Building firm replaces ageing San systems with StoreAge
data replication.
Building firm Alfred McAlpine has found that a £500,000 IT
investment to improve its business continuity has had knock-on
benefits to application performance.
The company replaced ageing San systems and implemented a
storage management system from StoreAge SVM to create a distributed
back-up system that is less prone to a single point of failure.
With the help of distributor Zycko, McAlpine implemented
StoreAge's Multimirror application to replicate data between
multiple sites from high-end EMC arrays at the source site, to
mid-range Dot Hill arrays at the destination site.
StoreAge software allows businesses to manage San systems from
multiple suppliers in one console and offers additional features
such as mirroring and data snapshots.
"The old San would have been expensive to renew and support and
the solution was becoming unstable," said Rob Hodgkiss, project
group team leader.
"With disc failure, the business was becoming exposed to risk.
We needed something to take away that risk and allow us to expand
the business."
However, the new technology has also greatly enhanced the
performance and reliability of the applications it supports,
Hodgkiss said.
Sales teams using the company's Axapta CRM application noticed
an immediate improvement, he said. "Sales teams have to do monthly
reports using the system. These can now be run in about 20 minutes,
whereas before using the new storage system they could take
hours."
Other applications had benefited from a 300% performance boost
and the San system was now becoming a hub for business
applications, Hodgkiss said.
"HR and payroll applications have moved onto the system and we
are getting requests to move other applications on a weekly
basis."
The building firm has expanded through growth and acquisition in
recent years and Hodgkiss said the new storage system would provide
a platform for future expansion.