Case Study: VMware And Intel Technology Provide Rock-Solid Platform For SAP Deployment

Southwestern/Great American has a long history: 155 years, to be precise. In 1855, the company's focus was religious tracts, but today it has a dozen distinct lines of business, including direct selling, customized publishing, school fund-raising, sales training, and executive search and recruitment. A big reason Southwestern/Great American has lasted as long as it has is because its business model has changed to keep up with the times–as has its IT infrastructure.

The most critical application in that infrastructure today is SAP ERP. "It's the backbone of our business," says Director of IT Ed Solima. "It handles all our financials, our order processing, our inventory management, our warehouse management. It's the most important piece of software we run here—no question about it."