With the motto “Building on our strengths and using new opportunities for our insured customers,” the two German health insurance funds SEL BKK and BKK futur merged on January 1, 2007. In so doing, the two funds were able to significantly strengthen their market position. The new organization, now operating as BKK futur, today insures more than 110,000 customers.

The Challenge: Merging Two Different IT Environments

One of the most important conditions for the successful merger was smooth integration on the technical level. Peter Salathe, initially IT department head for SEL BKK and then director of Organization & Services for BKK futur, had the task of joining two completely different IT infrastructures into an efficient network with 200 employees in 25 locations.

The two systems could not have been more different. SEL BKK, with 10 locations, ran a completely centralized infrastructure with a Citrix Presentation Server™ farm and thin clients. BKK futur, on the other hand, had more than 100 PCs at 15 locations in a client-server operation. Data maintenance, backup, virus protection and software installation took place in a decentralized fashion.

Continuing both set-ups would have been the worst solution in every respect for the new BKK futur organization. The intention, therefore, was to build up the already available Citrix application delivery infrastructure. However, the company wished to avoid doubling the number of servers to accommodate a two-fold increase in users. “Bulking up to eight servers and more would not only have meant higher acquisition and operating costs, but would have also required costly automation of software distribution and server management,” said Salathe.

Implementing the Citrix Application Delivery Infrastructure

Citrix® Solution Advisor NetScript Binary Works, which had designed the existing server infrastructure of SEL BKK, therefore recommended a migration to Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003, x64 Edition and the x64 version of Citrix Presentation Server. The systems company recommended as a hardware platform four Dell PowerEdge 2950 servers, each with eight GB RAM, two dual-core processors and SAS hard drives in a RAID-10 configuration. The planned server farm would then be designed for 400 or more users. With additional working memory and the use of quad-core processors, the capability of the 64-bit environment could be increased at any time as needed. The goal of the design was to assure long-term scalability even for future mergers and expansions of the network.

Broad Spectrum of Department Applications in Use

However, first it had to be determined if the many BKK-specific department applications and special tools could be implemented on 64-bit servers.

“In conjunction with NetScript, we installed one application after the other on the test server,” reports Andreas Hengst, IT worker at BKK futur. “An appropriate solution was found for each problem that appeared, sometimes with expert help from Microsoft.” The 16-bit programs were installed on an existing 32-bit Citrix server and
then integrated into the x64 Presentation Server environment as published applications. Both 32-bit and 64-bit applications could be run without problems on the same x64 server, and the 32-bit applications even profited from improved performance.

New Dimensions of Capability and Scalability

By upgrading to 64-bit architecture BKK futur can work with just four servers, even though the number of users has doubled, and if needed, can serve many more workstations with the same infrastructure. Presentation Server in conjunction with the Windows Server 2003, x64 Edition accommodates a significantly larger number of simultaneous users on the server and is very well-suited to scale-up scenarios.

Salathe is very satisfied with the result: “Using Citrix Presentation Server with Windows Server 2003, x64 Edition, BKK futur has invested in its future. The doubling of workstations in outside offices was done with the same number of 64-bit servers. The new solution allows a lean central administration and a high degree of availability with completely adequate redundancy. With this solution, we can accommodate many more users down the line.”

Secure Access Solution for Mobile Employees

In the meantime, BKK futur is also relying on Citrix technology for secure, remote access. Home offices and mobile employees recently have been tied in securely to the calculation center via Citrix Access Gateway™, Advanced Edition. The SSL VPN solution not only provides protected access to all company resources, but also enables dynamic levels of security. Citrix® SmartAccess technology automatically recognizes which terminal the user is operating and grants the correct user rights based on set rules. Thus an employee at home on a personal PC can use the same applications as in the office, but is not allowed to store the data locally or to print out information. Sensitive data can thus be protected in every situation in the best possible way. At the same time, employees gain more flexibility through secure access. Every fifth user at BKK futur is already working at least part of the time on the road or from home.

©2007 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix®, Citrix Presentation Server™ and Citrix Access Gateway™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Microsoft®, Windows® and Windows Server® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.