Stratus ftServer Case Study: Fortune 100 Retailer

Case Study

Fortune 100 Retailer Eliminates Unplanned Downtime for Mexico Operations with Penguin Solutions Fault-Tolerant Computing Platforms and Moneta

Challenge •

Required continuous

Solution •

computing availability to process 75+ million transactions per month

Penguin Solutions •

Complex, country-specific payment regulations

•

Needed reliable hardware and

Stratus Advanced Transaction Router (ATR) software

without downtime •

Stratus ftServer® platform from

•

NCR Atleos Authentic software

•

System integration, service, and support from Moneta

Benefits • Removed the complexity of transaction switches • Standardized payment processing with NCR Atleos Authentic solution requirements • Maintained 99.999% uptime with no unplanned downtime

local, in-region support •

Existing solutions were costly and difficult to maintain

•

Risks of downtime posed a significant financial impact

© 2025 Penguin Solutions Fortune 100 Retailer Maintains 99.999% Uptime for Mexico Operations with Penguin Solutions Fault-Tolerant Stratus Computing Platforms and Moneta - 10.2005

A Fortune 100 multinational retailer faced operational challenges with transaction complexity and service availability across its Mexico operations. At the center of the issue was commodity compute hardware that couldn't meet the processing demands of high transaction volumes and evolving regulatory requirements.

After reviewing market options for their mission-critical transaction processing needs, the retailer’s country division—with 3,000+ retail locations—engaged Moneta, a trusted technology provider with decades of experience in the retail space and a deep understanding of their customers’ evolving operational demands. Leveraging a longstanding partnership with Penguin Solutions and its Stratus-branded fault tolerant platforms, Moneta recommended Penguin Solutions Stratus ftServer—a continuously available, computing platform purpose-built to prevent unplanned downtime and ensure transaction integrity at scale.

Initial deployment success led to an ongoing agreement that combines Moneta's full-service rollout and support with the proven availability of Penguin Solutions’ fault-tolerant hardware platforms. The result: resilient, cost-effective, compliant transactions backed by superior computing reliability.

Limitations of legacy and commodity servers for critical retail operations With more than 75 million transactions processed per month, even brief disruptions in uptime could have a major financial impact. This large retailer required a platform that could deliver both accurate and reliable processing at scale, which was critical to protecting revenue and customer trust.

In Mexico, retailers must comply with requirements around taxation, anti-money laundering, and consumer protection that differ significantly from U.S. standards. These stringent, country-specific payment regulations and service expectations meant selecting the wrong transaction technology partner could cause significant operational and business risks.

While Stratus platforms are designed to be simple, protected, and autonomous, regional preferences—such as the need for on-site support in Mexico—meant this retailer needed a solution combining reliable hardware with localized technical expertise.

In addition, the company was looking to save costs while ensuring uptime. While commodity solutions provided some functionality, designing and configuring them for fault tolerance was both expensive and challenging to maintain. With even a minute of downtime potentially leading to millions in lost revenue, the retailer needed to achieve higher levels of uptime while keeping infrastructure costs under control.

© 2025 Penguin Solutions Fortune 100 Retailer Maintains 99.999% Uptime for Mexico Operations with Penguin Solutions Fault-Tolerant Stratus Computing Platforms and Moneta - 10.2005

Fault-tolerant reliability, customization, and support with Stratus ftServer and Moneta

Rather than relying on remote support, Moneta ensured

Moneta and Penguin Solutions developed a joint

while freeing up local staff to focus on core business

and customized strategy to help the retailer simplify

operations instead of managing the platforms.

quick assistance for any deployment, implementation, or operational issue with on-site personnel. This approach gave the company immediate access to expert help

operations and maximize uptime. This started with Stratus ftServer—an easily serviceable, fault-tolerant advanced computing platform designed to run mission-critical applications with no downtime or data loss. The platform’s hardware-based, fully redundant architecture delivers five nines availability with proactive health monitoring and self-healing capabilities.

For this retailer, the Stratus ftServer deployment created a robust payment processing infrastructure across multiple locations. They implemented payment processing systems at two active sites—a primary site and a disaster recovery site—that work simultaneously to handle transaction loads, with plans to add a third production site the following year. Across all their critical business applications, the retailer deployed 17 Stratus ftServer platforms between these two locations during the year-long rollout, ensuring comprehensive coverage for their mission-critical operations.

