Client story Multinational Mass Media Conglomerate Turns to Insight for Guidance on Storage/Backup of 7 Petabytes of Data During Merger Review
By Insight Editor / 18 Jan 2018 / Topics: Migration Storage Data protection Data center
Facts at a glance
Client industry
Technology
Insight provided:
- End-to-end project management involving migration from three different platforms
- NetApp On Demand
- 10 petabytes of available storage capacity
- NetApp On Demand hosted by FAS8200 series controllers running DOT 9
Insight services:
- Field engineering
- Project management
- Managed services
Outcomes:
Download the client story
- Comprehensive solution for the expected one-year data hold
- Full data sovereignty
- On-premise solution with financial model of a public cloud offering
- Fully managed storage and backup capabilities with one monthly invoice
The client
The client is a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate.
The challenge: Enable a short-term solution that combines the benefits of on-premises storage and backup and the financial model of public cloud
The client company had agreed to enter into a merger with another communications giant. In the course of the deal being reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the client’s legal team put a hold on all of the company’s corporate data. It was to be held throughout the process. This placed a tremendous strain on the organization’s storage and backup infrastructure, which did not have the capacity to accommodate a hold that was expected to last roughly a year.
The client needed a rapid, fully coordinated solution that brought together the right people, technical skills, processes, tools and project management to enable the offloading of copies of data from the designated points in time. This would allow them to go back and remove extended retentions on primary storage snapshots and backup systems, thereby easing the capacity strain.
The solution: NetApp On Demand and a term-based consumption model
Initially, the client considered a capital purchase for implementing the storage needed to provide the capacity for the legal hold. However, knowing that the data would be released after approximately a year, they were interested in a more temporary solution.
Next, the conversation turned to cloud offerings. That idea was ultimately discarded, as data sovereignty was a critical matter that required an on-premises solution. In the end, it was decided that NetApp On Demand would be the right way to provide the additional capacity. Offered in three service tiers that center around IOPS/TB, the solution can easily scale up or down based on the client’s needs.
Critical to the success of the initiative was complete end-to-end project management. Insight managed all aspects of the process, from assembling the skilled and experienced team, to selecting the necessary tools, to performing the advanced configuration. We then executed the migration of data from three different technology platforms using three different tools, and also delivers ongoing support and management of the new environment.
The benefits: An on-premises solution with the financial model of a public cloud offering
Following the highly challenging migration of a huge volume of data, the client now has a custom-designed solution in place to accommodate an overall capacity need in five sites of 10 petabytes of data. It is hosted by FAS8200 series controllers running DOT 9. The client also has expert oversight of the new storage from Insight's Managed Services team.
What’s more, the company is taking advantage of a best-of-both-worlds scenario, with the benefits of an on-premises solution and the financial model of a public cloud offering. The monthly flex rate for the NetApp On Demand capacity is rolled into the managed services costs to provide a fully managed solution with one monthly invoice.
