KNPC powers up

According to Abdulaziz Ahmed Abdulrahman Al-Duaij, manager information technology at KNPC, the only logical way to fix this host of problems was to upgrade KNPC’s hardware to harness more processing power. ConsequentlyKNPC deployed the kargest server in the GCC.

“We purchased Oracle hardware to host our business critical applications. This hardware with high processing power and storage, increased performance and reliability to our users. In addition to that, it hosted our disaster recovery for back-up and restore,” said Abdulrahman Al Duaij.

By investing in this virtualised ICT solution, KNPC has further strengthened the security of its processes with the introduction of a new disaster recovery protocol, allowing for the business applications and data to be immediately backed-up and transferred to an alternative location in the event that the server is damaged.

For the project KNPC partnered with one of the only qualified company’s in the region that integrates hardware and software from different vendors, ITS (International Turnkey Systems). The company is also fully certified to deploy high-end storage technology and was well placed to manage the implementation project.

ITS deployed a virtualised Oracle Enterprise server, which features streamlined processes, and reduced bottom line costs. The server ITS worked with a number of third party vendors, such as Oracle, Symantec and EMC to deliver these solutions to KNPC.

“The introduction of this new virtualised Oracle Enterprise server, implemented by partner ITS, gives us the best design to support our databases and Oracle E-Business Suite applications according to our business requirements,” said Abdulrahman Al-Duaij.

The ITS multi-threaded virtual Oracle Enterprise server has also opened KNPC’s network allowing it to share resources with its other offices across the region, offering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to its remote users and end-user clients, which reduces hardware infrastructural and system maintenance costs. As part of this project, ITS deployed the highest number of storage clusters ever implemented in Kuwait.

During the rollout, KNPC and ITS faced a few implementation problems.

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“I think the biggest issue was that this is top notch leading edge hardware, so it was not easy to work with it right away. There was a learning curve to deal with this hardware. The other complexity was the environment; where to keep this hardware and in what optimal environment for cooling and electrical power requirements. So we faced some challenges, but we were able to overcome them,” said Abdulrahman Al Duaij.

Due to the complexity of the equipment, staff training was integral to a successful system rollout and the training of KNPC staff ran throughout the nine months of the implementation cycle.

“Training was essential, not only so staff could learn to install new hardware, but the challenge was also to migrate legacy business critical applications to this hardware. This required our staff to get hands on. That is why the charge was to let our people fill the gap of knowledge so that they can deal with this new hardware,” said Abdulrahman Al Duaij.

Another issue was where to locate the equipment, the legacy data centre was cramped and its existing air-conditioning infrastructure was not adequate to cool the new equipment.

“The air-conditioning power had to be nearly doubled because Kuwait temperatures are very high in summer. If we had to build a new data centre, it would have been much easier, but to deal with the small existing space was a problem. Also we had to swap out equipment piece by piece at the same time in the same place, so the space problem was really very challenging,” said Abdulrahman Al Duaij.

One of the major successes of the project roll out was that it was delivered on time without any noticeable downtime and the increased performance was immediately noticeable.

KNPC’s increased performance was recorded within its business critical systems, such as financial systems and its in-house applications that manage procurement schedules. With the successful completion of the ICT project, KNPC now boasts one of the biggest hardware infrastructures in the region paving the way for similar successes from enterprises in Kuwait.

“The immediate business benefits of the roll out were increased user satisfaction, increased user performance and less user complaints. The user experience was hugely improved in terms of running small applications without interruptions and without delay. I would say there has been a 50% increase in performance, it was very noticeable,” said Abdulrahman Al-Duaij.

Kuwait National Petroleum Company has been working towards a single ICT vision, to align its technology systems under one umbrella, offering resources and benefits to its group of companies.

“This deployment was an important project for KNPC and as the company’s trusted ICT solution provider we oversaw and managed the implementation process,” said Yaqoub Khajah, acting line of business head, Energy, ITS.

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“As consultants, we worked closely with KNPC to review their strategic goals, develop the project plan and identify the technical requirements that would assure the implementation could be conducted at minimum cost within their specific time-frame,”

“The introduction of this high-end virtualised Oracle Enterprise server is only the beginning for Kuwait National Petroleum Company as we work closely with them to fortify and upgrade its entire network infrastructure.”

The process of IT upgrade is an ongoing exercise for KNPC. The company is now focussing on obtaining more desk top storage for its databases and for its various applications.

“The beauty of the new existing set up is that it is completely scalable, so to add capacity without any big changes is easy. It is a very nice infrastructure set up that we did with Oracle,” said Abdulrahman Al-Duaij.

The ICT project is part of a wider initiative by Kuwait Petroleum Company, parent company of KNPC to connect the many businesses under its umbrella, enabling them to share technological resources and becoming a more streamlined conglomerate.