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<title>Westward Ho: Corporate Pioneers Discover Early W2K Success : [Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Giga Information Group, deployment, ROI, TCO, best practices, Active Directory, training, certification, platform, workstation, server ]</title>
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<p>The successful implementation of any new operating system, let alone one the size and complexity of Microsoft Windows 2000 (W2K), is fraught with peril and challenges even in the best of circumstances. It is possible though, with careful and realistic planning, preparation and training to dodge the bullets and arrows, to successfully deploy Windows 2000 and realize a near immediate return on investment (ROI). And it's happening now. To assist those customers contemplating whether or not an early migration will suit their business needs, Giga has profiled four corporate customers that have already written their own individual success stories. To be sure, they had help — and from the best possible source: Microsoft. All four of our case studies are Microsoft joint and/or rapid deployment partners (JDP and RDP). Nonetheless, we can all learn from the early mistakes and ultimate successes of these leading-edge adopters.</p>
<p>One of the questions that Giga analysts in all coverage areas are most frequently asked is: "What are other companies doing in terms of deployment?" With the release of Windows 2000 Professional and Server in mid-February, the question has risen to a crescendo.</p>
<p>We believe that case studies of early Windows 2000 upgrades do provide the truest assessment of what it takes to successfully implement the new Microsoft desktop and server platform. They also serve as road maps that show corporate customers how to realize tangible business benefits and early (or at least anticipated) returns on investment. To that end, Giga conducted extensive case interviews with more than a dozen early Windows 2000 adopters. This is also part of our ongoing research to identify the strengths, weaknesses, limitations, flaws and foibles of the Windows 2000 platform. This Planning Assumption examines the experiences of four Microsoft Windows 2000 rapid deployment and joint development partners (more case studies will follow).</p>
<p>The customers are extremely varied. They include The <b>Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns</b>, a national sports organization with only a small number of end users that require specific, leading-edge Web hosting and graphics functionality, <b>Wells Fargo</b>, one of the nation's largest nationwide financial institutions, which just merged with <b>Norwest Bank</b> and was faced with the prospect of consolidating 400 NT domains, <b>Data Return Inc.</b>, a young advanced services hosting provider seeking better performance and improved customer service, and <b>Big Chart</b>, a dot com that provides the <b>CBS Marketwatch</b> online financial news information service and sought greater scalability and reliability and easier manageability.</p>
<p>These businesses were/are distinct and disparate entities, with very little in common except the following: all possessed a clear vision of the business benefits and resulting Total Economic Impact (TEI) that Windows 2000 Server would deliver to their respective organizations, business partners and customers. You will notice that these case studies are overwhelmingly positive. There's a reason for that. As RDP and JDP customers, all had extraordinary access to Microsoft Consulting Service (MCS) engineers. With this very big assist from MCS and their own blood, sweat and tears, they realized their goals with minimal trials and tribulations.</p>
<p>First are two names well known to baseball and basketball fans: the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns. The two organizations, their arena and ball field are actually managed by the same IT department. On the surface, the sports conglomerate is small — only 400 end users and an IT staff of just seven. Their visibility on the U.S. sports scene and need for leading-edge graphics and Web-based television applications caught Microsoft's attention, recalls Bill Bolt, the company's vice president of information services. Because of that, the Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns were invited to be a Microsoft rapid deployment partner. Bolt says he knew right away that in order to perform such activities as using Web-based television to sell the teams' sports-related merchandise and participate in interactive sports draft events, the sports teams needed Windows 2000. For these activities, the increased reliability, enhanced driver support and inherent push technology of the Windows 2000 Professional and Server platforms were "absolutely essential," Bolt says. The company has already realized an ROI.</p>
<p>The reliability and stability of Windows 2000 Professional compared to the Windows 95 platform was immediately apparent. "Up until the day we switched [from Windows 95 to W2K Professional], we were still chasing errors and experiencing downtime," Bolt says. "Since deploying Windows 2000, our users get faster printing and much improved reliability. And our IS department has seen a dramatic decline in help desk calls," he adds. Another slam-dunk for the teams was Microsoft's decision to increase driver support by 300 percent.</p>
<p>"The improvement in the number of drivers supported was great. I was easily able to purchase printers, scanners and other devices, off-the-shelf." The team was also pleased with Windows 2000's ability to modify and automate driver distribution. This will come in handy when the first service pack ships. "It's no longer necessary to use a CD, change settings, replace drivers from the original CS and reapply a service pack. We'll be able to complete unattended updates in hours, not weeks," Bolt says.</p>
