Kanton Schwyz is rapidly and securely navigating towards digital transformation

Simply accelerate the pace while ensuring security?

The Canton of Schwyz is reaping the benefits of a modern administration and advanced digital infrastructure, supported by their long-standing use of NetApp technologies. These solutions have effectively resolved backup challenges and streamlined storage management. The decision to once again opt for NetApp during a technology refresh was evident. Collaborating with BNC enabled a seamless transition to All-Flash systems, enhancing performance and efficiency. The IT infrastructure encompasses two data centers, ensuring both business continuity and optimal performance across all applications. The migration process, facilitated by BNC, unfolded seamlessly and swiftly, earning approval from the IT team for achieving high levels of performance and data availability.

BNC AS A SPARRING PARTNER

For over a decade, the Department of Informatics has harnessed NetApp technologies, effectively resolving backup time issues and gradually shifting more functions onto the storage infrastructure. Presently, virtual machines, physical servers, backups, application servers, and storage seamlessly collaborate, eliciting great satisfaction from the team. Consequently, the decision to once again embrace NetApp technology during the recent technology refresh at the close of the five-year product lifecycle was the only logical choice.

As a longstanding partner in virtualization, storage, backup, and system integration, we had the privilege of offering guidance to the Canton of Schwyz in this endeavor. Rather than proceeding with the initially contemplated transition to hybrid storage, we proposed the integration of All-Flash systems, primarily due to their heightened performance and efficiency.

Michael Da Rin, Head of IT Systems and Security at the Department of Informatics, describes BNC as a sparring partner, asserting, "BNC operates akin to a sparring partner. They occasionally present an alternative proposition when it adds value. The emphasis is not on the most budget-friendly option, but rather on what's optimal."

Conclusion

Thanks to BNC's expertise, the migration process proceeded seamlessly and even faster than anticipated, as noted by Daniel Heinzer:

"The preparation by BNC was exceptionally thorough. We were able to operate both old and new systems in parallel, and we were pleasantly surprised by the rapid data transfer onto the All-Flash systems. It was truly impressive."

The impact of the All-Flash performance is particularly evident in the VMware environment and during Windows updates. Notably, the storage footprint has been halved. While the capacity of the new systems matches that of the previous setup, the storage efficiency has left 50 percent of the capacity unutilized, serving as a buffer for future data growth. Initiatives like electronic tax filings and the digitization of paper records continue to drive the need for efficient data management. Considering the longer term, the IT team is contemplating tiering strategies to cost-effectively manage less frequently accessed data.

Michael Da Rin also echoes a positive sentiment:

"We hold a high degree of contentment with NetApp Storage. The closely intertwined processes within administration and IT significantly benefit from the enhanced performance and data availability. Moreover, having BNC as a partner assures us of excellent guidance and cost-performance optimization tailored to our advantage."

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