"With all our organizational units integrated to Active Directory, management becomes easier and more efficient." - Teofilo P. Pescones, Manager-Corporate IS/IT Department, National Transmission Commission

The National Transmission Commission (TransCo) is a government-owned and controlled corporation created in 2001 by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.  The company's role is to link power plants owned by the National Power Corporation (NPC) and Independent Power Producers (IPP) to the distribution utilities, industries and other customers.  TransCo's previous infrastructure provides no redundant services to resume normal operations, which overwhelms the head office administrators with administrative activities since they are not able to distribute management to regional administrators.  To address this challenge, TransCo, with the help of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner dB Wizards, upgraded its existing Domain Controllers, Active Directory, Domain Name Server (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) services to Windows Server.  The company also used the Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server as back firewall to improve overall network and internet security. 

Situation

The National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) started operating independently from the National Power Corporation (NPC) in March 1, 2003.  The company handles the planning, construction and centralized operation and maintenance of high-voltage transmission facilities, grid interconnections and ancilliary services. 

TransCo has the unique and crucial role of transmitting bulk electric power from power plants owned by the National Power Corporation and Independent Power Providers (IPP) to the distribution utilities, industries and other customers. 

Given the company's main function and mission criticality, infrastructure stability, security and reliability is a key aspect in supporting the delivery of TransCo's services to its clients.  With its geographically dispersed offices (i.e. Head Office, Regional, District, Branches, Engineering Offices, Area Control Centers and Warehouses) and user population of around 3,000 centralized administration helps in enabling TransCo employees to access information from a centralized database faster. 

"With our company's user population and number of distribution centers which are geographically dispersed nationwide, we need a tightly integrated system for easier management and administration," said Mr. Teofilo P. Pescones, Manager Corporate IS/IT Department, National Transmission Corporation. 

Moreover, TransCo has been cited by the International Standards Organization for its effective business processes and management systems.  Naturally, the company makes it a priority to keep up with the technologies that will further improve their operations.  In a move to address some infrastructure challenges and bring TransCo's business operations into a more efficient and cost-effective level, the company decided to upgrade its infrastructure. 

Solution

With the help of Microsoft Philippines and dB Wizards, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, TransCo found a way of further improving their business operations while increasing their network stability, reliability and security.  TransCo's existing Domain Controllers, Active Directory, Domain Name Server (DNS) and Domain Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) services were upgraded to Windows Server. 

Windows Server operating systems make it easier to deploy, manage and use.  The result is a highly productive infrastructure that helps make a company's network a strategic asset for the organization. 

Other than this, dB Wizards also upgraded TransCo's existing clustered Microsoft Exchange Server and implemented a Delimitarized Zone (DMZ) using TransCo's existing CheckPoint Firewall as the external firewall and Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server as a back firewall to improve the overall network and internet security. 

Michelle M. Lachica, Sales and Marketing Director, dB Wizards stated, "This new infrastructure will allow TransCo to deliver better services faster.  IT administrators in the head office and regional offices will be able to communicate more efficiently."

Benefits

Microsoft is confident that Windows Server will provide TransCo with the increased network security, reliability and scability needed to provide quality services to its users. 

"With our new infrastructure, TransCo's employees nationwide now have easy access to company information without compromising network security.  With a centralized administration, we can easily streamline our mission-critical business processes," cited Pescones. 

Increased network and internet security.  "Our users rely on our ability to deliver our services in a timely and efficient manner and if our network isn't secure, we risk the possibility of system and business process failures," said Pescones.  With the Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, TransCo has seen an increase in its network security.  The security of TransCo's back end infrastructure is a key factor in building, operating and maintaining adequate, safe and environment friendly network, which satisfy the needs of the users. 

Ease of Administration.  With the Systems Management Server, there is now a way to deploy and manage applications and application patches and manage hardware and software inventory.  Implementing a centralized administration and management allows the development and implementation of standardized group policies across the whole organization. 

Strengthened Network Reliability.  With the new infrastructure, TransCo won't be faced with the challenges of discontinuity of business processes whenever one server is down.  The redundant capabilities and services of Windows Server will keep TransCo's systems and network up and running.  Other than this, the setup for a disaster recovery system is faster and easier with the new network operating system. 

Enhanced Integration.  "With numerous applications running across our different offices, enhanced integration is integral," reported Pescones.  Operating on a single platform across the whole organization will contribute to the overall efficiency and quality of the services the company imparts.  Having TransCo's organizational units all integrated to Active Directory will help IT administrators manage all business systems contributing to the improvement of business operations.