<p>These features immediately proved their worth during the two-month training, application testing and deployment effort. Bolt says that the most difficult part of the migration process was the education process and finding a convenient time to schedule and perform the Windows 2000 Professional upgrade for entire departments with very quick turnaround. For starters, half the company — the Phoenix Suns' end-user population — couldn't be without their laptops for more than 24 hours. Bolt says he quickly realized that his firm would never complete the desktop upgrades within 24 hours without help. The sports organization decided to contract with an outside system integrator for two additional people to do the required 20 desktop migrations per day.</p>
<p>While Microsoft technicians were never far away with a helping hand, Bolt and his IT staff did their part as well to ensure a smooth migration. That entailed calling third-party applications providers and finding out which applications would be Windows 2000-compliant. In cases where backward compatibility wasn't forthcoming — as was the case with the specialized version of <b>Lotus</b> Notes used by the <b>National Basketball Association</b> (NBA)— it was necessary to write customized extensions and interfaces.</p>
<p>The Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns' IT staff also did their due diligence and learned the ins and outs of Windows 2000 administration — particularly the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which Bolt says was one of the most "challenging components" of the new server operating system.</p>
<p>The careful planning and preparation paid off: netting the sports teams tangible TEI. The benefits include:</p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Dramatic reduction in help desk calls
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">The ability to perform automated software distribution and updates. Previously, it took three dedicated administrators at least one week to upgrade 400 desktops. With Windows 2000, it takes a single administrator about three to five hours to complete the task.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">An immediate 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in ongoing maintenance tasks
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">The ability to participate in and perform advanced functions, such as selling, via the Internet
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<h2><!--mstheme--><font color="#400040">Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns' Best Deployment Practices<!--mstheme--></font></h2>
<p>Based on his experience, Bolt offered the following advice to those considering a Windows 2000 migration:</p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">The education process is crucial. Make sure your administrators take hands-on training courses.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Thoroughly investigate all third-party systems integrators. The two outside managers employed by the Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns to assist in the migration were "learning on the job." Consequently, the sports organization negotiated a steep 66 percent discount for their services.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Don't try to deploy every feature at once. Make a realistic assessment of the Windows 2000 features and functions you need to install first and take a phased approach. The Phoenix-based teams concentrated on the MMC and bypassed the more advanced management W2K capabilities like support for roaming profiles and IntelliMirror, which they don't need yet.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Familiarize yourself with the Microsoft Deployment and Planning Guide. Follow all the steps: don't take shortcuts.
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<p>Microsoft had a tough time selling Wells Fargo on the early merits of a rapid Windows 2000 deployment. The IT managers at Wells Fargo needed some serious convincing that Windows 2000 would be their server operating system platform of choice — even after they enrolled in Microsoft's joint development partner program last year, recalled John Bolz, the bank's manager of systems architecture — and with good reason.</p>
<p>The Fortune 100 firm has a mixed server environment that includes <b>IBM</b> OS/2 Warp Server, <b>Novell</b>'s NetWare and Windows NT Server that currently includes 400 NT domains. Security and reliability were high on its list of considerations. This was especially so since Wells Fargo recently merged with <b>NorWest</b> Bank as well as many other smaller financial institutions. The resulting entity swelled the bank's remote offices to 6,000 sites (although some are very small branch offices) and a user population of 100,000-plus. According to Bolz, the bank had 3,516 people on its IT staff — or one manager for every 40 employees — who were involved with the Windows 2000 design, implementation and rollout.</p>
<p>Despite initial concerns regarding Windows 2000 Server's interoperability and stability, Wells Fargo knew it had to forge ahead with the upgrade. "There were capacity issues with the NT 4.0 platform that could not be overcome, both in terms of the sheer number of users we support and all of the processes that needed to be put in place," Bolz said. Additionally, Wells Fargo needed the more advanced and granular administrative capabilities and improved wide area networking (WAN) and data compression technology embedded in Windows 2000 to support its many geographically dispersed remote offices and branches.</p>
