The Business Challenge

One of the clients, a large investment company, first introduced Linxdatacenter to Veeam® solutions. Then it became clear that in order to meet the corporate clients' requirements and expand cooperation with large customers, we need to to refocus from the colocation to the clouds and build our service on proven solutions.

"This is a global trend, and demand is changing today. If we talked with a client about renting racks five years ago, this year the customers themselves say, that they need a virtual infrastructure and additional services. Of course, we cannot ignore it,” comments Andrey Zakharov, products and innovations director at Linxdatacenter.

In 2017, the company completely modernized the Moscow data center and invested in the launch of a new cloud platform in the digital transformation of business. Starting in 2012, Linxdatacenter used the Cisco server solutions, so they turned to the already familiar manufacturer for advice. The Cisco representatives said that there was a new integrated Cisco and Veeam solution, which helped Linxdatacenter to determine the exact choice.

"At the time when we selected the hardware, we already knew that it would be Veeam. We only needed to determine what the data storage and servers would be. The validated Veeam and Cisco design, which is supported by both manufacturers and gives confidence in the result, has become a decisive factor. Of course, we could buy a server from any manufacturer and install Veeam in it, but that would be a completely different quality of service. In addition, the use of backup with a data warehouse from Cisco allows you to seamlessly create backups without interrupting the work, which is especially valuable and important in our business of Linxdatacenter customers, “ adds Mr. Zakharov.

The Veeam Solution

Deployment of Veeam took Linxdatacenter a minimum of time, compared to the previous backup solution that the company used. In total, the implementation of a joint Cisco and Veeam solution solution took four weeks: two weeks: spent on installing the Cisco equipment, a day for the deployment of the software and the remaining time for verification and acceptance tests. According to the company's specialists, integration with the data storage system can be done with only three mouse clicks.

"We received the help of colleagues from Cisco when setting up the hardware. As for Veeam, the product itself is very simple to deploy and our engineers have done all the work themselves, having completed training and undergone examinations to join the Veeam program for cloud and service providers (VCSP),” says Andrey Zakharov.

Linxdatacenter is confident that using the integrated solution will attract more medium and large business customers and expand the audience. Today the company has already started working with new customers, who consider the Availability of Veeam and Cisco products a sign of quality.

Cisco HyperFlex is a proven solution that integrates data processing and storage on a single platform that is easy to manage and provides high performance. When increasing the load Linxdatacenter will not experience any difficulties, as Cisco HyperFlex allows you to scale to meet your business needs. Thus, by using the combination of Cisco HyperFlex and Cisco UCS S3260, Linxdatacenter can provide its customers with an innovative and well-adapted solution and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) by at least 25%. "Cisco HyperFlex has excellent performance: the solution works very quickly and as a result we get a simpler control, less equipment and opportunities for growth," comments Zakharov.

"We offer Veeam to all our new customers. It is beneficial for us that the company's solution provides backup for our cloud platform based on Cisco Hyperflex. In addition, we now have an opportunity to provide new BaaS and DRaaS services on their own via Veeam Cloud Connect and make money by doing that, “ the Linxdatacenter products and innovations director explains.

Linxdatacenter is one of Cisco's first certified cloud partners in Russia. Last year, the company was second in cloud services sales. Today, thanks to the advanced solution from Cisco and Veeam, Linxdatacenter can effectively compete with other suppliers both in price and performance.

The Results

• Linxdatacenter can provide new services to its customers 12 times faster
  A high-performance solution is designed for customers with the highest service guarantees (SLAs). With its ability to use hardware snapshots, Veeam and Cisco Hyperflex provide fast backup and low RPO. In addition, the deployment of Veeam takes 12 times less time than using the previous solution, which allows Linxdatacenter to provide new services to its customers much faster.
• Veeam Cloud Connect creates additional income for Linxdatacenter
  Now Linxdatacenter can easily provide BaaS and DRaaS to its customers. Customers will not need to wait a few months, as was the case with traditional solutions for physical equipment — they may start using the services literally on the day of the referral.
• Linxdatacenter provides scaling with Cisco and Veeam solutions and reduces TCO by at least 25%
  As the Linxdatacenter client base grows, the company has the opportunity to increase the capacity by six times from 100 TB to 600 TB. A validated hyperconvergent solution, flexible and easy to use, increases business efficiency and reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) by at least 25%.