Success story
Business continuity and global scalability: Arneg's technology breakthrough
The new IBM infrastructure managed by Deda Tech becomes the solid foundation to ensure business continuity and support international growth.
Arneg is an international group founded in Italy in 1963 and today a world leader in the design, manufacture and installation of complete commercial refrigeration solutions for retail. Headquartered in Campo San Martino (Padua, Italy), Arneg leads a global network of 21 production plants and about 20 sales offices, present on all continents with more than 3,600 employees and a turnover exceeding 1 billion euros. Its offerings range from counters and refrigeration systems to shelving, cases, cold rooms and furnishings for the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, thanks in part to specialized brands such as Intrac, Incold, Oscartielle and Frigo Tecnica Internazionale. Innovation, sustainability and customization are the pillars that guide the development of energy-efficient products, including patented solutions such as the Arneg Air System and eco-friendly systems such as the Cold Ring System. The acquisition of Frigomeccanica, Italian excellence in refrigerated furniture for ice cream parlors, bars and pastry shops, has further strengthened the group’s leadership and its ability to combine technology, Made in Italy design and environmental sustainability.
Locations
45
Employees
over 3600
Turnover
1 bn in 2024
Evolution
Initiation of collaboration and first delivery at the infrastructure level.
Introduction of consulting and performance tuning, with priority given to business continuity on local environments.
Start of on premise management
Review of the Open environment and back up system. An initial architectural and application transformation is carried out, with the implementation of disaster recovery and back up solution with Data Domain.
Performing an additional technology refresh.
Launching the project to overhaul the entire IBM Power architecture
SCENARIO AND CHALLENGE
Making the infrastructure more resilient and flexible to support international expansion without compromising daily operationsThe group’s rapid international expansion made clear the need for amore robust and flexible IT infrastructure.
Organic and acquisition growth increased management complexity and pressure on central systems, which were no longer able to provide therequired agility.
The pre-existing solution, based on IBM iSeries, was based on emergency disaster recovery logic and did not provide the business continuity needed for an organization with globally dispersed locations.
Thus, the main need was to transform IT into an enabler of growth, ensuring scalability, fast integration of new subsidiaries, and increased resilience.
At the same time, there was a need to preserve and enhance the technology investments already made, while maintaining the robustness of the processes built over the years.
Critical factors to consider include: business continuity, data security, reducing the risk of downtime, and creating separate development, test, and production environments to accelerate innovation without compromisingdaily operations.
Proposal and solution
A focused project that made the IT architecture more robust, secure and ready to accompany the evolution of the business
The infrastructure renewal project, launched in 2023, was a decisive step for Arneg’s future. The collaboration between Deda Tech and IBM resulted in a state-of-the-art technology solution tailored to the company’s needs.
- Renewal of the IBM Power infrastructure: The entire architecture was revised from a primary system and a secondary system with different characteristics to two IBM Power 10 servers with identical configurations. This choice made it possible to move from a disaster recovery rationale to a true business continuity rationale, ensuring that the secondary system will always be able to handle the load of the primary should the need arise.
- Implementation of Flash Copy: To meet growing security and operational needs, “flash copy” technology was integrated. This enabled offline backup of the AS/400 without stopping the management system, ensuring business continuity for all companies in the group.
- Separation of environments: To improve security, reliability and speed of development, a clear separation of the ERP system’s development, test and production environments was implemented. This approach allows Arneg to accelerate development and also to include new professionals, responding more efficiently to the demands of business functions.
In Deda Tech we have found a strategic partner capable of supporting us with a proactive approach, providing solid technical expertise and a way of working geared to preventing problems rather than chasing them. This allowed us to face the infrastructure transformation with the certainty of having a reliable and responsive ally at our side.
Chief Information Officer - Arneg S.p.A.
Achievements
The actions taken have translated into tangible results for ArnegThe implementation of the project brought tangible results, confirming the goodness of the choice and the effectiveness of the collaboration with Deda Tech.
- Increased security and availability: The move to the business continuity solution has greatly increased system security. The secondary system is able to carry the full load of the primary, eliminating the risk of significant downtime.
- Proven scalability: The new infrastructure has provided Arneg with the solid foundation it needed for its growth. The ERP system has already been extended to two more subsidiaries, and Arneg plans to add two more in 2025, all without having to revise the server structure.
- Continuity of investments: The project made it possible to “consolidate all the investments made in the past.” Arneg was able to transfer its decades of experience and investment in AS/400 systems to a more modern and efficient technology platform, without having to destroy or rebuild from scratch what had been built over the years.
The project has provided Arneg with greater security, scalability ready to support new integrations, and continuity of investment, consolidating the past and enabling the future.
