A-Z Maps, the largest independent publisher of maps and atlases in the UK, has selected Scale Computing's HC3 platform and Single Node configuration for simplified on-premises management and disaster recovery.
Established in 1936, A-Z Maps have a long-standing reputation for creating accurate and detailed maps of Great Britain. Not only does the company produce over 300 paper mapping publications, but it is leading the way with customisable digital mapping. As a result, implementing a stable and scalable IT environment that could manage high capacity workloads without latency issues was of paramount importance to A-Z Maps.
A-Z Maps previously operated its IT environment on Dell servers and a Dell EqualLogic SAN. As the solution was reaching the end if its life span, A-Z maps saw this as an opportunity for a new solution with simplified management. After evaluating a number of different solutions, including HPE, SimpliVity, Pivot3, EMC and a Dell/Nutanix combination, A-Z Maps, with the help of partner, Bechtle, selected Scale Computing’s HC3 platform and Single Node configuration, which offered disaster recovery, high availability, cloning, replication and snapshots providing complete business continuity.
The HC3 platform automates the complexities associated with virtualisation. Combining storage, server and virtualisation into one appliance means IT teams have more time available to spend on value creating activities rather than daily infrastructure management. A-Z Maps also required a back-up and disaster recovery plan, which needed to be in place for its growing digital portfolio. To address this, A-Z Maps deployed a Scale Single Node configuration, designed specifically for back-up, which dramatically improved its disaster recovery ability.
“Our existing environment was reaching the end of its lifespan so we decided to invest in a new solution that would allow us to reduce IT costs and spend less time on the day-to-day management,” explained Dan Tonge, Systems Manager at A-Z Maps. “Having worked with VMware for a long time, which is notoriously complex, I was amazed at just how simple the management could be, we no longer need to worry about the day-to-day running of the system.”
Johan Pellicaan, VP EMEA at Scale Computing commented, “The HC3 platform is engineered to offer a really simplified management experience, which allows companies to reduce their operational cost and time consumption. The combination of the HC3 and the Single Node means A-Z Maps has a fully comprehensive solution. The result is improved performance enabling the design team to work efficiently with large data sets, which are all automatically backed up and ready to run from another location, should a disaster occur.”
“Scale’s HC3 solution is a perfect fit for A-Z Maps. The technology is designed to be simple and scalable with many of the infrastructure complexities automated in the background,” explained Justin Edhouse, Server and Storage Specialist at Bechtle. “We are pleased to offer Scale’s hyperconverged infrastructure as part of our product portfolio as it meets the demands of many of our customers who are looking for a cost-effective IT solution.”
