Intelligent Data Centres Issue 18 | Page 48

END USER INSIGHT DVSA IS TRANSITIONING AWAY FROM LONG-TERM CONTRACTS, MINIMISING VENDOR LOCK- IN AND MOVING TO OPEN SOURCE AND CLOUD WHERE POSSIBLE. Tim Hinchey, Head of Cloud and Infrastructure Architecture at DVSA, said: “We were connecting to the cloud via virtual private networks (VPNs), but our VPN firewall ran out of capacity, so we needed another solution.” Solution To meet this need for connectivity, DVSA selected Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric, which directly, securely and dynamically connects distributed infrastructure and digital ecosystems globally on Platform Equinix via softwaredefined interconnection. Available across more than 30 Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre locations, ECX Fabric is designed for rapid scalability, real-time agility and customised connectivity through a self-service portal or API. Because every major cloud and IT service provider has a presence in IBX data centres, DVSA can easily connect staff to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and other cloud providers via Equinix Fiber Connects. Switching from one cloud provider to another to save costs or enable additional services takes only minutes. In addition, DVSA’s cloud connections run via its own MPLS network, without crossing the public Internet, bringing its services and controls closer to citizens, employees and partners at the digital edge. Hinchey said: “We’re moving a lot of services. For example, our MOT testing service has around 40 million transactions annually and five years ago all the hardware was co-located in data centres that we had to maintain ourselves. Now, it’s all in the public cloud, on AWS, so this saves us time and money.” Value realised By adopting an Interconnection Oriented Architecture (IOA) strategy, DVSA has cut latency by two-thirds, giving its staff fast, responsive access to cloud-based platforms. 48 Issue 18 www.intelligentdatacentres.com