If you had it to do over again?

We are in a rather challenging position.   Our company has and is in the process of growing by acquisition.  The result of which is we find ourselves attempting to integrate over 8 different ERP applications into the parent environment, while attempting to allow the acquired divisions do what they do best and at the same time, develop and enforce an Infrastructure corporate identity. IFS is one of the ERP applications we are faced with.  Management has decided to use a “Lift and Shift” approach to obtaining control of the IFS implementation that is currently the Production ERP for one of the divisions.  While we do have talent in the ERP space, what we do not have is any expertise with IFS.  Our experience is more in tune with Microsoft Dynamics / Great Plains / Oracle.  We are fortunate to have staff that is familiar with ERP implementations and the challenges of integrating one into our infrastructure presents.

We are also fortunate to have access to IT Staff from the parent organization we acquired the division from that is currently supported by IFS.  They have been willing to assist us in our development of a project plan to perform “Lift and Shift” of the production infrastructure and data to our environment.  While helpful, we do not have enough of an understanding of IFS, especially one that is old as the version we have been informed this is.  What we know to date:

    * IFS is version 7.5

    *  It is running on Red Hat Linux

    *  It is running with an Oracle backend database

    *  Oracle licensing is rolled into the IFS implementation

    *  It has been implemented with Citrix for client access (no information to date on version)

    *  There are 3rd-party applications integrated into this implementation

            Radley and ONX that we know of at this time.

What we do not know to date:

    *  Server specifics

    *  Software installed as it applies to the environment.

• The version installed
• The vendor including contact information
• Number of licenses available and the type of license (e.g. perpetual, subscription, etc.)
• Devices (servers, workstations, etc.) it is installed upon.

     *  Service providers:

• Access to the support desk for each software title
• Customer number, license number(s), etc. that may be needed for us to log a ticket
• Website links to log tickets and report issues
• Identify other third parties that provide hardware or software support.

We also understand that IFS Cloud is the version currently being pushed.  While our corporate roadmap includes moving as many resources as possible to the cloud, the current goal is to “Lift and Shift” the IFS implementation with as little disruption and user impact as possible.

I am requesting your guidance based on anyone’s similar experience.  What questions are we not asking?  Is there a better way?  What are the “gotchas” they don't tell you about but certainly will come up.

As I initially indicated, we have zero familiarity with IFS, any guidance you can provide is extremely appreciated,

Garry Pratt

Infrastructure Manager

Seal for Life

garry.pratt@sealforlife.com