<p>But before Wells Fargo committed to the JDP program, it conducted a series of meetings with Microsoft technicians to make certain that early interoperability issues between NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and the Active Directory would be resolved. As Bolz explained, the issues Wells Fargo encountered were specific to the bank's Windows 2000 design and implementation, which revolved around specialized banking applications. Compounding the problem was that each of the banks acquired by Wells Fargo brought its own customized applications and distinct architecture into Wells Fargo. The solution for Wells Fargo's IT staff was to work directly with Microsoft developers in Redmond, Wash.</p>
<p>"Had the issues not been resolved, they would have prevented us from deploying Windows 2000. But once Microsoft understood our problems, they were very helpful [in resolving them],'' Bolz said. The moral of the story: whether or not you are a Microsoft RDP or JDP customer, be vocal and persistent in voicing your concerns and issues to Microsoft. Careful testing, planning and network design also yielded dividends. Wells Fargo settled on a two-phase migration strategy, which it hopes to complete by year's end. Phase one incorporates the Windows 2000 Server infrastructure. That entailed upgrading users from their existing NT 4.0 domains into Active Directory. Phase two involved migrating and collapsing the NT 4.0 resource domain and migrating it to Active Directory.</p>
<p>The client-side migration is not fully defined. Wells Fargo's eventual direction is Windows 2000 Professional, but the financial institution is in no rush. It has opted to make the desktop upgrades "business unit-specific," Bolz said. "If someone has an NT 4.0 Workstation that's working well, we won't push the users to upgrade [to Windows 2000 Professional] at this time."</p>
<p>While Wells Fargo is still in the midst of its Windows 2000 Server production rollout, early estimates are that the bank's ROI will be "substantial." However, for privacy reasons, Bolz declined to detail specific figures. However, the financial institution has been smart about saving money upfront. For instance, it signed an enterprise-level service and support agreement with Microsoft that calls for the bank to pay a standard yearly price to Microsoft for each server and desktop. "This gives us the capability of having maintenance on each device. So when we do an upgrade, the bank absorbs and amortizes the cost as an overall enterprise, thus lessening considerably the cost impact on individual departments," Bolz said. </p>
<p>Even at this early stage, the merits and advantages of the Windows 2000 Server platform are evident. According to Bolz, the top feature/functionality gains include:</p>
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<p>"In our very large and distributed environment — with 400 existing NT 4.0 domains — moving to the Active Directory was a <i>must</i>," Bolz said, adding, "The overall platform, which includes the ability to perform file consistency checks and the inability for applications to write to system subdirectories, makes Windows 2000 Server much more stable than NT 4.0 Server."</p>
<p>Additionally, Bolz had high praise for the more granular security capabilities within Windows 2000. This immediately allowed the bank to eliminate certain tactical third-party security tools. And the Security Configuration Toolkit (SCT) has also yielded dividends. SCT enables administrators to drastically reduce setup and installation time as well as configuration errors so common in NT 4.0. SCT uses templates that allow administrators to create standard or custom security configurations for all their servers. And the out-of-the-box remote administration means that Wells Fargo has also been able to eliminate <b>Symantec</b>'s PC Anywhere remote access utility. "There's an immediate net gain because we reduce costs and complexity," Bolz said.</p>
<p>One caveat Bolz had for prospective Windows 2000 adopters: understand the limitations of IntelliMirror. This is an embedded management facility within Windows 2000 that works with Active Directory and allows administrators to automate routine management tasks. These include configuration changes, automated software distribution for applications, service packs or new versions of software (see Planning Assumption, IntelliMirror, Remote OS Installation and SMS: Making Sense of W2K Management Packages, Laura DiDio).</p>
<p>One complaint by Bolz was similar to other customers Giga spoke with: they were confused about what functions IntelliMirror performed and how those functions differed from Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS) server-based management package. "Microsoft never had a clear, concise mission statement as to when customers should use IntelliMirror as opposed to SMS. We found out through trial and error that IntelliMirror has limitations with Microsoft's Installer Technology (MSI). And it doesn't work well for the bigger systems management jobs like error correction and reporting. For those tasks, you need SMS," Bolz said. "Once we realized that, we just used it for its intended purpose: distributing service packs and hot fixes," he added.</p>
<p>IntelliMirror does have some limitations with respect to the MSI facility. One of the most basic and hard and fast rules of Windows 2000 is that applications must install themselves using the Windows Installer service. To do this, the install must be in the form of a Windows Installer-based package. Network administrators should validate that the package is properly constructed. To do this, IT managers should run an internal consistency evaluation tool (such as msival2.exe, available in the Windows Installer SDK) in conjunction with the suite of ICEs contained in logo.cub. For more specific and detailed information on the MSI facility, check out the VeriTest Web site at <a href="http://www.veritest.com/mslogos/windows2000/index.htm">http://www.veritest.com/mslogos/windows2000/index.htm</a>. </p>
