By Insight Editor / 16 Dec 2019 / Topics: Cloud Modern infrastructure
Facts at a glance
Client industry:
Retail
Challenge:
A major retail corporation was struggling with two IT roadblocks: an upcoming renewal of its managed backup service and a recently begun move to the cloud.
Solution:
Insight suggested a co-managed backup solution via Commvault that could be implemented within the tight deadline of 60 days.
Results:
- Better pricing that incumbent provider
- A solution that supports cloud infrastructure
- Accelerated, 60-day deployment
Solution area:
Insight’s Supply Chain Optimization solutions simplify the process of procuring, maintaining and replacing the technology clients invest in to run their business.
When it came to the managed backup services, the incumbent provider’s renewal price was steep. Far too steep for this retail organization to consider. However, with the renewal up in less than 60 days, the company was quickly running out of time to switch to another provider. IT decision-makers on the internal staff were skeptical that anyone could successfully take over in such a tight timeframe, considering that this type of project would typically take anywhere from six months to a year to complete.
The company also needed to make sure that any new solutions supported its move to the cloud, an endeavor it had just begun.
Insight undertook the project with the understanding that the 60-day deadline was finite and the solution had to check a lot of boxes.
The company sought a robust, modern data solution to provide backup support. After an initial conversation, Insight immediately pinpointed Commvault as the perfect partner to meet this need. A Commvault subscription-based hardware and software solution would move the organization from a fully managed backup service to a more in-house model. With Commvault devices, the internal IT team would co-manage this with their new managed service partner.
By the next day, we had contacted the appropriate team at Commvault and scheduled an online meeting between them and the client so they could demonstrate how the product and its user interface would work. The team then spent a day on-site with the client, whiteboarding the solution and addressing any potential problems and concerns.
While working with us, the client was also entertaining pitches from other third parties and looking at other potential backup systems. But in the end, the Commvault solution met all of its needs — and then some. Plus, Insight’s white glove service and extensive expertise around orchestrating this type of project convinced the internal decision-makers that we were the right choice.
A major selling point was how Commvault backup systems would support the client’s journey to the cloud.
The organization was eager to move away from on-premises infrastructure and had an aggressive timeline planned for that endeavor. It had already begun migrating to Amazon Web Services (AWS); however, it wanted to be rid of its physical data center and have everything running in AWS within 18 months.
Commvault will certainly make that initiative easier with software that allows the company to back up its environment no matter where it’s located and then spin it up in any cloud, anywhere, anytime. So as the client continues to migrate workloads, it doesn’t have to worry about backup pitfalls.
Once the client had decided on and gained internal approvals for the Commvault solution, it was time to deploy. And the timeframe for deployment was considerably less than our teams would normally have. Usually, after a solid 60–80 days of preparation, we would deploy such a solution over the course of a week.
Between Insight and Commvault, our teams worked for a total of seven days, including a holiday weekend, to prepare and deploy the solution.
There were unexpected setbacks, including older servers with unsupported Oracle software that the teams had to quickly and manually work around. The client wasn’t prepared to update that infrastructure, so we had to manually deploy instead.
But even with those unforeseen obstacles, the organization’s backup system was successfully migrated to Commvault within the 60-day timeframe — a true test of IT expertise.
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