International Investment Firm
Advanced Data Center Solution Adds up to Improved Performance and Profit

Abstract

An international investment firm, held back by underperforming IT infrastructure, turned to Acumen Solutions for an advanced data center solution that would deliver immediate improvement and stand ready to meet future demands.

Challenge	A crippling lack of space and power was preventing the implementation of vital new applications, constraining business growth.
Solution	Acumen Solutions performed a thorough analysis of the client’s situation and needs, developed a data center strategy, and managed the successful implementation of that strategy.
Results	The client quickly re-gained business momentum, capitalizing on the ability to generate new revenue streams by deploying new applications.

Business Challenge

Following an unsatisfactory internal audit, a leading international investment firm needed to make major improvements to its two US data centers. Located in office buildings, each was suffering from a critical lack of space and power, as well as a lack of redundancy. One data center even needed to be relocated because the host office was moving to a new building, and the new building would not provide any significant increase in space. A data center strategy was urgently needed in order to avoid throw-away investment in building temporary data center space at the new building

Solution

Acumen Solutions performed a thorough assessment of the client’s situation and needs, covering:

1. Exact space and power requirements to meet immediate needs and allow for future growth

2. The current application portfolio and new application requirements

3. Required levels of resilience for the end-state environment, based on the audit findings

4. Disaster-recovery location requirements, taking account of client preferences as well as geographic risk profiles

Using this information, Acumen Solutions compared a series of possible solution scenarios, including various client-owned data center scenarios, collocation scenarios, and hosting scenarios. Based on the client’s situation and needs, Acumen Solutions recommended a collocation solution. Acumen Solutions then created an RFP; assisted with response scoring and selection of finalists; and led contract negotiations with the finalists.

Once the project moved into the implementation phase, Acumen Solutions organized and managed the implementation by three tracks: facilities, infrastructure, and applications. This allowed for more effective coordination of equipment delivery and deployment, and faster application testing cycles.

Along with pre-migration application testing and data validation, Acumen Solutions also managed several rounds of disaster recovery tests. Previously, the client had never successfully completed a disaster recovery test. This added appreciably to the client’s confidence in the resilience and performance of the end-state solution.

Return on Investment

The client needed a reliable, expandable IT infrastructure to remove the severe constraints on business growth imposed by its two in-office data centers, which had recently been the subject of a negative internal audit report. The client also needed to act fast because of an upcoming office move. Thanks to Acumen Solutions, a data center strategy was developed and implemented in a very short timeframe that resolved severe capacity issues, established and tested a disaster-recovery plan, addressed the audit findings, and created a resilient IT infrastructure. This allowed the client to re-gain business momentum, capitalizing on the ability to generate new revenue streams by deploying new applications.

International Investment Firm: Advanced Data Center Solution (PDF)