National Pharmacy Retail Chain Uses Stratus Fault-Tolerant Platforms for Digital Operations Across 300+ Locations
Challenge
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• Unplanned pharmacy system downtime risked patient safety and customer loss
On-site server repairs were time-consuming and costly
Rapid store expansion required a standardized, easily deployed platform
Solution
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Stratus ztC Endurance™ platform
Supports key applications:
Point-of-sale (POS)
Inventory and prescription management
Labeling and SAP
VoIP
Loyalty reward programs
Benefits
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Zero unplanned downtime since 2014 driven by 99.999%99.99999% availability
Virtualization and consolidation of critical applications
Proactive health monitoring ensures fast response and issue resolution
Easy deployment with no need for additional IT resources
Intuitive Stratus ztC Endurance console UI simplifies system management
Fleet management via APIs and SNMP to manage via single pane of glass
A decade of trusted performance, support, and partnership
Modern pharmacies have evolved far beyond serving as the local drug store. Today they operate as comprehensive retail destinations, providing consumer products alongside essential prescription services that connect directly with healthcare providers and insurance networks. Each location depends on a complex ecosystem of business-critical applications for transaction processing, prescription management, inventory control, and customer service.
But this complexity comes with risk. When systems go down, it's not simply a matter of inconvenience—it can disrupt prescription processing, delay essential medications, halt transactions, and put customers' health at risk. For pharmacies, uninterrupted access to systems and data isn't optional; it's essential to care, trust, and reliability.
One nationwide retail pharmacy chain has relied on Stratus fault-tolerant computing platforms from Penguin Solutions® for more than 11 years to support their digital operations without downtime or data loss. Combining fault tolerance with virtualization, Stratus platforms enable the retail pharmacy to consolidate POS systems, inventory, prescription management, VoIP communications, and loyalty programs onto a single platform and run a standardized software stack at more than 300 locations without adding risk.
Most recently, the pharmacy retail chain began upgrading its stores to Penguin Solutions' new generation platform, Stratus ztC Endurance, delivering breakthrough 99.99999% reliability and intelligent, predictive fault tolerance to further simplify
it also introduced a critical challenge: scaling reliable digital operations to each store whether in an urban or remote location. For each new store opened, the pharmacy retail chain needed a reliable, redundant, and easily repeatable IT architecture to support operations.
When the company first began modernizing its infrastructure over a decade ago, it relied on on-site server clusters. However, this approach faced several challenges, including incompatibility and complexity. When servers required replacement, new hardware often lacked compatibility with existing software or infrastructure, leading to prolonged transition periods and increased risk of failure.
The company also faced challenges managing its critical applications including POS systems, loyalty point programs, inventory management, script verification, and storage in the on-site IT infrastructure . If this IT infrastructure failed, stores were stuck waiting—sometimes days in remote areas—for technicians to arrive with the skills and parts necessary to get systems back up and running.
After hearing a presentation about Stratus edge computing platforms the company's chief finance officer realized that getting customers into stores was only half the battle. Keeping systems up and running was essential as downtime could drive customers and patients to competitors with many choosing not to return. That led the company's CFO to adopt Stratus fault tolerant platforms as the company’s IT standard .
Solution: Intelligent, fault-tolerant infrastructure for uptime and reliability
To address ongoing reliability and maintenance challenges, the pharmacy retail chain transitioned from server clusters to purpose-built Stratus edge computing platforms. These fault-tolerant platforms replaced multiple, interconnected hardware solutions that could fail unexpectedly. Stratus platforms deliver built-in redundancy, predictive health monitoring, and zero-touch management—all in a platform that’s simple to deploy, monitor, and manage.
Designed to prevent downtime before it occurs, Stratus platforms introduced a new, more resilient approach to system reliability—one that offered the company several benefits, including:
Predictive, intelligent fault tolerance and 24/7 proactive health monitoring
Many pharmacies and similar retail stores don't have a dedicated IT room or IT staff to monitor device operations. As a result, these platforms are often installed in underutilized areas like storage closets or back offices where early warning signs of system failure could go unnoticed.
Stratus platforms feature built-in fault tolerance along with intelligent, automated self-monitoring, alerting, self-diagnosing, and remediation capabilities. The Stratus Automated Uptime Layer with Smart Exchange™ (AUL – Smart Exchange) software in the Stratus ztC Endurance, for example, manages system resources to maintain continuous availability while monitoring 500 alarm points to detect and resolve potential issues before they impact operations.
Additionally, platform health information and alerts are delivered through the Stratus ActiveService™ Network (ASN). For example, if the air conditioning cuts out, which can cause a temperature spike, the platform detects and reports the change. Because temperature changes are initially subtle, staff may not be aware of an issue until hardware begins to fail. Around the clock 24/7 proactive health monitoring ensures that staff receive health message as the platform’s automated processes work to resolve issues.
Simple to deploy and manage
Stratus platforms are designed for ease of use—simple to deploy and easy to manage. This allowed the company to quickly bring pharmacy staff up to speed on how to install devices, swap out parts, and verify that systems are working efficiently without specialized IT knowledge.
This simplicity also makes new software easier to deploy at existing stores and enables fast, consistent rollouts across new store locations. The chain also found that, due to the simplicity of operation, they spend less time and money on professional services. Store employees can simply install, connect, and operate new platforms with confidence.
Given space constraints, platforms are often installed in back offices or storage closets with limited ventilation. Stratus platforms are engineered to operate reliably and deliver dependable performance even in less-than-ideal conditions. With 99.99999% uptime and zero-touch management, Stratus platforms ensure that critical applications remain continuously available.
The Stratus ztC Endurance platforms leverage Intel Xeon Gold or Silver processors, includes support for up to 1024 GB DDR5 RDIMMs, offers space for up to 38.4 TB native NVMe storage across six internal drive bays, and supports Windows Server with optional Hyper-V, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and VMware vSphere.
Responsive service-level agreements (SLAs)
While the pharmacy chain owns each of its Stratus platforms, Penguin Solutions provides a responsive SLA for each one to ensure issues are promptly addressed.
For example, if one of the two onboard power supply units (PSU) in the Stratus ztC Endurance fails, the failure is immediately detected and the remaining PSU powers the full system, while a new PSU is delivered within two days. This reduces disruption and keeps pharmacy operations running without costly delays.
Results: A proven, scalable model for continuous pharmacy operations
Disconnected and disparate systems created several challenges. If systems failed, patients could find themselves without the necessary medication. Fixing these issues required time and resources and put the company at risk of losing customers to nearby competitors.
After a decade of success with the Stratus ftServer® system, the pharmacy retail chain became an early adopter of the Stratus ztC Endurance platform. Building on a longstanding partnership and many years of trust in Penguin Solutions, the company participated in the beta program for Stratus ztC Endurance and ordered 20 platforms at the time of the launch.
Today, the company owns over 300 Stratus platforms. With simple installation, seamless scalability, intelligent fault tolerance, and 24/7 proactive health monitoring, Stratus platforms provide a resilient foundation that supports uninterrupted operations.
This reliability—combined with responsive service and predictive issue resolution—has enabled the pharmacy retail chain to scale confidently. Equipped with redundant, fault-tolerant platforms, stores are able to combine data backups, prescription request systems, POS, inventory and prescription management tools, VoIP, labeling and SAP, and loyalty programs into a single, easy-to-manage solution.
Over the past 11+ years, the company has maintained continuous availability with zero unplanned downtime, ensuring consistent service to patients while fueling the company’s rapid growth.
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