Client story Regional Financial Services Leader Collaborates with Insight to Create a Detailed Roadmap for Data Center Transformation and Growth
By Insight Editor / 19 Jan 2018 / Topics: Cloud Data center Migration Consolidation
Facts at a glance
Client industry
Financial services
Insight provided:
- Data center current-state assessment
- Colocation site evaluation
- Application dependency mapping
Insight services:
- Business and technology assessment
- Architectural design
Outcomes:
Download the client story
- Data center site selection scorecard
- Business and technology requirements report
- Detailed application dependency map
- Data center future-state architecture recommendation
- Network and data security recommendations
The client
The client is a regional leader in financial services. With more than 1,200 employees and over $10 billion in total assets, the company is looking to expand within and beyond the southeastern U.S. area where it was founded and operates.
The challenge: Help a growing company develop a detailed roadmap for transforming and relocating its aging data centers to enable future expansion
With the two data centers that it owned and operated showing signs of age — both from a facility and a technology perspective — the client had determined it was necessary to modernize its IT infrastructure. They also had decided that they no longer wanted to own or maintain data centers, so the plan was to utilize colocation space. In making that transition, they planned to upgrade their technology and consolidate storage platforms and infrastructure to create a smaller and more efficient footprint.
In addition, the company had recently gone public and also had surpassed $10 billion in assets. This meant that its infrastructure and operations would be subject to greater scrutiny by regulators, in particular in regard to network and data security.
The solution: A comprehensive assessment and well-defined go-forward strategy
Looking to work with a company that has a dedicated and experienced data center transformation practice, proven methodology, and flexibility and willingness to help them explore many options, the client selected Insight. To prepare the company for an efficient, risk-mitigated transition, we provided a number of deliverables. The first was a colocation site selection scorecard that included the information needed to choose data center locations. The client will need sites in two separate and geographically dispersed FEMA zones to ensure it can maintain operations in the event of a natural disaster.
We also performed an in-depth analyses of the company’s business and technical requirements, as well as an assessment of the financial impact of choosing different service providers based on those requirements. This information was shared with the client in a detailed report that included cost estimates for retrofitting its current data centers for comparison.
An application dependency map was also created to provide specifics on relationships between the client’s applications and infrastructure. This was especially helpful, as the company had never fully documented this information.
The benefits: Readiness for near-term actions and a framework for the future
Ultimately, the client was provided with a clear view of its technology current state and the steps needed to migrate and consolidate its data centers.
The data produced by this holistic review of the client’s operational and technical requirements will serve as the cornerstone of its modernization efforts in the near term and positions it to partner with Insight throughout the process. What’s more, it provides the framework for the company’s ambitious expansion plans involving mergers and acquisitions for years to come.