Next came the deployment of NCR Atleos Authentic software, a modern EFT authorization and routing system, running alongside the Stratus Advanced Transaction Router (ATR) software on the fault-tolerant Stratus ftServer platforms. Stratus ATR software ensures the continuous flow of traffic throughout global or

Transforming transaction reliability and business resilience The combined solution of Stratus fault tolerant computing platforms and Moneta service delivered measurable improvements across the retailer’s most critical operational areas, including: Reduced downtime

localized networks, and with NCR Atleos Authentic, the

More "nines" mean less downtime and protected

solution handles massive transaction volumes with

revenue. The retailer achieved five nines of uptime

maximum throughput.

(99.999%) with the Stratus ftServer platform, meaning

Custom-built for reliability, Stratus ATR is dynamically configurable, offering an easy-to-use command

systems could experience just over a minute of unplanned downtime per year on average.

interface and integrated monitoring capabilities to

For a business processing 75+ million transactions

deliver continuous closed-loop transactions. The system

monthly, this reliability translates directly to revenue

maintains client and server connections even if

protection. Given that an hour of downtime now costs

application servers become overloaded or

enterprises between $1 million and $5 million, the

unavailable—seamlessly routing requests to remote ATR

difference between four nines (52 minutes per year of

servers and reconciling them once primary servers

downtime) and five nines of uptime is substantial.

return online.

Beyond the monetary impact of unplanned downtime,

Finally, recognizing that even the best technology

for a large retailer, downtime leads to transaction

requires expert support, Moneta's full-service support

interruptions, which negatively impacts the customer

model addressed the retailer’s need for local,

experience. If transaction interruptions occur regularly,

in-region expertise.

customers may choose to take their business elsewhere.

© 2025 Penguin Solutions Fortune 100 Retailer Maintains 99.999% Uptime for Mexico Operations with Penguin Solutions Fault-Tolerant Stratus Computing Platforms and Moneta - 10.2005

Protection of in-flight data Commodity hardware is readily available but can be expensive to monitor and maintain over time. In addition, failure of this hardware can lead to sensitive data loss and reputation damage. The redundant computing architecture of the Stratus ftServer platform protects in-flight data in the event of component failure to ensure data integrity.

From a cost perspective, this means less time and money spent restoring and validating data. It also frees

The Stratus ATR software adds an intelligent routing layer, maintaining client and server connections even if application servers become overloaded or unavailable.

When traffic spikes occur, ATR seamlessly routes requests to available servers and reconciles transactions once primary servers are back online.

Meanwhile, NCR Atleos Authentic's highly configurable architecture enables rapid response to changing business needs, all protected by the Stratus ftServer platform’s fault-tolerant hardware design.

high-priority tasks, such as improving network security.

Penguin Solutions, Moneta, and the future of reliable retail transaction

Increased compliance

Large retailers contend with a dual challenge: increased

Stratus and Moneta work closely with global leaders in

for delays or failed purchases. Combined with evolving

retail and banking technology to test and design

country-specific compliance rules, retailers need

reliable routing software. For large retail clients, this

fault-tolerant solutions that are reliable, automated,

alignment increases compliance and reduces

and future-ready.

up IT resources for teams to focus on other

transaction volumes and shrinking customer tolerance

complexity. Instead of going through the dual process of selecting a third-party provider and vetting them,

For Penguin Solutions and Moneta, what began with one

the company enjoys out-of-the-box adherence to

large Fortune 100 retailer with significant operations in

country-specific regulations—critical for seamless

Mexico has led to continued market adoption as

operation in markets like Mexico.

more businesses recognize the need for simple, sustainable transactions.

Improved automation For this retailer, automation proved crucial during high-traffic periods. Beyond seasonal peaks, Mexican retailers face additional sales events that create sudden transaction spikes—exactly when system failures would be most damaging.

The retailer deployed NCR Atleos Authentic running on Stratus ftServer platforms alongside Stratus ATR software. This powerful combination delivers 99.999% availability critical for high-volume transaction processing, with NCR Atleos Authentic handling over 10,000 transactions per second.

Contact Us For sales queries, please contact sales@penguinsolutions.com.

To learn more about Stratus ftServer and other Penguin Solutions products, please call 800-221-6588 or visit www.penguinsolutions.com © 2025 Penguin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. Penguin Solutions, Stratus ftServer, and Stratus Advanced Transaction Router are trademarks or registered trademarks of Penguin Solutions. All other product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All company, product, and service names used in this document are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks, and brands does not imply endorsement.