Barilla invests in IT backup

Related tags Barilla

Barilla, one of the leading European food manufacturers, has
contracted Computer Associates International to supply its
BrightStor Enterprise Backup to protect the data generated across
its complex distributed IT environment.

Barilla, one of the leading European food manufacturers, has contracted Computer Associates International to supply its BrightStor Enterprise Backup to protect the data generated across its complex distributed IT environment.

Barilla, one of the best-known Italian brands worldwide and Italy's leading food group, currently exports its products to more than 100 markets. Supporting this business is a worldwide IT infrastructure managed from the company's headquarters in Parma and delivering database, file and messaging services to more than 2,000 office workstations and more than 1,000 mobile sales force stations.

Barilla's need for a more effective data protection strategy began to emerge in recent years as the volume of mission-critical data generated by its distributed systems reached the 250 GB-per-month mark - 33 per cent higher than the volume of data saved on its mainframes.

At that time, the company elected to implement CA's BrightStor ARCserve Backup, which provided excellent support for the platforms then in use. Since then, Barilla's IT infrastructure has continued to grow, bringing the total volume of data requiring protection to more than one terabyte-per-month.

Upon re-evaluating its evolving storage requirements, Barilla started to evaluate its options. "BrightStor Enterprise Backup's high performance, flexibility and ease of use made it strong choice for a fast-growing group like Barilla with rapidly expanding information management needs and a long-standing commitment to cutting-edge technology,"​ said Roberto Faraguti, Barilla Group's chief technology officer. "As critical as our information resources are to our business, it was imperative that we go with the very best solution available."

Faraguti cited several other factors in his selection of BrightStor Enterprise Backup - including the power of its Cross-Platform Manager, its extensive reporting capability, its easy-to-use "wizards" that simplify backup and restore operations, and its ability to provide granular protection of individual Microsoft Exchange mailboxes and messages.

Systems protected by BrightStor Enterprise Backup support Barilla's critical business intelligence and knowledge management applications, including Nielsen marketing data, statistics, product prices, service levels and logistics - a particularly vital area that has been outsourced to a group spin-off, Number One Logistics. The backup system also protects the company's human resources, administration, IP network, and investment management applications.

"We have implemented a system of safeguards for our distributed architecture that depends on strong centralised control,"​ said Faraguti. "BrightStor Enterprise Backup is a good fit with this architecture, offering strong performance and centralised monitoring from an intuitive management interface."

Faraguti explained that the backup system would enable Barilla to introduce SAN technology into its enterprise storage architecture without disrupting existing management and operational practices. "CA has clearly shown its commitment to keeping pace with technologies, such as Windows 2000 and SANs, as they become available," said Faraguti.

Comprising Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Wasa, Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico), the Barilla Group is the pasta leader worldwide and leader in Italy as regards ready sauces and bakery products. There are 25 plants (16 in Italy and nine abroad) and over 7,000 employees. The Group reported revenues in 2001 of €2,202 million with consolidated net profit of €100 million.

Related topics Processing & Packaging

Related news

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars