Case Study
A Foundation for Growth with Data Center Consolidation and More
Strategic professional services from Verizon help transform global communications for one of the world’s largest heavy equipment manufacturers.
KOMATSU TRANSFORMS GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
Let’s say you’ve been maintaining a workout routine for a while. One day, you reach the end of your workout session and realize that you haven’t achieved your desired results. Or maybe you’ve hit a plateau. You have a vision of how you should look and feel by now, but you’re just not there. Something needs to change. You realize that a new strategy is in order, one that will help you obtain maximum results.
NEW STRATEGY IMPROVES COMMUNICATION
Similar to your workout session, Komatsu revamped its communications strategy, turning to data center consolidation tactics and more in order to become a leading player in the global construction and mining machinery industry. Long established as a paragon of Japanese heavy manufacturing, operating 164 subsidiary organizations and 42 associated companies across more than 15 countries, Komatsu recognized that it needed to take a more global view of its network. Ever-more geographically distributed operations were putting strain on the company’s legacy wide area network (WAN).
Komatsu had previously centralized its communications management mainly at its headquarters in Japan, but when the time came to position the company for growth into the 21st century, it became clear that a different approach was needed. This led the company— the world’s second-largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, industrial machinery, and other products—to consolidate its European operations around a new mission-critical data center in Belgium.
“As our business has grown, so too has the volume of data moving across our global network,” explains Kosuke Yamane, general manager of the e-KOMATSU Technical Center. “To ensure we could continue to effectively support the future growth of our operations, we decided to consolidate and integrate our global infrastructure with a single supplier.”
DATA CENTER CONSOLIDATION FOR COMMUNICATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE
Data center consolidation would simplify Komatsu’s extensive application infrastructure and improve communications, enabling the swift delivery of information vital in providing timely, high-quality customer service, and pave the way for a more high-level view of its global network infrastructure. Komatsu evaluated proposals from five of the world’s largest global connectivity providers and chose Verizon because of our proven performance, comprehensive service level agreements, industry and technical expertise, and global presence driven by close coordination between local teams around the world.
Initially, Komatsu’s upgrade would span only its European operations, providing high-bandwidth links to support its data center consolidation efforts. As the project moved on, the company chose to leverage our capabilities to upgrade its WAN globally and build a full-service, fully managed and redundant network with consistently high performance. Our consulting staff worked closely with Komatsu technical staff in Belgium, Japan, and elsewhere to transition the company from its legacy WAN to a new communications infrastructure.
Komatsu’s 25 largest global sites are now linked with Verizon Private IP services, which provide voice and data connectivity across employees and affiliates. We helped Komatsu improve employee productivity and delivered a better customer experience by making its networks run more smoothly.
GLOBAL, AROUND-THE-CLOCK NETWORK SUPPORT
With the infrastructure upgrade complete, Komatsu approached us about ongoing management of its entire network. Managed WAN services provide Komatsu with around-the-clock network support from a global team of technical experts working to maintain WAN uptime and performance.
Strong teamwork between Komatsu IT staff and our consultants has delivered a robust network that supports Komatsu’s centralized application model. Komatsu’s technology managers are able to work closely with our Japan-based team to manage operations in Japan, while coordinating with the European and other teams to provide consistent performance.
“Verizon demonstrated a strong understanding of our business, and was able to offer strategic advice that will make a real difference as we work to achieve our overall business goals,” says Dirk Fieremans, European Infrastructure Manager, Komatsu. “The team offers the combination of industry experience and technical expertise."
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