Challenge:
Customers want highly available, scalable, and secure cloud solutions
Currently, 84 percent of all investment in software is in software-as-a-service (SaaS). By 2017 SaaS will account for 60 percent of public cloud sales; within the next 12 months, 60 percent of all companies are expected to be deploying SaaS solutions. These statistics illustrate clearly that SaaS is dramatically altering the business software landscape and the way in which software is delivered. SSP Europe, a medium-sized software vendor, is also facing the challenge of providing its customers with highly available, scalable, and secure cloud solutions.
Expensive and risky processes
Traditionally acquired software entails purchasing licences, signing maintenance contracts, setting up infrastructure, and planning migration and integration processes. This is often a long and costly business with many risks. Once installed, regular software updates are required and security measures need to be implemented – activities that often result in malfunctions and usage restrictions. That means having personnel available as well as test and integration systems in place. The software provider SSP Europe operates two regional data centres in Munich and Nuremberg with a wide range of infrastructure components. The centres needed to be expanded, which would have proved very costly for the company in terms of human resources and capital expenditure on hardware. As large sections of its IT department are engaged in data centre operating tasks, the provision of additional resources at short notice is possible only to a limited extent. But Secure Data Space – SSP Europe’s data exchange platform, security solution and core product – demands the highest levels of security, scalability, and availability.
Solution:
Partnership to deliver a compelling full-service solution and reduce costs
Intent on reducing costs and offering its customers an even better full-service solution, SSP migrated its infrastructure to Dimension Data in November 2013, marking the shift to a scalable, flexible, powerful cloud environment with activity-based pricing.
In addition to excellent customer support and affordable prices, our Managed Cloud Platform delivers many benefits. The global IT service provider guarantees 99.99 percent infrastructure availability as well as network performance and reduced response times and latency. What is more, the simple integration of application programming interfaces (APIs) enables users to configure the cloud environment as they wish and supports a high degree of automation. Integrated load balancing software handles requests, automatically smoothing out load peaks across a number of servers. Munich-based SSP Europe develops cloud-capable collaboration software and services for its partners and their customers, implementing security and IT solutions that can be run globally from any data centre location or by SSP Europe in accordance with ISO 27001. Its customers include Toshiba, Fujitsu Deutschland, McDonald’s, the German Red Cross and ThyssenKrupp. SSP Europe enables telecommunications providers and other vendors and re-sellers to offer value-added cloud services. Unique features include rapid integration into existing structures, scalability up to several hundred thousand units, and self-service at user level.
Migration – configured to custom needs in 84 hours
In this specific case, SSP was granted access to our Managed Cloud Platform as a runtime environment and was able to install and custom-configure infrastructure components such as server, storage, and network services in the virtual data centre in a fast, streamlined manner. The following SSP Europe solutions were then migrated to the new cloud environment within two days:
• Secure Data Space – a highly secure, flexible and mobile data exchange platform that is specially
protected by Triple-Crypt encryption technology
• e-mail archiving and e-mail hosting solutions
• web filtering and spam protection solutions
• backup solutions
The key challenge was to migrate the legacy landscape to the new cloud environment as quickly as possible while adapting both the architecture and the operating model. Following go-live in November 2013, plans are already in progress to migrate further services. Besides flexibility, availability and scalability are of crucial importance to SSP Europe.
Result:
Dynamic cloud infrastructure on a global platform
The cloud infrastructure that we implemented is highly dynamic and is free of rigid licensing agreements and maintenance contracts, can be adapted perfectly to customer projects and load fluctuations. If necessary, the infrastructure can even be expanded in just a few minutes. Globally available and flexibly scalable backup and disaster recovery facilities as well as compliance with numerous certification standards guarantee maximum security. We fulfil everything required of a secure data centre.
With the SaaS solution, a consumption-based pricing model, SSP Europe has succeeded in driving down the costs of its infrastructure and operating model by around 30 percent. No upfront investment or capital outlay was necessary. The services consumed are fully transparent (‘pay as you go’), are synchronised with the revenues from customer projects, and can be differentiated accordingly.
For SSP Europe, the new architecture means not only improved capacity utilisation and lower step costs, but also extended storage options. “Thanks in particular to the great reduction in operating tasks, Dimension Data’s cloud services allow us to focus on our core business – the development of highly scalable cloud services. And all without having to acquire and build up know-how in setting up and operating highly secure data centres,” explains Dr Dieter Steiner, CEO of SSP Europe, to illustrate the key value added of our cloud solution. ‘And, finally, Dimension Data’s global presence also plays an important role, allowing us to position ourselves in unison and achieve greater awareness for our solutions.’
