The SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse environment of one of Germany's top ten banks, Norddeutsche Landesbank, was suffering from delays and slow response times as business needs grew. It implemented the IBM Systems Solution for SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse Accelerator. This improves general workflow efficiency. Additionally, thanks to this solution, load processes can be executed during business hours.

1. Top German bank NORD/LB Overview
improves business and technical Challenge
efficiencies using IBM and SAP The SAP NetWeaver Business
Warehouse environment of one
Headquartered in Hannover, banking business. We wanted to put of Germany's top ten banks,
NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank in place a solution that would last for Norddeutsche Landesbank, was
is one of the top ten leading financial at least three years, and in the short- suffering from delays and slow
institutions in Germany. The bank term would immediately improve query response times as business
employs approximately 6,950 people response.” needs grew.
in Germany and in the important
international financial capitals. Its total Need for speed Solution
assets amount to about €222 billion. NORD/LB uses a central model for Implemented the IBM Systems
analyzing its business information, Solution for SAP NetWeaver
Rapidly expanding data consumption based on SAP NetWeaver Business Business Warehouse Accelerator
was stretching the SAP NetWeaver Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW). based on IBM BladeCenter®
Business Warehouse systems to This approach protects data integrity systems.
the limit in technical terms. Business and consistency. NORD/LB wished
queries and report generation took too to preserve the functionality of SAP Key benefits
long, slowing technical operations. NetWeaver BW, and find a way to solve NORD/LB has a state-of-the-art
the performance issues. platform offering fast response
Sabine Nagel, Project Leader at and loading times. Reporting
NORD/LB, comments, “The sheer NORD/LB selected SAP NetWeaver speed improved by up to 40
amount of data increased and was Business Warehouse Accelerator (SAP percent. This improves general
growing steadily, and performance NetWeaver BWA), which provides workflow efficiency. Additionally,
on our previous technical backbone improved performance through use of thanks to this solution, load
had reached its limits. Workflow indexing existing data. Working with processes can be executed
efficiency was being hampered, with IBM and Business Partner c.a.r.u.s., during business hours.
query response times increasingly NORD/LB selected the IBM Systems
slowing down. This is unacceptable in Solution for SAP NetWeaver BW
a fast-paced environment such as the Accelerator, a complete, pre-configured
Case study

2. solution designed to deliver rapid,
cost-effective and high-performance
SAP NetWeaver BW Accelerator “The solution was
deployment. implemented within
a few days, so
Business Challenge
Andreas Lautensack, Senior IT we could ensure
Consultant at c.a.r.u.s., comments, business operations
“We implemented the IBM Systems and improve
The SAP NetWeaver Business Solution for SAP NetWeaver BW technical efficiency.
Warehouse environment of one Accelerator, based on IBM BladeCenter, We succeeded
of Germany's top ten banks, as it provides excellent integration and in increasing
Norddeutsche Landesbank, was communication with the production query speeds and
suffering from delays and slow SAP systems. As we already had an reporting, which
response times as business needs IBM infrastructure, it made sense improved by a
grew. to take advantage of the existing significant tally of
environment in order to be able to 30-40 percent.”
NORD/LB's sophisticated and implement a new solution quickly and
highly-developed SAP NetWeaver easily.” Sabine Nagel
Business Warehouse solution Project Leader, Nord/LB
needed to be enhanced, to ensure NORD/LB embarked on a careful
speedy, consistent and reliable query multi-stage implementation process,
response times. connecting the solution initially to the
quality management system and then was able to take place. We succeeded
The solution also had to ensure high subsequently to the production system in increasing query speeds and
availability, quick disaster recovery after just a few days of successful reporting, which improved by a
and optimal performance over the testing. significant tally of 30-40 percent. Now
mid- to long-term. the simple, standard reports that are
Sabine Nagel adds, “After testing the accessed by most of our users run in
system, and as soon as we gave the less than 10 seconds. User satisfaction
green light for the project to go ahead, has increased. It also means that work
the solution was implemented within a is more efficient and administrative
few days, so we could ensure business processes are quicker. We have also
operations and improve technical made significant savings on the disk
efficiency. We are very satisfied with the capacity required to support our
speed with which the implementation database.”
2

