CASE STUDY
A
s one of Egypt’s leading pharmacy
chains, El Ezaby Pharmacy, needed
a strong IT landscape to support
its complex and wide-reaching operations.
Its legacy IT infrastructure was proving
inadequate to the task, so the company made
the decision to switch to SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server for SAP Applications. The SUSE solution
cut the IT administrative burden, helping
El Ezaby Pharmacy focus on delivering fast,
reliable services for its customers.
Overview
OVERVIEW
Established in 1975, El Ezaby Pharmacy
is recognised as one of Egypt’s leading
providers of health and personal care
products. With nearly 40 years of experience
serving the Egyptian community, El
Ezaby maintains a nationwide network
of 90 branches (and counting), multiple
warehouses and one baby centre.
Challenge
CHALLENGE
With almost a hundred branches across
Egypt and the Middle East, and a complex
network of assets to maintain, El Ezaby
Pharmacy needed a robust IT infrastructure
capable of supporting its complex day-to-
day operations.
However, the company’s existing solutions
were proving inadequate to the task.
Haitham El-Ghamry, IT Director at El Ezaby
Pharmacy, said: “Our previous systems were
being outpaced as the company continued
to grow. Our database was proving too small
for the size and complexity of our inventory.
The slow speed at which the system could be
updated also hindered the reliability of our
business processes.
“That was what initially led us to choose SAP
Applications, as a means of managing our
business more effectively.
“After that it just made sense to adopt
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. It came highly
recommended from the vendors we spoke
to, and it had the level of compatibility we
needed to integrate our entire IT landscape.”
El Ezaby Pharmacy also saw opportunities
for further efficiency in server virtualisation,
knowing the SUSE solution was compatible
with VMware technology.
OUR PREVIOUS
SYSTEMS WERE
BEING OUTPACED
AS THE COMPANY
CONTINUED
TO GROW.
Solution
SOLUTION
After consulting with SAP, as well as
evaluating a number of hardware options, El
Ezaby Pharmacy decided to adopt the latest
version of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for
SAP Applications, running on HPE hardware.
“SUSE Linux Enterprise Server felt like the
natural choice for us,” said El-Ghamry.
“With SAP’s recommendation we really
had our homework done for us, and HPE
provided robust hardware that integrated
well with our existing infrastructure. We
chose the most recent version of the SUSE
operating system because we wanted to
start using SAP S/4 HANA, which had the
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