<p>Giga also strongly urges customers not to overlook obvious self-help tools. Read the "Read Me" file as well as all supporting documentation in advance of attempting any application installation. Wells Fargo and other customers realized that it is extremely unwise to deviate from the recommended installation and deployment instructions.</p>
<h2><!--mstheme--><font color="#400040">Wells Fargo's Best Deployment Practices <!--mstheme--></font></h2>
<p>Like his fellow early adopters, Bolz also offered some deployment advice based on the bank's experience:</p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Sit down and plan the deployment. "The complexity of the upgrade forces you to sit down and take a close look at how your organization is put together and how you want your business to be enabled. Microsoft has put together remarkable documentation — white papers, the resource kit and TechNet — use them," Bolz said.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Beware of using noncompatible hardware and noncertified applications. Bolz recounted that most of Wells Fargo's problems came from noncompatible hardware and custom applications and off-the-shelf applications that did not bear the "Certified for Windows 2000" logo. Wells Fargo's problems ranged from a poorly written installation script, which did incorrect version checking to applications that worked "OK when you did an upgrade, but was missing a registry key when you did a clean install," Bolz said.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Don't mess with the Windows 2000 Registry unless you know what you're doing or risk trashing your Windows 2000 Server configuration and starting from scratch.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Develop a thorough understanding of DNS. Knowing DNS is at the root of most things involving the Active Directory. For example, Bolz and his IT team discovered that you must run the WINS and Dynamic DNS Wizard to configure your Windows 2000 Server. "It won't answer until you do that," Bolz said.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Get up to speed on Microsoft Exchange. This is particularly crucial for Exchange Platinum customers, since that messaging package is optimized for use with Windows 2000 and the Active Directory.
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<p>Overall, to date, Wells Fargo is pleased with its Windows 2000 Professional and Server rollout. The bank's ultimate goal of shedding all of its legacy NT 4.0 domains is still 18 months away. And although the company does not yet have definitive TEI numbers, "we are confident that our ROI from Windows 2000 will be substantial," Bolz said. "The improved reliability and the advanced functionality of Active Directory of Windows 2000 has resulted in higher reliability and reduced management." </p>
<p>Data Return, in Dallas, Texas, is an advanced hosting provider with 300 employees and more than 1,000 customers worldwide. The company delivers infrastructure and managed services solutions to enterprises and dot coms, including the <b>U.S. Better Business Bureau</b>, <b>Motorola Corp</b>. and <b>Siemens Ltd</b>. And business is booming. Data Return, which hosts more than 1,600 Web sites worldwide, is experiencing a rapid adoption of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sites. </p>
<p>"For us, that meant that the increased reliability, scalability and high availability of the Windows 2000 platform were absolutely essential for Data Return's internal networks as well as to deliver better support to our customers," observed Jason Lockhead, the company's chief technology officer.</p>
<p>Its Web hosting sites are driven by dedicated clustered servers and make extensive use of Microsoft's SQL Server, said Mike Schiff, Data Return's vice president of sales and development. Data Return's chief goal was to get its own Windows 2000 network to deliver near 100 percent uptime and greater scalability and to stay ahead of customer performance demands driven by the rapid rise of B2B e-commerce. "Our chief concern was to have the SQL databases run reliably and scale. We also needed to cluster SQL Server with firewalls to secure the data," Lockhead said.</p>
<p>Lockhead and Schiff said their firm — an all-Microsoft shop — made the decision to participate in the rapid deployment program based on the anticipated performance gains associated with the new environment. "The competitive advantage of the Windows 2000 platform is the ability to tap into all of the developer resources and to automate business workflow and logic in a manner that's both scalable and flexible," Lockhead said.</p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Reduced administration time. Server installation and deployment time decreased by 30 percent.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Increased reliability — near 100 percent uptime and no server reboots necessary.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">A 30 percent to 40 percent increase in the number of simultaneous connections handled by the individual <b>Compaq</b> ProLiant 1850 Pentium II servers outfitted with 256MB memory over NT Server 4.0. In the NT Server 4.0 environment, each server supported 1,000 sessions. Since migrating to Windows 2000 Server, the number of simultaneous concurrent user sessions has increased to about 1,300 or 1,400.
