Ruukki trusts in Sofor for Citrix Services: agility, cost efficiency and

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Ruukki trusts in Sofor for Citrix Services:
agility, cost efficiency and customization
all from one partner
Ruukki specializes in steel production and steel construction. In addition to Finland, Ruukki operates
in several countries where, for example, steel components are further processed for various customer needs. Depending on the business area, Ruukki’s factories use different support and planning
systems for production management. These systems are crucial for each factory. The applications
and systems need to function round-the-clock in order for the business to be able to serve
customers without interruption and as effectively as possible.
Previously, Ruukki’s Citrix environment was operated by two different suppliers, and this created
challenges in service management. As in all cases where several suppliers are involved, the customer often needed to take a stance on responsibility issues, which sometimes caused delays in problem
solving, created extra costs and at worst impacted actual business services negatively. Ruukki’s
objective was to make all this simpler, namely to transfer the entire service to one reliable partner.
“The service model created in co-operation with Sofor has been customized exclusively for Ruukki. It enables flexible and agile service
management. We are no longer tied to maintenance breaks caused
by shared infrastructure or large service providers,” says Tero Nikkarikoski, IT Service Manager at Ruukki.
Centralized applications
Together with Ruukki, Sofor implemented a Citrix-based flexible platform for application and desktop publishing by using a service infrastructure based on IBM technology. Service management tools
developed by Sofor were installed to support the service. With the help of the service, around 60
different applications are currently published at Ruukki, some of them being business critical production planning and control systems. Sofor is responsible for the application publishing functions
round-the-clock.
In application publishing, critical applications are run on servers which are consolidated securely
and in a data center, not on user workstations. These applications are used remotely through Citrix
Receiver Client software installed on the workstation. Customers are therefore able to work flexibly
around the world, regardless of time, place and type of user device.
”With the help of Citrix technology, the applications are no longer dependent on the location when employees have Ruukki workstation access and
a network connection. Without the Citrix solution, working would be slow
and even impossible at times,” states Teemu Tilli, IT Infra Manager at
Ruukki.
When there are problems, Sofor remote tools enable direct access to an employee’s personal desktop and virtual assistance can take place right away. The Sofor Service Desk operates round-theclock every day of the year.
”It is amazing how quickly Sofor trained their Service Desk employees to become Citrix experts.
Each member of the customer service team we contact knows how to give us professional support, and that shows Sofor’s high commitment and desire to be of service. Sofor has been able to
guarantee high usability cost effectively,” says Tilli.
In depth assessment is the key
Before transferring the systems, a thorough and well-planned assessment was carried out.
To help the groundwork, Sofor presented different scenarios, which created a realistic view of the current
situation, problem areas, and usability. At the same time, a realistic vision on schedules and costs took
shape.
”Sofor wanted to hear our wishes when we started the project, and they have carried them out flexibly
and on time. They were very committed to the transition project from start to finish,” explains Tilli.
The most critical moments in implementing the solution were encountered when Sofor took over the old
system environment right in the middle of Ruukki’s busiest production season. The transfer was made
piece by piece, which meant that the old and new systems operated side by side.
”With phase-by-phase implementation we minimized potential risks to the business. The implementation took approximately two months. The old systems were not decommissioned until the new system was tested to make sure that it functioned correctly,” Tero Nikkarikoski recalls.
In close co-operation towards continuous development
Product development was also carried out during the project. Ruukki wanted the implementation to be
executed with as low risks as possible, but also so that new solutions could be introduced flexibly. One of
the products of further development was the service portal developed by Sofor. Together with the Operational Status View it gives an excellent view on the service status.
”Together with Sofor we discussed how to expand the infrastructure flexibly in the future, and also
how to develop it to be more user-friendly,” Nikkarikoski states.
“Our next mission is to develop service and usage reporting and also mobile solutions in co-operation
with Sofor,” Tilli also elaborates on future development procedures in the coming months.
Sofor services and solutions
The Citrix Management Service delivered to Ruukki had its delivery principles in high availability, rapid
services recovery, and agile change management. The infrastructure has been planned by Ruukki, Sofor
and Arrow ESC, and it is implemented so that Sofor Service Desk is able to solve unavailability incidents
with tier one support procedures. It also enables smooth version updates and flexible maintenance and
expansion activities with no disturbance to the customers.
Sofor’s Citrix Management Service provides Ruukki with a high-quality application publishing and VDI solution. Standardized changes with committed reaction times are the response to the customer’s rapidly
changing business needs.
The Sofor Operational Health State (OHS) and eDesk Service Portal, as well as ticketing system integration provides Ruukki Business Units with constant real-time information on the availability of the
published applications.
Ruukki specialises in steel and steel construction. It provides customers with energy-efficient steel solutions
for better living, working and moving. The company has
around 9,000 employees and an extensive distribution and
dealer network across some 30 countries including the
Nordic countries, Russia and elsewhere in Europe and the
emerging markets, such as India, China and South America. Net sales in 2012 totalled €2.8 billion. The company’s
share is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (Rautaruukki
Oyj: RTRKS). www.ruukki.com
Sofor, founded in Kauhava, Finland, in 1991, is a creative
and flexible Finnish IT services company. Our services help
your company to improve performance and communication, and they enable you to create an interactive, healthy
and safe work environment.
Our customers are large and medium-sized Finnish and
international companies and public organizations, who
highly value the functionality and efficiency of their work
community.
In addition to Kauhava, we have offices in Helsinki, Tampere and Vaasa. Our turnover in 2012 was €7.5 million and
we employ 70 people. www.sofor.com
[email protected]
puh 010 235 90