Red Hat Offers Gruner + Jahr Higher Performance at Lower Cost
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Replaces Windows NT and UNIX

With a workforce of over 11,500 and revenue of more than 2.44 billion Euro in fiscal year 2004, Gruner + Jahr is Europe's largest magazine publishing house. They have achieved this status by creating high quality products, and therefore will accept nothing less than the highest quality from their IT infrastructure.

Like most companies, Gruner + Jahr is faced with the challenge of having to achieve ever greater performance with ever fewer resources. Attracted by the low-cost of Linux, they began experimenting with Linux for web servers in 2000. Now they are operating numerous business-critical applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, including e-procurement applications, SAP application servers, and database servers.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Offers Benefits Over Both to UNIX and Windows NT

Prior to the introduction of Linux, Gruner + Jahr's IT infrastructure was built around UNIX and Microsoft Windows NT. It soon became obvious that a migration to standards-based hardware and Linux would offer decisive benefits. Intel-compatible hardware from Dell and Linux offered a considerably lower price than their UNIX systems, while maintaining impressive performance. Additionally, Linux offered stability and security benefits when compared to Windows NT.

The decision over which Linux vendor would be best for Gruner + Jahr underwent careful consideration and passed through several stages before Red Hat was chosen. One of the main reasons Gruner + Jahr chose Red Hat was the high number of ISVs who had certified their applications on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

"Certification of applications used by us, as well as professional support, are essential prerequisites for operating system platforms in our company. Red Hat Enterprise Linux also offers excellent performance. That's what made our decision in favor of Red Hat easy," said Achim Woost, Group Leader at Gruner + Jahr.

SAP Applications and Databases Port Easily

Woost further explains, "Red Hat Enterprise Linux offers a further advantage--we were able to transfer the scripting and monitoring systems from existing UNIX installations. Red Hat is clearly orientated towards business use."

Gruner + Jahr first started using Red Hat Enterprise Linux for SAP on application servers in 2001. They chose applications servers as the first area of deployment because, even though they are mission-critical, a system failure could be tolerated more easily there than in database servers. However, the stability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux impressed the IT team at Gruner + Jahr, so they felt confident in porting their mission-critical SAP database servers to Enterprise Linux. More than ten Dell multiprocessor servers running Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS are in use at Gruner + Jahr for SAP applications.

In order to keep their systems as efficient and reliable as possible, Gruner + Jahr makes use of Red Hat Network's (RHN) Update Module, which is included in every subscription to Red Hat Enterprise Linux. RHN makes it possible for Gruner + Jahr to maintain individual systems via a simple graphical user interface, prioritised messages, errata information, RPM dependency tests, and automatic updates.

Red Hat, Gruner + Jahr Relationship is Exactly Right

Overall Woost sees his experience with Red Hat as extremely positive and plans to continue expansion of the existing installation. "We are very pleased that Red Hat is working hard on functions which are important for enterprise deployment. We have enough UNIX know-how in our team to basically run and maintain our Red Hat Enterprise Linux installation without a system house partner. If we do have problems, we are protected by our Enterprise Linux subscription, which includes support from Red Hat," Woost explains. "All the advice we have received from Red Hat up to now has been extremely efficient and supportive, not to mention unbureaucratic. That's how we like our relationships to our technology suppliers to be."