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<p>Lockhead and Schiff said they are positive the gains are directly attributable to Windows 2000 Server and Advanced Server. "The underlying Compaq server hardware configuration remained the same. Nothing changed except for the operating system, and we achieved 30 to 40 percent more simultaneous user sessions. This, in turn, means that we had lower deployment costs than what we might have originally anticipated," Lockhead said. Ultimately, he added, the performance increases will result in economic gains for Data Return. "The only way that our business can be perceived as an investment instead of an expense is to produce a return for customers and that's what we've done with Windows 2000," Schiff noted. </p>
<p>The performance and productivity increases directly translate into higher profits, though Data Return declined to specify the actual numbers. "Some of it is being retained by us, the seller, some of it's being given to the customer in the form of lower prices. When the price goes down, usage volume goes up. So it's a win-win for Data Return and our customers. In general, e-commerce is such a new way of doing business that most companies in this space are more focused on building market share at this time," Schiff said.</p>
<p>Lockhead said that Windows 2000 Server and Advance Server reliability has been "spectacular." "I have servers that have been running Release Candidates that have not required a reboot for eight months," he said. Similarly, the upgrade took less time than the prior NT Server 4.0 migration. "Depending on server configuration, it took 30 to 40 minutes to upgrade to Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server, compared with about one hour for an NT 4.0 Server," Lockhead said. The administrative gains will become even more apparent when Data Return begins to take full advantage of Active Directory with its granular administrative and Kerberos security capabilities, he added. </p>
<p>Like its corporate peers in the Microsoft RDP and JDP programs, the people behind BigCharts.com. wanted to divest themselves of the legacy NT Server 4.0 domains and scalability limitations and trade them in for the greater reliability, processing power and manageability of Windows 2000 and the Active Directory. This was especially crucial to BigCharts in its role as an online news information service specializing in financial information, according to J.R. Cunningham, the firm's lead systems analyst. "We live on the bleeding edge of technology, and we're comfortable with that. As far as we were concerned, the inherent risks of the Windows 2000 migration were outweighed by the gains," Cunningham said.</p>
<p>The deployment itself proceeded rapidly, although BigCharts found Active Directory, by far, the most challenging piece of the migration. "When we migrated from NT 3.5 to 4.0, we had four fewer servers than we do now and it took four administrators an entire weekend to completely upgrade one site. By contrast, we needed only two people one day to finish the Windows 2000 migration at each site," Cunningham said. </p>
<p>The company's NT 4.0 environment consisted of four geographically dispersed domain controllers. Each housed 12 <b>Dell</b> dual-quad processors running 100Mb switched Ethernet to support SQL 7.0 databases. The move from NT 4.0 resulted in immediate performance and administrative returns, Cunningham said. The constraints and limitations of the NT 4.0 domain architecture meant that BigCharts had an IT staff of eight to oversee network operations at various sites. Unplanned downtime was also a problem in the NT 4.0 environment. During one two-week period, BigCharts experienced a total of 20 daily reboots across all four sites on a daily basis. With Microsoft's help, BigCharts was able to realize a quick, relatively problem-free upgrade to Windows 2000. And the TEI has been tangible and immediate. The benefits include the following:</p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Uptime has increased dramatically. "It is an order of magnitude (10x) better than NT 4.0," Cunningham said.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Reduction in the administrative resources necessary to maintain Windows 2000 Server compared with NT 4.0. It only takes a single dedicated administrator to maintain the Windows 2000 server at each site, compared with the six previously necessary to monitor the NT 4.0 Servers.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Windows 2000 yields better performance on the same Dell 6350 servers.
