Multi-Tier Systems Architecture

Challenge

In the mid-2000s, the demand and cost for digital software distribution were growing exponentially, among at-home, corporate, and educational users alike. Those eager to explore the first public releases of our client’s next-generation operating systems were frustrated with slow download speeds and long wait times as its networks struggled to keep up with customer demand and faltered in meeting the needs of a single product launch with its existing publishing capacity. Customers were often driven to request a hard copy after failed attempts to download a digital version of the software, but many international customers lacked access to a retail store as well. To address its customer satisfaction problems in the face of a growing demand for digital products, our client required a solution that would make more efficient use of available storage capacity, reduce its server footprint, and ultimately enable a future transition to 100% digital distribution.

Recognizing our client’s need to improve the media distribution experience and lower costs by reducing support-related call volume, Wimmer Solutions proposed a program management/process improvement solution that would identify and eliminate bottlenecks in the download process and improve service levels dramatically.

Solution

Wimmer assigned one of its Managing Directors to oversee critical elements of the program, including: improving replication and the security and permissions model to increase system efficiency; implementation of a multi-tier system architecture; and elimination of 60% of fulfillment servers to reduce space allocation and power costs.

We led a project team to conduct extensive loss-of-revenue analysis on system downtime associated with product launches under existing systems, as well as ROI projections for our proposed reconfiguration of the product launch process.

Once the initial components of the program had been launched, by analyzing system performance against existing KPIs our team continually assessed and addressed inefficiencies, while establishing metrics goals to align the new model with projected future demand.

In order to achieve the above items on schedule and in a quality manner, the Wimmer Team utilized the following technical skills:

Technical Skills Used:

• Project Management
• Business Analysis
• Technology Architecture Planning‍

Innovation & Impact

Our process improvements provided our customers with secure publishing, storage, replication, and download services, with increased reliability for large files. The client achieved the following results:

• Cost Savings: The implementation of a multi-tier system architecture and elimination of 60% of fulfillment servers reduced space allocation and power costs significantly.
• Improved Download Efficiency: The optimized systems enabled faster, more reliable global downloads, enhancing the user experience and reducing support-related call volume.
• Increased Reliability: The solution provided secure publishing, storage, replication, and download services, ensuring high reliability for large files.