Intelligent Data Centres Issue 14 | Page 48

END USER INSIGHT How do you ensure that data centre operations run smoothly and how is the NetApp solution helping with this? NetApp is allowing us to have this flexibility so we make use of NetApp and of Veeam, it’s a great partnership. It allows us to failover, failback and if we did have any issues we go onto our secondary storage, a bit slower, but we’re not seeing any downtime in that respect. NetApp specifically is rock solid and there’s always innovation on tap which is really helping us to become more efficient. So, for example, with every ONTAP release we’re 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. 48 Issue 14 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 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 shifting just doesn’t work. So, we have to re-architect to become cloud-native. We have to take our time and get there right which is my priority from an infrastructure 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. 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. www.intelligentdatacentres.com