The Challenge
Having experienced an explosive demand for more space to store files and databases, Scott needed to find a scalable solution that was flexible and secure. Unfortunately, a previous supplier did not have the correct understanding of the technology to solve the problem and provided a solution that did not match Christ College’s requirements. Also zero follow-up IT support was received. Scott’s dilemma: find and implement a new storage solution with minimum disruption to College IT functions and prevent any loss of data. Scott was also in need of a consultancy with the expertise to provide continuous support and manage the solution provided. The challenge for Scott was to find a consultancy which could correct the original faults and provide a storage solution that would be effective at the heart of the college’s virtual infrastructure.
The Solution
MTI was able to offer Christ College a free-of-charge consultancy exercise which analysed the situation with an accurate understanding of the technologies involved. As an EMC partner, MTI also arranged for EMC to discuss various solutions with Christ’s College directly, which helped resolve the issues they were facing.
MTI was able to recommend a tailored solution, which was tested in their solution centre to ensure any new configurations would meet existing and future requirements, especially with regards to customer service and support. Also as a VMware partner, MTI could also offer Christ College a solution that combined EMC and VMware technologies creating a virtual storage environment.
MTI deployed a storage-area-network, specifically an EMC 5100 SAN, which utilises block storage and offers Christ’s College a fully redundant storage system, which is both scalable and managed as a service by MTI.
Scott comments: “A virtual solution made sense for us, as the increasing demand for storage was escalating. We basically needed to migrate to an environment that was scalable, with minimum disruption to our users. MTI was able to resolve our storage issues, deliver the SAN smoothly and now manages it effectively for us.”
The Benefits
Scott said: “Support was really crucial for us. A reliable managed service was exactly what we were looking for, both in terms of time and cost-savings, as it allowed us to carry out other tasks and use our time effectively. From the very start, MTI has provided us with 24-hour support, always ensuring the SAN is performing to an excellent level. We have now migrated from the old infrastructure to the new environment with no loss of data, which has really solved our storage headache.”
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Tags: BC/DR, Tiered Storage |
