Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) is one of the top U.S. refining companies, with about 22,000 employees and revenues of $119 billion. A market leader, Valero has approximately 5,800 retail sites and operates on a retail and wholesale basis across 44 U.S. states, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean region. Valero needed to reduce the risks and costs associated with their core systems that were running on a mainframe and to increase competitive advantage in the delivery of energy services for both retail and wholesale. They chose to migrate to UNIX, achieving 50% increased performance and reducing system complexity.
TLeading the Evolution
CASE STUDY: VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION
VALERO REVAMPS APPLICATIONS
TO REDUCE RISK AND INCREASE
BUSINESS AGILITYCASE STUDY | VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION
VALERO REVAMPS APPLICATIONS TO REDUCE RISK AND INCREASE BUSINESS AGILITY
OVERVIEWCHALLENGE Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) is To reduce risk and costs while one of the top U.S. refining companies, increasing competitive advantage in with about 22,000 employees and revenues the delivery of energy services for of $119 billion, Valero has an extensive both retail and wholesale. refining system with a throughput capacity of more than 3.1 million barrels per day. The SOLUTION company's geographically diverse refining Micro Focus Enterprise ServerT network stretches from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and West Coast to the Caribbean.A market leader, Valero has approximately BENEFITS 5,800 retail sites branded as Valero, 50% increased performance Diamond Shamrock, Ultramar, Beacon and Technology basis in place to move to Total. The company operates on a retail and wholesale basis through a bulk and rack a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) marketing network in 44 U.S. states, Canada, platform to support its business. Running Reduced system complexity Latin America and the Caribbean region. its mission critical COBOL/CICS on the AIX Valero needed to reduce risk and costs while platform card processing system was very increasing competitive advantage in the cost effective and delivering performance complex delivery of energy services at both transaction throughput to support its the retail and wholesale level. business needs. However, the support for their Unikix CICS transaction environment Faced with a choice of changing hardware on AIX was discontinued by the vendor, platform vendors for its critical credit card forcing Valero to an important choice. transaction processing system, Valero found Replace their AIX hardware with a platform the perfect solution to keep IT costs in line supported by their vendor or seek a phased and deliver optimal functionality to its end approach to a services based architecture users. Without throwing away significant that took advantage of existing assets - investment in its installed hardware, San now. In addition, Valero needed to extend Antonio-based Valero found a trusted the application to Web clients.partner in Micro Focus, who delivered a robust and adaptable deployment platform An important part of Valero'sto continue running its CICS transactions at retail business includes thereduced cost and with minimal risk to their ability to processestablished workload. 400,000 credit cardTHE CHALLENGE transactions per day,An important part of Valero's retail business accurately and efficiently...includes the ability to process 400,000 Fortunately for Valero, they found Micro credit card transactions per day, accurately Focus, who provided them with an and efficiently. For many years, Valero alternative solution that allowed them to relied on the IBM System p hardware keep their preferred AIX hardware running
"As we move proprietary credit card programs to a services-based technology environment, Valero needed a solution that would allow for a phased low-risk approach. One that took advantage of existing COBOL assets." Steve DiPaolaVice President of Administrative Systems and Production Support, Valero Energy CorporationCASE STUDY | VALERO ENERGY CORPORATION
VALERO REVAMPS APPLICATIONS TO REDUCE RISK AND INCREASE BUSINESS AGILITY
the CICS transaction solution without Improved customer services and having to spend millions of dollars on development of new ones from the new hardware, or take the chance on a innovative combination of existing new hardware provider's support. Key to software application resources with new Valero was their desire to stay with the IBM technology capability.platform, largely due to the high levels of Extending the application to build support and service they had received over interfaces to Valero business partners the years, owing to the old adage "if it isn't using technology such as XML flows.broke, don't fix it." The call center application user interfaces THE SOLUTION were unchanged, thus requiring no additional staff training. The Microsoft .NET-Valero chose to switch from their existing based presentation logic interfaces directly CICS emulation software to the M... [download for more]
