetWare server will reduce the number of systems that K2 Sports must support, manage, and eventually replace.

Improved IT Staff Morale

Windows Server System has helped K2 Sports IT organization take charge of its IT infrastructure and transform a chaotic and reactive work environment to one where things run more smoothly and predictably. “It was at the point where work just wasn’t fun anymore,” says Oleskey. “Users were yelling at us all the time, and nobody thought we were doing a good job. And there I was staying late most nights, pounding my head against the wall and saying, ‘I’ve set this thing up exactly the way they told me and it’s still not working.’ Well, we don’t have those issues anymore.”

Adds Baker, ”When you take a big chunk of your day away from just troubleshooting and put that into planning and implementing, it makes you really excited to come to work. Thanks to Windows Server System, we now have the time to make improvements and implement new ideas.”

A Newfound Respect

Deployment of Windows Server System is positively affecting users, who no longer experience constant problems. When users do have issues, they are supported more quickly and can get back to work faster. “Users are far happier today,” says Oleskey. “Help desk calls are down by 50 percent and it’s no longer called the ‘not-so-helpful desk.’ In fact, one user recently told me ‘You guys don’t miss a thing anymore.’ When I thought about it, I realized that we really are on top of things today—that we’re in control of our environment and that it shows. Windows Server System has made us look like professionals. When you have systems that function well and do what you need them to do, then you shine.”

Adds Baker, “Two years ago, IT was only noticed when things went wrong. Today, we’re looking and working toward the future, and we can be more customer-driven because technology is no longer getting in the way. And our executive team is listening to what we have to say. Seeing that we’re on top of things, they recognize the value that IT brings to the table and are open to our proposals. Windows Server System has helped us to transform our IT infrastructure from a liability into an asset.”

Microsoft Windows Server System

Microsoft Windows Server System is a comprehensive, integrated, and interoperable server infrastructure that helps reduce the complexity and costs of building, deploying, connecting, and operating agile business solutions. Windows Server System helps customers create new value for their business through the strategic use of their IT assets. With the Windows Server operating system as its foundation, Windows Server System delivers dependable infrastructure for data management and analysis; enterprise integration; customer, partner, and employee portals; business process automation; communications and collaboration; and core IT operations including security, deployment, and systems management. For more information about Windows Server System, go to:



Manageability and Microsoft's Dynamic Systems Initiative

Improving the manageability of solutions built on Windows Server System is a key driver behind the Microsoft Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI). DSI is a Microsoft-led industry initiative aimed at dramatically simplifying and automating how businesses design, deploy, and operate IT systems. DSI focuses on driving operational requirements back into IT systems at design time and creating a connection that flows from design to operations to the end users utilizing a system. Dynamic Systems are composed of applications that self describe their operational characteristics, operating systems that automatically respond to changing business needs and adjust data center resources accordingly, and management solutions that automate administration tasks and allow business policy to drive IT. The end result to your business is dramatically decreased operating costs, improved reliability, and increased responsiveness across the entire IT life cycle.

The Microsoft strategy for delivering on DSI combines a long-term vision with a solid set of near-term product offerings that enable customers to take practical steps toward that vision today. Windows Server System products—including Windows Server 2003, Systems Management Server 2003, and the soon to arrive Microsoft Operations Manager 2004—are great ways to get on the DSI roadmap today. To learn more about DSI, go to:



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“Windows Server System has helped us to transform our IT infrastructure from a liability into an asset.”

Heather Baker, IT Director, K2 Sports

| |

“Things are a lot easier to manage today, and there are still lots of Windows Server System capabilities that we haven’t taken advantage of yet.”

Heather Baker, IT Director, K2 Sports

| |

“With the installation wizards in Windows Server 2003, you can get a new system ready in 60 to 90 minutes and put it into production knowing that it’s properly configured and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Pius Oleskey, Network Operations Manager, K2 Sports

| |

Figure 1. Active Directory provides K2 Sports with a single repository for information on network resources and a central point of administration for those IT assets.

[pic]

Figure 2. Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access features in Exchange Server 2003improves user productivity by providing a look and feel that is consistent with Outlook 2003.

[pic]

“With the improved stability and performance provided by Windows Server 2003, we’ll be able to run our entire IT infrastructure on 13 servers instead of the 17 systems that we have today.”

Heather Baker, IT Director, K2 Sports

| |

“The ability to centrally administer and support all servers and desktops will make a huge difference. With Windows Server System, all the tools we need to manage our infrastructure are in one place and accessible from our desks.”

Pius Oleskey, Network Operations Manager, K2 Sports

| |

“Windows Server System has made us look like professionals. When you have systems that function well and do what you need them to do, then you shine.”

Pius Oleskey, Network Operations Manager, K2 Sports

| |

| |Software and Services

■ Products

− Microsoft Windows Server System

Microsoft Windows Server 2003

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 (planned)

− Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003

− Microsoft Windows XP Professional

− Microsoft Office XP Professional

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■ Technologies

− Active Directory

− Terminal Services

Hardware

■ Dell PowerEdge 650, 1650, and 2650 servers | |

© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Microsoft, Active Directory, Outlook, SharePoint, Windows, the Windows logo, Windows NT, Windows Server, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Document published April 2004 | | |

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For more information about K2 Sports, visit the Web site at:



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