CASE STUDY that cannot be ported or modernised without significant expense but that it has previously run on an on-premises VMware solution . By “ sticking to VMware ” it could manage a virtual lift-and shift migration into the cloud , and then deploy more modern cloud services to enable other technology services .
But hosting its workloads in Europe presented some challenges , particularly cost and latency concerns . Latency was such an issue that Stefanutti invested in network acceleration equipment and even established its own interconnect site – one of the first in South Africa . Business departments added to the pressure , demanding faster application performance but
LOOKING AHEAD WE ARE TINKERING WITH NEW SYSTEMS AND SOLUTIONS AND HOPING TO BUILD APPLICATIONS THAT SUPPORT OUR IT AS-A- SERVICE MODEL .
maintaining the construction industry ’ s reputation for being gun-shy with technology investment .
Wilson and his team kept evaluating local providers for an alternative but were either faced with a lack of skills or certification , and high costs associated with modifying and running legacy applications in public hyperscale environments .
Its requirements were clear . The company wanted its systems hosted on a VMware cloud , run locally with a local provider , and that would support its IT-As-a- Service model .
“ We wanted a partner that could emulate what we had ( our systems in the cloud ) that could take ownership of our cloud architecture and just get on with it . I don ’ t want to build my own cloud architecture , nor do I want to know how providers will keep my environment up and running , I just want it to work . As a long-term user of VMware , both on-premises and in the cloud , I know that it is the best solution for this approach because ultimately , your application doesn ’ t know where it is , it ’ s highly available , properly backed up , and lives in the cloud ,” added Wilson .
Routed to a better place
Following VMware ’ s sale of its vCloud Air data centres to OVH , Stefanutti kept its environment with the partner – but an opportunity presented itself in that VMware was extending its cloud into a cloud partner programme via its VMware Cloud Verified partners . This meant it could find a local provider that
met its expectations around compatibility , certification , peripheral services and professionalism . And as it happens , Stefanutti knew what questions to ask .
“ You may recall that at some point the vCloud Air data centres were sold to OVH in Europe , so we moved to their servers ,” he recalled . “ We moved our virtual data centres in a weekend , which was tough and a great learning experience . So , when we looked at migrating to a South African provider , we knew what a migration would involve and were prepared for it .”
The quest for such a provider eventually led Stefanutti to Routed . A VMware Cloud Verified and VMware Principal Partner , Routed is a local cloud operator that provides the full VMware Cloud experience to organisations in South Africa . After some evaluation , Stefanutti knew it had found the right provider , not only in technical qualifications but also with professional synergy .
“ The alignment was great . When plugging my technical team into the Routed technical team , there wasn ’ t even a ( technical ) language difference . It was just a seamless conversation about the whole project and one they just understood straight away ,” said Wilson .
“ Stefanutti are such a unique client . While they are a construction business at heart , they are also in theory a cloud service provider where IT provides services to the business units on demand ,” stated Andrew Cruise , Managing Director , Routed . “ Our teams work exceptionally well together and are technically in sync at any given point . They were always looking for a partner that could support their journey and not just push services at them . So , by providing Stefanutti with full self-service access and control with support and in addition , aggregating our knowledge when they need it – we make a great team .”
Everything in one place
Stefanutti ’ s requirements don ’ t fit neatly into a conventional customer success story . The team knew what they needed , knew what it wanted to do , and were very clear on what they wanted from the change to a local provider . The missing link was the service provider – which is where Routed came in .
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