MUCH of the work performed by Bidvest International Logistics (BIL)is data-driven and transaction based and operations are 24/7 due to the nature of the logistics sector. As a result, maximum uptime is crucial, and any downtime equates to lost productivity and a loss of revenue for both BIL and their customers.
Moreover, they are also required to comply with import and export legislation and documentation must be submitted timeously.
“Due to the fact that we were struggling to support legacy technology, this introduced potential exposure. First Technology National (FTN), our preferred hardware and infrastructure provider for the past decade, was the natural choice for an upgrade in order to mitigate this risk. They proposed a new hardware solution that would address all of our challenges and offer a number of additional benefits,” explains Morne Visser, IT Operations and Infrastructure Manager at BIL.
The previous storage solution comprised of a 25U rack of SATA hard drives. FTN provided a modern solution in the form of two storage arrays that featured twice the capacity of the previous solution with an All-Flash Array in a 4U form factor. Subsequently, BIL is now future proofed against data growth and can leverage vastly improved performance.
In order to minimise downtime, FTN performed a side-by-side implementation that only required 3.5 hours of downtime while the database was migrated. This was performed after hours to minimise the impact on business. A top team of engineers was involved to ensure that the project ran smoothly. Moreover, training was performed during the implementation to ensure skills transfer.
“While BIL was originally looking to extend maintenance on their existing hardware, they looked to FTN for strategic advice and we were able to prove the benefits of replacing the current storage infrastructure. Not only did it make sense to replace the legacy storage devices, but also provided peace of mind for the IT Team to insure uptime. The new storage solution offers higher performance and improved processing speed, enhanced deduplication and compression ratios, all of which will stand them in good stead for future growth and expansion,” says Soon Broodryk, External Account Manager at FTN.
Additionally, BIL is now able to take advantage of dedicated storage for their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution as well as general storage for all other applications and systems. The new storage arrays also significantly reduce the physical storage footprint, with a cost benefit implication as it requires a smaller real estate footprint and less electricity.
