Contain Growth of Storage Costs, While Safeguarding Data Center Resilience and Availability

Overview

Challenge

• Contain growth of storage costs, while safeguarding data center resilience and availability.

Solution

• Consumption-based pricing model, ensuring fast, flexible, affordable, on-demand managed storage and backup services for high-performance, high availability outcomes.

Outcomes

• IAG achieved greater efficiency with streamlined, scalable and secure storage solutions from Hitachi Vantara.

Challenge

Enhancing Resilience While Preparing for Growth

IAG the largest general insurance company in Australia and New Zealand, initiated its collaboration with Hitachi Vantara in the mid-2000s. IAG sought an assessment of its multi-vendor storage environment to tackle impending data growth hurdles, enhance performance and optimize cost management via a uniform storage service delivery model.

In 2012, IAG transitioned to a consumption-based outsourced model, introducing greater cost transparency, consistency and flexibility while minimizing risk. The new approach called for technical adaptability, comprehensive backup and recovery services, and comprehensive data center migration services.

In 2022, IAG recognized Hitachi Vantara as a trusted, collaborative partner, renewing their managed services partnership and integrating new storage services into IAG NZ, aligned with cost-optimization strategy.

The following year, they chose Hitachi Vantara to fortify and enhance backup systems, bolstering data safety. IAG challenged its technology partners to deliver creative, reliable, cost-effective and flexible services supporting this transformation, aiming for simplicity and consistency across the organization.

Solution

Managed Storage Services for Uninterrupted Data Access

Over a five-year term Hitachi Vantara is delivering an outcomes-driven managed services program, providing the storage and data management solutions IAG needs for uninterrupted data access. With automatic data center failover in the event of a significant data center incident, Hitachi provided a comprehensive performance and cost metric and a future-proof technical refresh plan.

“Hitachi Vantara is our one-stop-shop for all storage services,” said Nik Hatzikos, Product Manager, Compute and Storage Services for IAG. “They instill confidence that our data is managed proficiently, allowing us to concentrate on developing new capabilities in other tech areas. We can deliver value to our stakeholders and customers.”

Outcomes

Reduced Data Center Footprint, Cost and Complexity

A series of cost-optimization initiatives have been implemented, including consolidating backup and recovery solutions, refreshing IAG’s fibre network and reducing their data center footprint by 70% – from 52 to 16 racks.

The new data protection solutions are also cutting down on software licensing costs and administrative burdens. And the managed storage services also enable flexible capacity adjustments to accommodate demand changes, including sudden surges, without sacrificing performance.

With storage analytics, flexible performance optimization and predictive maintenance, Hitachi guarantees that service level agreements (SLAs) are not just met but exceeded.

Chris O’Brien, EM Infrastructure and Cloud Services at IAG, adds, “Hitachi Vantara is not just a technology partner but a trusted advisor. Its service delivery, collaboration and understanding of our business practices sets them apart. It’s a highly valued relationship for us.”