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<p>Cunningham was especially pleased with Windows 2000's more granular administrative functions that immediately lessened the workload of his IT staff. In the NT 4.0 environment, eight of the total of 60 IT staffers operated the three domain controllers. That included two dedicated administrators at each site for the day shift and one at each site for the night shift. With Windows 2000 and the Active Directory, which enables administrators to view the entire enterprise as one virtual organization instead of three separate domains, BigCharts only required one administrator to manage three sites during peak usage times. "So we were able to go from six dedicated managers, to just a single administrator maintaining all three sites," Cunningham said. "The result is we are making better use of our technical resources. This is especially true when you consider that we've doubled the number of Windows 2000 Servers in the server farm. At about $50,000 per administrator, we've actually freed up five people," Cunningham said. If BigCharts still had the same legacy administrative burdens, the online news provider would have had to hire that many people for roughly $250,000 in salaries alone. Windows 2000 lets them hold the line on the management head count, using a single dedicated administrator to oversee 15 Windows 2000 Servers. "I'd rather spend my capital expenditure dollars on something I want rather than on something I need," Cunningham said.</p>
<p>That's not to say that BigCharts didn't have doubts or encounter any problems. The company did run into some configuration problems, which it solved quickly thanks to its status as a Microsoft RDP and JDP. Cunningham recognizes his organization was one of the lucky few to have such close access and comprehensive support. For that reason, he recommends (as Giga does) that mainstream businesses "wait to deploy Windows 2000 Server" until a good number of other leading-edge users have successfully implemented the platform. "And it's absolutely essential that enterprise customers learn Active Directory inside and out. It is a very powerful but very complex and even scary facility at first," Cunningham said. </p>
<h2><!--mstheme--><font color="#400040">Big Chart's Best Deployment Practices Do's and Don'ts<!--mstheme--></font></h2>
<p>Cunningham offered his own personal list of best deployment practices "do's and don'ts": </p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Take a thorough inventory before beginning the upgrade and refresh hardware and software as needed.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Do fresh installs of all applications and utilities.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Retain detailed backup images of your old environment "just in case" and for review purposes.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Regularly monitor your progress with daily "fire drills" to determine what's working and what's not.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Document any anomalies and performance variations as you add applications or new peripheral devices. This will provide you with an in-house reference manual for your organization.
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<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Hire entry-level people or attempt to circumvent the Microsoft MCSE certification exams and substitute "do-it-yourself " training.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Don't eliminate your old environment in one fell swoop. Opt for a phased migration.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Don't assume your existing hardware configuration will run well on Windows 2000. "We found out that 512MB of RAM doesn't cut it on our servers and we upgraded to 1GB," Cunningham said. "Every organization should stress test their hardware configurations on Windows 2000 first."
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Adopt three-tier security. Cunningham advised prospective Windows 2000 adopters to, "Isolate your crucial data. Raise the degree of difficulty for hacking into your network and at the same time, make sure that there are fewer entry points into your network for hackers to gain access."
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<p>All four of the above customers achieved a very high success rate and tangible TEI in their Windows 2000 pilots and initial deployments. But there's little doubt that the success would probably not have come so readily had Microsoft guardian angels not been very close at hand to share a lot of the heavy lifting. Where does that leave the rest of us?</p>
<p>Corporations must still proceed with caution. The overwhelming majority of potential Windows 2000 customers have neither the luxury of an unlimited budget, access to the most highly skilled technicians, nor, most importantly, their own personal hotline to Microsoft engineers. There is no way to overestimate the value of Microsoft Consulting Service's on-site technical support to these early RDP and JDP corporations. There are roughly a total of 200 RDP and JDP corporations. These companies were all chosen because they are leading-edge showcase accounts. Their success stores are designed to make early Windows 2000 deployments look attractive to mainstream businesses and foster more rapid deployments to the Windows 2000 platform. Because of their extraordinary access to Microsoft and Microsoft's willingness to respond quickly and even help out with fixes and custom code, it's unrealistic to expect that the majority of mainstream customers will experience such a high rate of smooth, relatively trouble-free upgrades. </p>
<p>In addition, there is no guarantee that even a smooth implementation and deployment process will net the same immediate high returns on investments. Giga is confident, though, that, based on these and many other anecdotal user testimonials and our recent series of reliability surveys (done in conjunction with <b>Sunbelt Software Inc</b>.), Windows 2000 is indeed more scalable, reliable, robust, secure and manageable than NT Server 4.0. But, as they say in the diet commercials: "These results may not be typical. Actual results will vary."</p>
<p>All four customers, Wells Fargo, the Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns, Data Return and BigCharts, ultimately achieved similarly positive results in their Windows 2000 deployments. Most notable TEI included: </p>
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Better reliability in the form of near 100 percent uptime. This also cut user calls to the help desk.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">Routine management tasks were reduced an average of 20 percent to 40 percent both in terms of the actual deployment and the post-deployment diurnal administrative functions. This saves time and money.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">A reduction in the number of tactical utilities needed to maintain the network. These were replaced by the more granular capabilities of Active Directory and the addition of automated facilities, such as IntelliMirror and Remote OS Installation.
