Client story Financial Analytics Firm Boosts Agility With Data Migration
By Insight Editor / 15 Aug 2019 / Topics: Data center Storage
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Financial
Size of company:
3,400 employees globally
Challenge:
The client needed to install 4.5 petabytes of storage arrays and conduct data migrations from multiple systems within five months.
Solution:
- End-to-end managed multiplatform data migration
- NetApp all-flash and hybrid storage arrays
Results:
- Reduced process runtime by 50%
- Consolidated 10 data center storage arrays to 2
- Transitioned 1,100+ business-critical hosts
- Simplified technology processes
Solution area:
Insight’s Cloud + Data Center Transformation solutions help clients improve data center availability, performance and efficiency.
A leading financial analytics and software provider needed to install 4.5 petabytes of storage arrays and execute a complex, multisource migration during a five-month period.
The firm’s two data center locations, which support its 3,400 employees worldwide, housed multiple Dell EMC arrays for both Storage Area Network (SAN) and Network Attached Storage (NAS). One of the locations had a NetApp 7-Mode HA pair.
The variety of storage arrays and data types meant multiple transition methodologies would be required. And it was critical that key services weren’t disrupted during the transition.
A leading financial analytics and software provider needed to install 4.5 petabytes of storage arrays … during a five-month period.
Performing an extensive data migration
The financial firm chose Insight to provide end-to-end assistance for the storage upgrade and multiplatform migration. Our Cloud + Data Center Transformation team got busy consolidating 10 data center storage arrays to two.
We also developed a master transition workbook from the results of a data discovery process. The detailed map showed the origin and intended destination of every piece of the client’s data. The workbook also indicated the size, permissions and access, ownership and application for each piece of data.
Equipped with that information, we categorized the data and determined which pieces could be moved together and in which order.
The client then communicated with application owners and groups to schedule the data migrations. Meanwhile, we gathered the necessary application resources and administrators to manage the migration.
During the engagement, 22 migration events took place within five weeks. In the process, more than 1,100 hosts were successfully transitioned.
We leveraged our NetApp partnership and familiarity with its technology to perform XCP and Foreign LUN Import (FLI) data migrations from any storage vendor to NetApp using NetApp proprietary tools.
The future of a robust data infrastructure
With the new storage arrays in a consolidated environment, the client is benefiting from a highly scalable infrastructure that delivers enhanced speed and responsiveness, resulting in significant cost savings.
In some cases, process runtimes have decreased by more than 50%, from days to hours and hours to minutes, improving the overall experience for the client’s customers.
The new technology is also easier to manage, creating a foundation that has positioned the financial analytics company for future IT transformations with new documentation and processes, as well as expanded skills and knowledge for internal staff.
