Every business is different. As a result, choosing an off-the-shelf IT service package can be risky, given that it requires companies to identify the technology that’s the best fit for their organization—and to keep up with the latest innovations as they emerge.
It’s an ongoing, resource-intensive effort. And for companies that want to start experimenting with new data-intensive applications, such as AI, big data and analytics, the challenges of finding cost-effective IT infrastructure are magnified.
For companies that don’t have the expertise or inclination to monitor the fast-moving technology sector, connecting with an expert can be a lifesaver. Shibuya is an IT services provider that never stops developing its skills or its infrastructure, enabling customers to focus on their business priorities.
High availability
Shibuya delivers exceptional service continuity by building on 100% availability
Uninterrrupted services
Enables nonstop, versatile IT services to support 24x7 customer operations
To remain the first choice for its existing clients and to capture new business, the company aimed to customize its offerings even more precisely to individual requirements.
Christian Wibeck, Head of Business Development at Shibuya, explains: “By closely tailoring IT services to our customers’ businesses, we offer them the freedom to innovate without worrying about the cost and complexity of the underlying infrastructure spiraling out of control. We were seeing increasingly diverse use cases such as AI and machine learning, so we decided to refresh our IT infrastructure to ensure we could support an even wider range of workloads for our clients.”
To transform its data center infrastructure, Shibuya chose IBM Systems technology. The company’s two data centers support its services portfolio, ranging from full infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to operations as a service (OaaS) offerings to backup and remote monitoring services. With no offshoring or nearshoring of data, Shibuya’s services give companies based in the Nordic region the ability to keep all data within Sweden with a provider that is deeply familiar with regulatory requirements.
“We’ve worked with and resold IBM technology for a long time, and it has always been the very highest quality available in the market,” says Wibeck. “The latest generation of IBM servers, storage and networking is no different, giving us the ideal foundation to build truly modern data centers that set us apart from our competitors.”
To supercharge its compute resources, Shibuya implemented IBM® Power® Systems S922 servers, virtualized with IBM PowerVM® and running the IBM AIX®, IBM i, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (link resides outside of ibm.com) operating systems. The company uses the Red Hat OpenShift® platform to containerize and deploy applications. Shibuya is taking advantage of the performance boost offered by IBM POWER9™ processors to slash response times for customers’ business-critical applications.
“Our customers rely on us to run their most essential systems, such as Infor M3 and SAP applications for ERP and logistics,” comments Wibeck. “IBM Power Systems has been our server technology of choice for 16 years, and every generation brings a big leap in performance and manageability. By deploying IBM Power Systems servers in a high-availability configuration at our two data centers, we can provide the non-stop, versatile services that companies need to run their operations smoothly 24x7.”
To extend its capabilities, Shibuya selected a software-defined storage environment based on IBM FlashSystem® 5000 storage arrays, plus IBM TS4300 tape libraries for data backups. The company also deployed IBM Storage Networking SAN64B-6 switches to meet the networking demands of its new, high-performance data center infrastructure.
“We take advantage of IBM Spectrum Storage tools to simplify management of data across our infrastructure,” says Wibeck. “Integrated into IBM FlashSystem storage, IBM Spectrum Virtualize gives us a single point of control so that we can move data easily and securely. IBM Spectrum Protect gives us scalable data protection for our entire environment, supporting our backup services.”
Shibuya is using its powerful new IBM infrastructure to empower businesses across the Nordic region to innovate—enhancing competitive advantage for its customers. This helps the company inspire loyalty from its existing client base and enhances its appeal to new prospects.
“Using flexible, cost-efficient IBM technology, we can provision cloud environments that precisely match our customers’ business priorities,” explains Wibeck. “Whether it’s exceptionally high performance or incredible resilience, we have the tools to deliver. In our industry, saying that we use IBM technology opens doors and gets people’s attention, helping us grow our market share.”
Shibuya is finding particular success in serving 24x7 organizations that are looking for high availability. For example, Trioplast, a European leader in packaging solutions, looked to the company to help it meet a sudden increase in demand.
Wibeck elaborates: “When the COVID-19 crisis hit, Trioplast switched to producing personal protective equipment for healthcare workers. This put them under intense pressure, and made high availability even more important than before. We support their ERP system and monitor their systems 24x7 using IBM technology, which enabled them to rise to the challenge without any interruptions to production.”
For both Shibuya and its customers, accommodating growing business volumes is now simpler. Wibeck concludes: “IBM technology is designed for seamless scalability, which means that both we and our clients can seize growth opportunities with confidence. For our clients, we aim to be a partner for growth—and our IBM infrastructure is a key enabler of that mission.”
Shibuya (link resides outside of ibm.com) is named after one of the world’s busiest intersections, located in Tokyo, Japan. Thousands of people cross each hour, and yet it works surprisingly well, and the company strives to bring this same harmony to the intersection of business and IT for its clients. Based in Sweden, Shibuya is part of the Pulsen group and provides customized IT solutions to customers across the Nordic region.
Legal
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2021. IBM Corporation, IBM Systems, New Orchard Road, Armonk, NY 10504
Produced in the United States of America, January 2021.
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, AIX, IBM FlashSystem, IBM Spectrum, Power, PowerVM, and POWER9 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp., registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Other product and service names might be trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copyright-trademark.
The registered trademark Linux® is used pursuant to a sublicense from the Linux Foundation, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a worldwide basis.
Red Hat®, JBoss®, OpenShift®, Fedora®, Hibernate®, Ansible®, CloudForms®, RHCA®, RHCE®, RHCSA®, Ceph®, and Gluster® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates.
The performance data and client examples cited are presented for illustrative purposes only. Actual performance results may vary depending on specific configurations and operating conditions. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided.