Case Study: SAP achieves 70% server reduction and 35% cost savings with Citrix XenServer

SAP adds Citrix server virtualization for full performance with fewer servers

SAP, a global leader in business software with more than 51,800 employees and 76,000 customers, was delivering applications to staff and external users via a large Citrix XenApp environment (about 800,000 user sessions monthly across ~720 servers). The company needed to optimize server resources, improve application performance and rollout speed, and support flexible access and rapid scaling (as when onboarding 7,000 Business Objects employees in four weeks) while cutting costs and energy use.

SAP deployed Citrix XenServer Platinum with dynamic provisioning to virtualize its XenApp infrastructure. Tests showed nearly double the user capacity per server, enabling consolidation from roughly 700 to 200 physical servers (about 70% fewer) and projected total cost reductions of more than 35%; the rollout delivered immediate ROI, lowered administration and energy costs, and is expected to cut CO2 emissions by about 600 tons per year while enabling dynamic resource allocation.

SAP

Michael Markl

Global Service Owner