E N D - U S E R I N S I G H T
Reliable , secure data platform
Pure Storage FlashArray prevents downtime and contributes to Andra ’ s Business Continuity plan , while immutable SafeMode snapshots from Pure Storage enhance Andra ’ s data protection strategy by enabling clean copies of data to be restored from in the event of a cyberattack .
Future-proof data storage for the next decade
Andra chose Pure Storage with a longterm view of operating the solution for the next decade . Pure ’ s Evergreen architecture empowers Andra with alwayson access to innovation , with the freedom to upgrade , scale and modernise without any re-purchases or downtime required .
We get insights from Olivier Tardy , Head of Infrastructure and Operations , Andra , about the implementation process and how operations will become greener with a refined IT infrastructure .
Could you elaborate on the specific challenges Andra faced with its legacy IT infrastructure that prompted the decision to seek a more modern solution ?
Andra is the French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management . We faced several significant challenges with our legacy IT infrastructure , which ultimately led us to seek a more modern digital storage platform . One of the primary issues was the need for enhanced security and reliability – both of which are , of course , critical given our line of business . sure what capacity we had left , as the admin interface wasn ’ t clear . Because of this , our outsourced helpdesk was always complaining , and each time we upgraded our systems , our team needed to undergo training to get comfortable with the technology .
And finally , over the last couple of years , sustainability and energy efficiency have also become critical issues for our organisation . We wanted to counter misconceptions about the environmental impact of nuclear waste management and focus on being an environmentally conscious agency . This meant we had to evaluate the carbon footprint of our entire IT stack , including storage .
We sought to address these challenges by partnering with Pure Storage . Their modern high-performance infrastructure has been designed to improve data security , simplify management and enhance energy efficiency , aligning perfectly with Andra ’ s mission and environmental goals .
What stood out in Pure Storage ’ s solutions that aligned with Andra ’ s business goals for greener data centre operations ?
Interestingly , out of three vendors invited to be part of the RFP , Pure ’ s solution was the first that we did a PoC with , and they set the bar exceptionally high . The Pure Storage user interface was very simple , but what really blew us away was the demo they did for us – we were in a data centre in Paris , in front of a production array , and the Pure team removed power , SSDs and memory cards , while the array continued to work . We requested similar demos from the other vendors but they declined . For us the decision was clear as day – Pure was the way to go .
Of course , performance was also key and Pure stood out in this aspect . For example , HPE informed us that their solution provided a specific pre-set data deduplication ratio . And , by comparison , Pure first installed software at our sites to analyse our data and demonstrated the data reduction rate in real-time , which turned out to be an impressive 7:1 .
Needless to say , while ease of use and performance are critical , the reality is that costs are always a factor . Luckily for us , Pure managed to hit the trifecta . The other vendors wanted to replace the whole array at the end of five years , while Pure Storage said we could buy a storage array and at regular intervals upgrade our controllers , non-disruptively , as part of their Evergreen programme . So , while Pure Storage had a higher upfront cost , when we factored in the additional expenses associated with data migration and forklift upgrades for the other two vendors , Pure ultimately had the lowest TCO .
How did Pure Storage help facilitate the reduction in Andra ’ s carbon footprint , and can this go further ?
One of the most significant changes we saw following the implementation of the Pure Storage arrays was the reduction in total energy consumption . With Pure ,
Managing highly sensitive data related to the long-term storage of dangerous radioactive substances demands robust protection . The increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks made it clear that our existing system was no longer sufficient to safeguard this critical information . There were also some redundancy problems – for example , we had active-active arrays but there were times when we saw between 200GB to 300GB of data not replicated between them . This severely jeopardised our Disaster Recovery plans .
Monitoring our storage environment wasn ’ t intuitive either . Often , we weren ’ t
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