This media and entertainment group needed the best solution for managing a global WAN covering 13 sites. Vohkus proposed a managed service using an Optimisation-as-a-Service model.
Situation
This client, a media and entertainment group, owns and operates some of the largest and most successful recording labels in the world, as well as one of the world's largest music-publishing companies. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, it employs in excess of 3,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
Headquartered in the United States, the client maintains an IT estate covering 17 sites globally. These rely on a high-quality, ultra-reliable WAN to support business operations. The company had been using Riverbed WAN optimisation technology, the licences for which were due for renewal. The client found itself at something of a commercial crossroads as the quoted renewal price was very expensive but there would be negligible incremental commercial benefit.
The client was approached by Vohkus with an alternative managed service proposal that could bring significant technical and commercial benefits.
Solution
Vohkus specified an Optimisation-as-a-Service (OaaS) model, to be delivered by its partner EcoLogic using Silver Peak Optimisation technologies.
All WANs have potential congestion problems that affect data packet delivery, and most are unable to compensate for the increased packet loss, latency and bandwidth problems endemic to publicly shared infrastructure. OaaS works on a zero capital expenditure (capex) annual licence model; it helps organisations with remote branch offices overcome the latency and packet loss challenges that can severely restrict the performance of strategic applications such as cloud computing, virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI), unified communications, and disaster recovery.
Silver Peak’s technologies use real-time network optimisation techniques to maximise available WAN bandwidth. These techniques include Network Acceleration to overcome WAN latency, Network Integrity to correct packet delivery loss issues and prioritise time sensitive traffic, and Network Memory to maximise WAN bandwidth utilisation.
The first step was to carry out a proof of concept exercise. This demonstrated that the Silver Peak technology comfortably outperformed the existing Riverbed system and showed how the manage service worked in practice. As a result, the client placed an initial three-year contract with Vohkus for optimisation and global Wi-Fi service management.
Conclusion
Vohkus’s OaaS solution delivered the performance and cost benefits that the client had been looking for. As a result, the service was renewed at the end of the contract, and Vohkus was invited to submit further proposals for upgrading the client’s core infrastructure, servers and storage.
