CASE STUDY
present portals out to our own users to allow
them to access certificates or results or files
they need, in a secure manner.
What are your priorities for
infrastructure investment this year?
I’m investing in the hardware. People ask
why we wouldn’t just rely on the cloud but
as we’re on a path to innovation, lifting and
necessarily around NetApp, is connectivity
and making the data available.
That’s where we’re looking to move some
things into the cloud because we can then
push things closer. We are based in Liverpool
but if we can push data that’s needed into an
AWS data centre for example, it’ll get it closer,
faster, easier and enable less time to deliver
results and answer customer questions.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT
WHATEVER WE’RE PUSHING UP IN
THE CLOUD IS CLOUD-AWARE, CLOUD-
NATIVE AND NOT JUST PLACING IT
THERE AND SAYING WE’RE DONE.
shifting just doesn’t work. So, we have to
rearchitect to become cloud-native.
We have to take our time and get there right
which is my priority from an infrastructure
point of view. We have to make sure that
whatever we’re pushing up in the cloud
is cloud-aware, cloud-native and not just
placing it there and saying we’re done.
How has the NetApp
solution improved scalability
and assured longevity?
getting better and better in terms of data
deduplication so we can add data and it
just keeps going down. Or, if the data isn’t
being used, move that to the cloud and free
up your AFF (All Flash FAS) and it’s saving
money overall.
What are some of the
security implications posed
to the infrastructure?
So obviously security is on everyone’s mind
and keeping the data safe is very important.
We need to protect our customers’ data and
our own integrity because our results are
what makes us. So, we’re seeing a huge spike
in emails and phishing. We’re also trying to
www.intelligentcio.com
It’s incredibly scalable. We can add in new
shelves, we can add in other nodes into the
cluster if needed. It’s a fantastic investment.
In terms of longevity, it allows us flexibility
– if we’ve got our primary data, we can tear
that off to pretty much anywhere we want.
This might be to the cloud or you can go
onto some kind of S3 or on-prem if you like
so I’m obviously a fan but I find that it’s
helping us to keep our data where we want it
at the right time. When you pair it with some
of the partners in the ecosystem, I think
you’ve got a very stable platform.
What are some of the industry-
specific challenges you face?
In the mining industry, we are in some
very remote areas so our biggest issue, not
Can you walk us through the
end-to-end process that you offer
your customers?
We have a broad range of services in the
industry. Our core service is to provide
analytical services so if a mine or a company
is prospecting, they may well dig up some
soil and send it to us and we’ll let them know
how much copper or gold etc. there is in
there so that they mine there.
So, we have many different ways of finding
out information, it depends on what the
client wants.
We could also provide on-site support and
we do this by setting up a lab on mine
where they want a quick turnaround, for
example if they are chasing a vein of
copper, they want to know if it’s still viable
to keep going.
What benefits has the solution
provided to your customers?
First of all, we’re ensuring that their data
is safe. Speed is another factor – it’s
not a super quick turnaround but we’re
ensuring stability, security and generally if
our staff can access the data quicker and
more efficiently, they can interact with the
customer in a much more seamless way. n
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