Garanti Technology, which provides IT infrastructure, software development, system management, field support and other services, is a subsidiary of Garanti Bank, which is owned by the Do_u_ Group, a large Turkish conglomerate. Garanti Technology has won respect for helping Garanti Bank distinguish itself as an innovative leader in technology, as evidenced by the bank in 2007 receiving the Euromoney Award for Excellence for the eighth time, and earning the title "Best Bank in Turkey."

Do_u_ Automotive Group, part of the Do_u_ Group, is Turkey's second largest importer and distributor of foreign cars. The group is the exclusive importer and distributor of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, spare parts and accessories for Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, Scania and Krone.

As Do_u_ Automotive Group grew, it needed to create a better solution for integrating data exchange and communication between its distributor operations and its network of automotive dealers. Difficulties arose from the fact that the distributor ran its operations using an IBM AS/400 system, while dealers had a mixture of IT solutions running on different operating systems and applications. Some dealers were still using paper-based systems, further frustrating attempts at IT integration.

After considering third-party ERP solutions, Do_u_ Automotive Group decided the integration challenge was sufficiently complex to warrant a custom solution, so it turned to Garanti Technology. To address the needs of Do_u_ Automotive Group, Garanti Technology built Turkuaz using the Microsoft Application Platform, and is preparing to upgrade the relational database to SQL Server 2008 Enterprise from SQL Server 2005 to take advantage of new features and enhancements to the database software. The solution was developed using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 (and earlier versions) and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Turkuaz provides a Web-based, flexible and integrated IT solution that automates all the processes and transactions between the distributor, dealers and OEM. The solution runs on the Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-Based Systems operating system.

The Turkuaz project lasted 3.5 years and involved 20 developers and 10 analysts. The ERP application includes more than 13,000 SQL Server stored procedures, more than 2,000 database tables, and more than 5,700 user interface screens. Turkuaz has 3,613 users, with 937 users on the Do_u_ Automotive Group distributor side and 2,676 users on the dealer side. The system supports an average of 90 database transactions per second, with maximum loads reaching 4,000 transactions per second. To read the complete case study, go to http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000002485 [1].