Client story Luxury Home Builder Redefines its Blueprint for Success with Colocation, Automation and Virtualization
By Insight Editor / 31 Jan 2020 / Topics: Networking Data center Cloud Automation
Facts at a glance
Client industry
Residential construction
Insight provided:
- Colocation assessment and recommendation
- Facilities build management
- Relocation planning and execution
- Cisco ACI planning and implementation
Insight services:
- Strategy and assessment
- Consulting services
- Professional services
Outcomes:
Download the client story
- Better visibility of IT assets
- Proactive troubleshooting
- More agility and flexibility
- Enhanced security and disaster recovery
- Risk-mitigated data center move
- Simpler, automated IT operations
The client
Founded in the 1960s, the client is a Fortune 500 home builder listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is headquartered in the Northeast U.S. and builds in more than 20 states nationwide. Recent revenue figures topped $7 billion.
The challenge: Perform a rapid move to a colocation facility and lay the groundwork for a modernized and agile environment
The client had set in motion plans to move their corporate headquarters. They were not interested in building a new on-premises data center, instead envisioning a leaner and more service-oriented future state. The client IT organization aimed to leverage a colocation facility, software-defined networking and cloud resources.
Insight was the partner of choice to help them actualize their vision. The client had an aggressive timeline for project completion and many data center assets to care for throughout the move. They also needed to mitigate the risk of access interruptions and data loss, considering the vast number of employees, partners and customers to whom the company is accountable.
The solution: Locate, build and migrate to a new shared data center with Cisco ACI and cloud services
The considerable scope of the project called for a thorough needs assessment, with interviews and site inspections. Insight team members engaged with many levels and roles within the client organization to gather the information needed to formulate next steps.
Together, we identified an ideal colocation facility that would meet the client’s requirements and support their objectives. Insight designed and built the new data center, inclusive of 35 HPE® ESX servers, three Commvault® MediaAgent servers, two NetApp® AFF A300/E2860 and two Brocade® switches, as well as a complete Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) environment with Nexus switches, Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) servers, Palo Alto Network® firewalls, Cisco® routers, Meraki® firewalls/VPN, Catalyst switches, an ISE server and the LogRhythm® platform. Effective project management took us from discovery and analysis to relocation planning and execution of nearly:
- 600 virtual machines (VMs)
- 45 workloads
- 100 physical servers
An integral part of the project was preparing for software-defined networking and, potentially, the future integration of managed services for cloud. Insight planned and implemented Cisco ACI®, an automation model based on network policy. We also ensured the architecture could be well-managed through our Managed Cloud offering, if the client opts to outsource the ongoing optimization and care of their cloud environment.
The benefits: Increased flexibility and resources freed to drive innovation and service enhancements
Our work together provided the client with an expedited move with near-zero disruption and no data loss. They now have the power of a colocation facility that accommodates speed and efficiency. A comprehensive discovery phase gave the client vastly better insight into their data center assets, interdependencies and requirements.
The company has been going strong for more than half a century, despite much fluctuation and turbulence within the real estate and home building industries. Key to thriving in the next half a century will be the ability to flex and scale on demand. With automation and a well-managed cloud environment, the company will be more prepared than ever to make quick changes based on market conditions and refocus teams on continual innovation in service delivery.