<!--msthemelist--><tr><td valign="baseline" width="42"><img src="../../_themes/copy-of-tilt/atlbull1.gif" width="15" height="15" hspace="13" alt="bullet"></td><td valign="top" width="100%"><!--mstheme--><font face="Times New Roman">The Windows 2000 Workstation and Server platforms both exhibited the ability to make much better use of the same underlying hardware platforms as their Windows 9x and NT 4.0 predecessors. This resulted in improved performance and the ability to handle more simultaneous user connections for Data Return, the advanced hosting provider.
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<p>At the same time, it should be noted that none of the four early-adopter case-study customers escaped totally unscathed. There were kinks to be worked out. Wells Fargo discovered the limitations of IntelliMirror and the Windows Installer mechanism by trial and error. And the bank also found it necessary to get Microsoft to write customized extensions to its core banking applications to enable its NT 4.0 Servers to interoperate with Windows 2000 Servers. Both the Arizona Diamondbacks/Phoenix Suns and BigCharts found the Active Directory and the Microsoft Management Console "very challenging." And all four firms had a healthy respect for the complexity of the new environment that is a necessary accompaniment to the performance and reliability gains. </p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of mainstream customers —except in cases where corporations have Microsoft premium technical support — cannot realistically expect the same level of hand-holding as the 200 corporate participants in the RDP and JDP programs. Therefore, time is still the best ally for the rest of us. Giga continues its recommendation that all but the most technically proficient and leading-edge corporations delay deployment until after the first service pack ships. Microsoft has not given a specific ship date, but indications are that Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 will ship in late spring or early summer. That's not that far off — use this time wisely.</p>
<p>With careful preparation, which includes the necessary resources and training and a well thought out phased deployment plan, it is possible for corporations to mirror the positive, relatively trouble-free migration of our four early-adopter case-study customers. The trick is to do your due diligence and follow best practices advice to the letter. Do not attempt shortcuts, and do not attempt any maverick actions such as overclocking machines or skipping the obvious, such as reading the "Read Me" file. When in doubt, delay your migration until you are sure that you have resolved the issues. If you believe the Windows 2000 upgrade is too complex for your IT staff to accomplish on their own, consider employing the services of a reputable, experienced third-party vendor, such as Compaq, IBM, Hewlett-Packard (HP) or other reputable systems integrators. Alternatively, consider upgrading your existing Microsoft support.</p>
<p>Even corporations that take extraordinary measures are bound to encounter some problems. That is a fact of networking life. A proactive approach, though, such as those undertaken by our four early adopters, will help you to minimize mistakes and recover from them more quickly. </p>
<p>As for the question: "Will my corporation be able to achieve a reasonable and significant TEI by adopting Windows 2000?" The answer is yes, providingyou take the time and do it right. Giga is confident that Windows 2000 offers the promise of lower administrative costs, improved scalability, better reliability and security than any of Microsoft's prior operating systems or server operating systems. The rapidity of your ROI and the actual TEI achieved will vary according to the individual corporation's infrastructure and implementation and Windows 2000's interoperability with other devices and software packages. And customers that elect to migrate within the next few months will find that fewer than four dozen third-party workstation and server applications are fully certified for the platform. Giga does expect figures to steadily increase as the year goes on.</p>
<p>Rest assured, you will see some immediate and tangible gains. How much is up to you. </p>