3. IBM Business Partner c.a.r.u.s. was capacity upgrades simply by adding
responsible for the implementation. additional blade servers to the chassis.”
Andreas Lautensack notes, “A major
attribute of the IBM solution lay in the In addition, IBM BladeCenter server
General Parallel File System (GPFS) infrastructure provides scalable,
which enables high-performance enterprise class reliability ensuring
Solution
enterprise file management. maximum availability for users.
Implemented the IBM Systems
"GPFS provides the underlying storage Reducing complexity for
Solution for SAP NetWeaver
with a very efficient file system and seamless integration
Business Warehouse Accelerator
is one significant area that clearly All of NORD/LB's infrastructure for SAP
based on IBM BladeCenter® systems,
differentiates IBM from its competitors. is hosted and maintained at an external
with 15 IBM HS22 Blades powered
It also provides a safeguard for the IT services provider. Other IT systems
by Intel® Xeon® Quad-Core E5570
future, as it offers the possibility of of NORD/LB are being operated
processors.
implementing a high availability solution in-house and partially managed by IBM
easily while providing disruption-free Strategic Outsourcing.
3

4. Sabine Nagel says, “We wanted to get
as much as possible in one package
and from one single vendor, as this “We implemented
simplifies implementation and reduces the IBM Systems
costs. The partner we chose was able Solution for SAP
Key Solution Components
to integrate the solution seamlessly NetWeaver BW
into our existing IBM Power-based Accelerator, based on
Industry
architecture and came up with a clear IBM BladeCenter, as
Banking
roadmap for the future.” it provides excellent
integration and
Applications
Widespread benefits communication with
SAP® ERP applications, SAP
The IBM Systems Solution for SAP the production SAP
NetWeaver® Business Warehouse 7.0,
NetWeaver BW Accelerator supports systems.
every single business area in the bank,
SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse
Accelerator.
including reporting, financial control As we already had an
and more. IBM infrastructure, it
Hardware made sense to take
IBM® Systems Solution for SAP
The speed of response provided by advantage of the
NetWeaver Business Warehouse
the IBM Systems solution for SAP existing environment
Accelerator, including two IBM
NetWeaver BW Accelerator has in order to be able
BladeCenter® with 15 HS22 servers
enabled the technical team to provide to implement a new
powered by Intel® Xeon® Processor
the bank’s departments efficiently with solution quickly and
Quad-Core X5570 series,
information for its business operations. easily.”
IBM System Storage DS4700
At a technical level, the load times for Andreas Lautensack
InfoCubes have improved significantly. Senior IT Consultant,
Software
Users wishing to analyze data from c.a.r.u.s. Information Technology
IBM General Parallel File System on
multiple business perspectives can do
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
so more rapidly.
Business Partner
As Sabine Nagel indicates, “Because
c.a.r.u.s. Information Technology
we no longer need to build and maintain
GmbH
aggregates within the SAP NetWeaver
Business Warehouse environments, we
have saved on storage space as well as
reducing time and effort for IT staff.”

5. Sabine Nagel notes, “Initially, we
thought that performance gains and
“The overall improvements would only affect reports.
partnership between However, the loading of data from one
the external service cube to another cube has also improved
provider, c.a.r.u.s. and and surpassed our expectations.
Business Benefits
NORD/LB for the IBM
Systems Solution for "Departments that require a lot
• NORD/LB has a state-of-the-art
SAP NetWeaver BW of analysis, such as finance and
platform offering fast response and
Accelerator has really accounting, have benefited as a lot of
loading times that will power the
worked out well. data is loaded from cube to cube. This
data query and mining needs of the
has sped up loading processes and of
bank for many years.
We feel safe in the course the reports, which are faster to
knowledge that this produce. Furthermore, load processes
• Reporting speed improved by up to
solution will sustain can now be executed during business
40 percent with the IBM Systems
our needs for many hours, while reports can be requested in
Solution for SAP NetWeaver
years.” parallel through the BW Accelerator.”
Business Warehouse Accelerator,
so that the reports accessed by
Sabine Nagel NORD/LB has a total of about 1,500
most users are available in less
Project Leader, Nord/LB users who can log onto the system. Due
than 10 seconds. This improves
to the nature of the financial industry,
general workflow efficiency.
the queries and reports involve large
volumes of data, all handled by the IBM
• Additionally, thanks to this solution,
Systems Solution for SAP NetWeaver
load processes can be executed
BW Accelerator, even during peaks
during business hours.
where high demands are placed on the
system.
Sabine Nagel concludes, “The overall
partnership between the external
service provider, c.a.r.u.s. and NORD/LB
for the IBM Systems Solution for SAP
NetWeaver BW Accelerator has really
worked out well. We feel safe in the
knowledge that this solution will sustain
our needs for many years.”

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We have also made uses IBM and/or IBM Business Partner
technologies/services. Many factors have
significant savings contributed to the results and benefits described.
IBM does not guarantee comparable results. All
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examples cited represent how some customers
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Project Leader, Nord/LB This publication is for general guidance only.
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SPC03347-DEEN-00 (September 2011)