CASE STUDY

“By using near real-time data from Attunity together with our dashboard tool, we were able to see ten years of data from our ERP system for the first time – all in one chart. Our business teams were excited about the possibilities, once they realized that they could look at data in ways they’d never seen before. Our customers have also been thrilled about gaining better insight into inventory and delivery information.” - Roland Sutherland, Information Systems Manager, SMART Modular Technologies

AT A GLANCE

About Smart Modular

SMART Modular Technologies is a global company that designs, manufactures, and supplies specialty memory and storage solutions to OEMs engaged in the computer, industrial, networking, telecommunications, aerospace and defense markets.

Objectives

To provide near real-time information for on-demand reporting by unifying data from the SAP ERP system running on an Oracle database and the manufacturing systems running on SQL Server databases.

Solution

Attunity Replicate enables SMART Modular Technologies to replicate data quickly from the ERP and manufactur-ing systems to a SQL Server reporting database. This supplies “one version of the truth” as users generate reports and dashboards using tools like QlikView.

“Attunity Replicate has helped us uncover the insights in our SAP data and has given our customers the ability to log in and see near real-time shipment and inventory status. This has helped us win new business in a highly-competitive market sector.”

– Roland Sutherland, Information Systems Manager SMART Modular Technologies

CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY

Smart Modular Uses Attunity Replicate to Support Real-Time Reporting for Business Teams and Customers

Overview

SMART Modular Technologies designs, manufactures and ships specialty memory and storage solutions to OEM partners worldwide. To compete more effectively in this dynamic business environment, the company recognized that it needed access to up-to-date operational informa-tion about inventory, deliveries, sales and

more to support its own business teams, as well as customers. With Attunity Replicate, SMART Modular Technologies has created a reporting database that contains near real-time information from its SAP ERP system and worldwide manufac-turing systems. The IT team no longer has to devote multiple resources full-time to reporting, and both the business teams and customers have been pleased with their newfound access to “one version of the truth.” The Company

SMART Modular Technologies is a leading independent designer, manufacturer, and supplier of specialty memory and stor-age solutions. The Company is part of the

SMART family of global companies and has offices all over the world. Combining leading-edge design and manufacturing with proven world-class support, SMART Modular Technologies leverages its deep expertise in DRAM and Flash architectures with a customer-specific design focus. SMART Modular Technologies delivers high-quality, high-reliability solutions to computing, networking and telecom OEMs, as well as printer, storage, automotive, mobile, and industrial customers.

With customers worldwide who depend on timely product deliveries, SMART Modular Technologies needs real-time insight into inventory and delivery statuses. In 2010, however, that proved to be a challenge since the company’s SAP ERP system used an Oracle database and the manufactur-ing systems used a SQL Server database. There were ten people whose full-time job was running reports. For example, every day a ‘Promised Delivery Date Report’ was generated which took four hours to com-plete. “By the time reports were run, the data was often six hours out of date and business conditions had already changed,” said Roland Sutherland, Information Systems Manager.

SMART Modular Technologies’ business teams also needed the ability to run their own reports and analytics. The SAP BI tool created spreadsheet-like reports that were cumbersome to work with and didn’t allow users to drill down into more detail. Even after business teams got reports, they still had to manipulate the data further to get the information they really wanted. “Since pricing for memory changes from day to day, we must keep on top of the most up-

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BENEFITS FOR SMART MODULAR

» Real-time data supports Smart Modular’s on-demand reporting model and enables better business insights

» Online portal enables customers to see near real-time shipment and inventory status - improving customer satisfaction

» Real-time customer portal provides competitive advantage that helps Smart Modular win new business

» Enables reduced risk of inventory exposure, late deliveries, and manufacturing issues

» Early warning insights improved customer confidence while controlling costs and reducing waste

to-date pricing in order to offer customers the best possible price, while still making a profit for the company,” explained Suther-land. “We realized that we needed a new approach to reporting and analytics that would create a competitive advantage and allow us to react faster to market conditions.”

Using Replication to Create a Reporting Database

Creating a database dedicated to report-ing and analytics seemed like the right solution. However, that meant replicat-ing data from the SAP ERP system and the manufacturing systems. The IT team looked at Oracle GoldenGate, but the solu-tion proved to be too expensive and they didn’t have the experience needed to use such a complex system. On the other hand, Microsoft SSIS wasn’t robust enough on its own to meet SMART Modular Technolo-gies’ needs. Then, Corporate Modelling, Smart Modular’s BI Partner, recommended Attunity’s replication solutions.

The IT team was impressed with the Attunity Replicate solution and how easy the out-of-the-box setup was. Once the system was up and running, it needed little maintenance, which greatly reduced the IT burden. Around 200 tables are replicated from the ERP and manufacturing systems to the SQL Server reporting database. The

volume of data from the ERP system alone is 130 gigabytes, but over the next five years, the data volume that will be replicated is expected to grow to more than 500 gigabytes. The reporting database now gives users access to near real-time data and offers “one version of the truth” about business conditions.

Delivering up-to-date Information to Stakeholders Inside and Outside the Business

Both the SMART Modular Technologies’ business users, as well as customers, have been pleased with the results. “By using QlikView dashboards and near real-time data from Attunity, we were able to see ten years of data from our ERP system for the first time in one chart. Our business teams were excited about the possibilities, once they realized that they could look at data in ways they’d never seen before,” said Sutherland. In addition, the on-demand reports with up-to-date information have reduced the company’s risk of inventory exposure, late deliveries, and manu- facturing issues. Insight into early warn-ings improved customer confidence and satisfaction, while controlling costs and reducing waste. Both management and customers now run on-demand reports containing the most current data on ship-ping, inventory, and more via a web-based user interface. “Attunity Replicate has helped us reveal insights in our SAP data and is giving customers the ability to log in and see near real-time shipment and inven-tory status. This has not only improved customer satisfaction, but has also helped us win new business,” said Sutherland.

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“[Attunity Replicate] has not only improved customer satisfaction, but has also helped us win new business.”

– Roland Sutherland, Information Systems Manager SMART Modular Technologies