First Data

First Data Corporation, a global leader in financial services and electronic commerce, enables consumers and businesses to securely pay anyone, anywhere, anytime. With operations spanning 2.8 million merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers, and millions of consumers, they provide critical infrastructure for a variety of payment types, including credit, debit, stored-value, and smart card services. The company also supports check processing, verification services, and Western Union money transfers across more than 185 countries.

Like many businesses in the financial sector, First Data Corporation sought to optimize its Information Technology infrastructure to better support its evolving e-business strategies. As part of its modernization efforts, the company aimed to consolidate its server environment, reduce costs, and improve system performance. To meet these goals, Sector7 employed the ALIGN methodology—a server consolidation and IT optimization process developed by IBM.

Through this approach, Sector7 was able to dramatically reduce the company's server footprint, migrating from 43 Sun Solaris database servers to just four IBM Series P servers. This reduction in hardware not only lowered purchase and lease costs but also resulted in significant operational savings related to facilities, power, and cooling. The consolidated architecture improved the performance and scalability of First Data's database server farm, ensuring smoother operations and faster transaction processing for millions of users.

An important aspect of the project was the optimization of Oracle software licensing. By reducing the number of database servers, Sector7 helped First Data lower its Oracle licensing fees, delivering millions of dollars in immediate savings. These savings are expected to compound annually, offering substantial long-term benefits for the company.

• Consolidation of 43 Sun Solaris database servers into four IBM Series P servers.
• Implementation of the ALIGN methodology for server optimization and cost reduction.
• Reduction in Oracle software licensing expenses through server consolidation.
• Significant savings in operational costs related to facilities, power, and cooling.
• Improved database performance and scalability to support evolving e-business strategies.

With Sector7's assistance, First Data Corporation achieved a highly optimized IT infrastructure, reduced costs, and improved performance, positioning the company to continue its leadership in the fast-paced world of electronic payments and financial services.