AAG Systems Limited | Case Study 01 | Dell and BHP Chartered Accountants

BHP DRASTICALLY IMPROVES STORAGE PERFORMANCE AND RESILIENCE WITH AN EQUALOGIC SAN INFRASTRUCTURE AND VM WARE SUPPLIED BY AAG STORAGE

The Client
Barber Harrison & Platt has origins dating back to 1867. The name Barber Harrison & Platt was first heard in 1970 when three long established firms of Sheffield accountants merged to form a new practice, boasting an accumulated total of more than 250 years accounting experience and expertise. Barber Harrison & Platt aims to provide the highest quality service to all its clients. This has earned the firm a solid reputation in the industry which is evidenced by the quality control reviews. The firm recently regained the prestigious Customer First accreditation; Customer First is the awarding body for Putting the Customer First - the National Standard for Customer Service. Barber Harrison & Platt first achieved this accreditation in 2005 and was amongst the first four accountancy practices in the UK to do so. In 2007 Barber Harrison & Platt became a member of 2020 International. This is an international association of independent accounting and consulting firms dedicated to providing their clients with outstanding service wherever they wish to do business.

The Partner
AAG Storage is part of AAG Systems. We are focused specifically on data storage and protection including primary storage, replication, backup and disaster recovery; including both hardware and software systems. We, as a company, continue to think and plan ahead. Technology is moving so quickly that it is easy to be left behind. With our team of skilled engineers constantly testing new and improved systems, you are choosing a company that will continually help you to future proof, reduce costs and above all to develop an infrastructure that is suited to your needs, not ours. We have our own core engineering team and are able to offer full end-to-end life cycle assistance from initial issue identification, product assessment, purchase, installation & configuration through to ongoing support & maintenance. All the necessary partnerships and accreditations are in place to supply both the public and private sector, and as we are vendor-independent we will work to ensure that the solution put in place meets your actual business and/or operational needs.

Project Summary Industry

Accountancy and Consulting

Challenges
Provide a long-term data retention and security infrastructure Consolidate mixed hardware, operating system and virtualisation platforms Incorporate a Disaster Recovery site capability within the solution design Support a more effective and comprehensive backup strategy

Solution
2 x Dell Equalogic PS4000X SANs, connected to the server infrastructure via Fiber Channel switches all virtualised using VMware

Benefits
Scalability and performance to meet increased storage demands in the future Disaster recovery capabilities Reduction in power usage Reduction in management time and associated costs

AAG Systems Limited | Case Study 01 | Dell and BHP Chartered Accountants

Project Overview
BHP were nearing storage capacity with their existing infrastructure. Due to anticipated storage growth, acquisitions and increased business demands, a new storage solution was required, along with a significant increase in performance, reliability and resilience. As Andrew Hibberd, Chief Information Officer of BHP explained We had already identified that we required a new system to provide disaster recovery capabilities and head room for growth with our storage. From this we drafted in AAG Storage to help scope the project and identify the issues involved. This was an invaluable exercise since it allowed us to outline all of our key requirements to the AAG project team, along with a comprehensive overview of our current systems, infrastructure and business processes. Their subsequent Statement of Work document and technical proposal around the Dell Equalogic and VMware platform resolved all of our major concerns. A new scalable storage solution was required for the multiple software applications within BHP. The solution also needed to provide disaster recovery capabilities.

Solution
We reviewed a number of storage vendors, but felt the Dell Equalogic PS4000X series of SANs offered the performance and scalability the business needed. We also liked the AAG Storage approach, their structured delivery framework and initial scoping exercise. We spoke to some of their other storage project customers and were reassured by their proven track record. AAG Storage is based in Sheffield supporting a B2B and public sector customer base across the UK. The company, an accredited Dell Partner with specialist Dell storage skills, also hold the VMware Professional Solution Provider accreditation and is highly adept in Storage project planning, design and implementation. The modular infrastructure, high performance and expandable capacity of the Dell Equalogic solution maximises the capability of the new solution to meet Business Continuity Planning requirements. The Equalogic also provides native support for real time replication, enabling straightforward disaster recovery site set-up. Following an AAG Storage scoping and planning exercise, BHP selected a Dell Equalogic PS4000XV configuration with 16x 600GB 15k SAS disks, and a PS4000X configuration with 16x 450GB 10k SAS disks for the DR Site. The solution utilised VM Ware VSphere and VCentre for the virtualisation and management of the solution, along with Dells built in SAN software.

AAG Storage delivered a major new storage platform during the takeover of another firm, so I can certainly commend their project management abilities.
Andrew Hibberd, Chief Information Officer, BHP We are extremely pleased with the results and feel the Dell Equalogic deployment has delivered real business benefits to the company said Andrew. AAG Storage has delivered a major new storage platform to the business during the takeover of another firm, so I can certainly commend their project management abilities. The Dell Equalogic solution was delivered on time and has resulted in immediate performance improvements to the business.

Testimonial
AAG Storage were vendor independent which meant they could offer the right solution for BHP, rather than the right solution to hit their vendor targets. They soon came back with not only a far superior solution compared to their competitors, which better suited our business needs, but one that was also more economic. They arranged for Dell specialists to come and see me at no charge, to tailor the solution so that every aspect met our requirements. AAG Storage managed the entire process from start to finish ensuring that everything went smoothly. The customer service we receive on a daily basis is second to none and we would happily recommend AAG Storage to anyone Andrew Hibberd, Chief Information Officer, BHP

AAG Storage working as a Dell Partner

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For more information please get in touch:

www.aag-storage.co.uk Telephone 0845 6435565 Email info@aag-storage.co.uk