References Details

References Details

Davos Klosters Mountains

All areas and volumes of data are covered with a single backup solution.

SEP sesam Saves your Spare Time

”The best part about SEP sesam is that I can back everything up with one product. All areas and volumes of data are covered with a single backup solution.“

Situation

IT Manager for Davos Klosters Bergbahnen AG (DKB), Thomas Grebner, is responsible for a wide range of mission critical data, including the data availability of the cash and credit card systems, electronic access and control systems of cable cars and hotel rooms, the video cameras that provide live feeds of and information about the Panorama, the weather and opening times of cable cars, the control of snowmaking equipment, which alone runs on two servers, the accounting, archival and email systems and the time records of employees. DKB’s IT infrastructure has multiple locations, with both virtual and physical servers, connected via fiber optic cables and their environment is constantly expanding and evolving.

In winter, there is quite a hustle and bustle in the two tourist towns. The data backups have to run like clockwork, because data loss leads to problems with a guest’s accommodations, activities and overall experience, which could mean significant financial loss for the company. “The biggest nightmare would be if our guests could not check in because suddenly the reservation system of the hotels failed and reception had no access to the resort’s booking data,” explained Grebner. Unfortunately, Grebner could not rely on their existing backup product, Symantec’s Backup Exec, and needed to find a new solution.

One Central Solution

The Swiss distributor, SKyPRO AG, suggested SEP sesam as a new backup solution. A SEP specialist then analyzed DKB’s environment and requirements. Soon after, DKB made the switch from Symantec’s Backup Exec to SEP sesam.

“The installation of SEP sesam only took one day and is currently working better than originally planned. We started completely fresh with SEP sesam and the switch has been completely worth it”, said Grebner. 

After attending a SEP training, where data crashes were simulated, Grebner is now prepared for emergencies and disaster situations. He was able to familiarize himself with the SEP sesam system, its capabilities and meet people that have to cope with similar work situations and tasks.

Results

Grebner and his company chose SEP sesam for many reasons, one being the outstanding personal support provided by the manufacturer. For Grebner, getting professional help quickly and easily was extremely important. The international support team helped him with any questions or problems that arose, day or night.

“I rely on SEP sesam’s functionality every day. In the event of a disaster I cannot solve, I can always call SEP and connect with someone directly,” says Grebner.

“The best part about SEP sesam is that I can back everything up with one product. All areas and volumes of data are covered with a single backup solution,” said Grebner.

He has been working with SEP sesam since summer 2011 and, for his company, it was very important to find a central backup solution that would protect every piece of their intricate system with one product. Prior to installing SEP sesam, each mountain cable car had its own different backup system. 

Customer Environment:

  • Servers at multiple locations
  • Virtualized and physical servers
  • Email and groupware system
  • Cash and credit card systems
  • Electronic access and control systems of cable cars and hotel rooms
  • Control of snowmaking equipment
  • Accounting
  • Archiving
  • Timekeeping
  • Panorama-Livecams

SEP sesam Modules:

  • Backup Server: Linux
  • Client operating systems: Windows, Linux, Netware
  • Virtualisierung: VMware ESX/vSphere
  • Databases: Microsoft SQL
  • Groupware: Micro Focus GroupWise
  • Storage: Hard drives & Autoloader

Another reason DKB decided to use SEP sesam, was its extensive support of various operating systems. The ski lifts’ operations have run on Novell and Linux for about eleven years and the hotel booking system runs on Windows. The former provider, Symantec’s Backup Exec, could not sufficiently support the Linux and Novell environments. Symantec’s support was difficult to reach and demanded the acceptance of expensive service contracts. Therefore, the mountain railway team searched for a system that would maintain Novell, Linux and Windows environments. SEP sesam now backs up enterprise-wide data for DKB. Despite the growing diversity and complexity of DKB’s environment, the SEP sesam backup system remains manageable and easier to set up than other backup solutions.

About Davos Klosters Mountains

Incorporated in 1954 and based in Davos Platz, Switzerland, Davos Klosters Bergbahnen AG operates as a mountain railway company that manages ski and mountain resort facilities, including cable cars, ski lifts and mountain trains for the two giant tourist resorts, Davos and Klosters. The company maintains an area of 187 miles of ski slopes in the winter and 435 miles for mountain biking and hiking in the summer. The Mountain Hotels department of the company allows visitors to choose between 19 different kinds of accommodations, which include hotels, group homes and mobile homes, in order to take advantage of the ski and hiking activities.


Back
Related Events: