Client story Community-Minded, High-Tech Bank Partners with Insight to Drive Growth and Acquisition Strategy
By Insight Editor / 11 Aug 2020 / Topics: Microsoft Azure Data protection Disaster Recovery (DR) Networking
Facts at a glance
Client industry
Banking
Insight provided:
- Ongoing partnership as an end-to-end IT services provider
- Data center modernization and conversion of DR facility into secondary data center
- SD-WAN solution design and implementation to support VDI
- Support from our Managed Services teams
Insight services:
- Professional Services
- Managed Data Center
- Managed Security
Outcomes:
Download the client story
- Client-focused solutions that span multiple OEMs
- Speed, scalability and simplified IT management
- Prepared for natural disasters and other business continuity threats
- Ability to deliver beyond the limitations of a small IT team
- Secure and resilient infrastructure
- Modern architecture and technologies
- Trusted IT services partnership
- 24/7 monitoring of infrastructure and security across data centers and cloud
The client
The client is a bank and trust based in the Midwest. Chartered in the late 1980s, the bank focuses on local needs and fostering a true connection to communities, particularly those that are smaller and/or more rural. Today, they operate dozens of branches across three states and continue to fuel their expansion through a combination of organic growth and acquisition. Their unique blend of personalized banking services and modern technology offerings meets a wide range of customer needs.
The challenge: Big goals, small IT team
The bank’s IT department has fewer than 10 individuals, however, part of the bank’s value proposition and growth strategy depends upon having the latest technologies. What they can do that other, smaller banks (i.e., acquisition targets) can’t do is provide services such as mobile banking and banking apps that complement that high-touch, local bank feel. Having the right IT services and consulting partner(s) would be key.
The bank also had specific projects that needed outside, expert assistance. These were: (a) a data center refresh and expansion, (b) SD-WAN implementation to support Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and (c) ongoing managed services to support infrastructure and security, so the bank’s lean IT team could maintain focus on more strategic activities.
The solution: Committed partnership with Insight
The bank has worked with Insight for years. As we continued to build out more services and offerings, the bank’s partnership with us has grown as well, alongside their own strategic business growth.
As the bank’s Executive Vice President (EVP) of IT says, “We have our traditional customers and we have our bleeding edge customers that want modern technology offerings. So, we try to position ourselves so that we have the infrastructure needed to provide the services that they’re wanting, whether it be a mobile app for remote deposits or person-to-person payment capabilities.” The bank’s partnership with Insight has been critical in helping bring such in-demand solutions to its customers.
Most recently, the projects we’ve helped them plan and execute include the following.
Data center modernization
To support enhancements to their VDI and network infrastructure, as well as achieve new levels of speed and scale, the bank also wanted to upgrade its spinning disk data management infrastructure.
Insight helped the bank evaluate options and implement NetApp all-flash arrays and expand the number of Cisco UCS blades used to run their VMware environment. We also helped them make their disaster recovery facility into a fully functioning alternate data center, with full replication of the VMware environment and VDI solution to load-balance across both data centers.
Additionally, the bank has recently been brought into Insight's Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Program to consume Microsoft Azure®. The program enables the bank to leverage a simplified cloud purchasing experience that offers maximum flexibility, visibility, and, ultimately, business value.
SD-WAN for VDI
The bank had various aged computers at several branches that required ongoing, complex hardware management and software patching for approximately 500 endpoints. They wanted to simplify and streamline management but needed resilient connections as well.
Our team helped the bank select, design, and implement a solution with Microsoft Windows®, VMware Horizon®, Cisco UCS® and Cisco Meraki, 10ZiG, Zerto, and Veritas NetBackup™. The bank needed a standard, set solution that would work for their existing footprint, yet be ready to accommodate new branches — the bank is in the process of acquiring two new banks and opening up a new location.
This new architecture allows the bank to bring in the switches and VDI clients they need, and rapidly have them up and running without taking months to migrate. Such rapid adoption enables the bank to start taking advantage of synergies and return on investment right away, as new banks are acquired or built. By running their VDI in both their primary and secondary data centers, if connectivity is lost to their HQ, the bank’s branches can still continue to operate without downtime.
Managed Services
With all the new infrastructure the bank was rolling out, they wanted to be sure their IT environment was safe, secure and compliant. The bank had signed on to Managed Services with Insight beginning several years ago to provide 24/7 infrastructure monitoring, however it remained a reactive service — a new iteration was due.
Insight's newer Managed Data Center and Managed Security offerings provide the kind of proactive, attentive care that a client like this bank, with a small internal IT department, can appreciate. Unlike with traditional managed security service providers, our Managed Security offering does not require the client’s data be collected and housed in our own infrastructure and data centers. Rather, their data remains on-site, preserving its integrity, safety and privacy in the best way possible. Our security tool sets are commandeered by Insight, but allow the client to have complete, 24/7 visibility into their security environment when and if they desire.
As the bank’s EVP of IT affirms, “We continue to see all the good things that Insight’s architects and engineers and account executives can provide us. So, we just continue to enhance and improve and add services as we see fit.”
The benefits: Customized, innovative solutions
No matter what direction the bank’s business strategy takes, Insight is a trusted partner that helps their IT department formulate forward-thinking solutions and actualize them. Being ahead of the game has paid off immensely — the bank has not experienced major IT-related setbacks, downtimes, security attacks, etc. When the global health crisis descended upon U.S. businesses, the bank had already implemented its robust VDI and SD-WAN solution that enabled a relatively seamless transition to remote work.
The EVP of IT frames it as so: “I get to talk with my account executive or lead architect and say, ‘This is my goal, and these are my struggles. What can you do for me?’ They don’t just come to me with whatever product they’re selling. They say, ‘Well, we’ve got these different options. Which might work best for you?’ They listen to what my needs are and don’t just put me into cookie-cutter solutions. They look outside the box and try to fit solutions to my needs.” The EVP of IT also values the fact that Insight has deep relationships with all leading OEMs. This allows us to more quickly resolve issues of performance, integration, etc., as we have both relevant, advanced technical expertise and rapport directly with OEMs to help fix issues on the backend.
