Skistar heading for new heights with new storage platform
Archive and storage specialists Proact have helped Skistar to install a new storage platform with integrated backup and disaster protection, in combination with major improvement of the group’s IT environment, consolidating its data halls in Sälen and Åre to make a completely new hall in Åre.
In the autumn, Skistar began its journey towards a consolidated IT environment in order to help bring about greater cost and energy efficiency. The two data centres in Sälen and Åre have been merged to form a centralised data centre in Åre, and its components have been replaced. The primary objective was not to increase performance, but to create a scalable, flexible environment that can grow as Skistar grows.
“Another clear objective was to enhance the level on the supplier side and locate a partner that can act not only as a product supplier, but also as an advisor. Our cooperation with Proact has been absolutely outstanding, right the way through from tender to implementation,” says Peter Larsson, Head of IT at Skistar.
The deal with Proact was entered into in January, and the new data hall was commissioned in mid-May. The new storage platform from NetApp combines storage and backup. With deduplication of its primary storage, Skistar is able to utilise its storage considerably more efficiently as the system ensures that the same information is not saved to a number of different locations.
Skistar has opted to build a primary hall for operation and a secondary hall for backup in a completely separate location in Åre, thereby guaranteeing that the information will remain safe in the event of an accident. Snapshot technology, which takes automatic snapshots of the systems and saves them as virtual copies, has allowed Skistar to get rid of its traditional backup solution.
“This snapshot backup is a good solution in financial terms as we do not have to pay routine licence costs for backups. Moreover, our backup times have fallen drastically, from ten hours to ten minutes, which means that we can run backups more frequently and are in a better position to restore all our information if we need to,” says Peter Larsson.
Skistar’s agreement with Proact involves installation, training and round-the-clock support for five years. In addition, once a quarter, Proact will also be carrying out thorough system health checks and making suggestions as to how Skistar can improve its IT environment still further.
For further information, please contact
Lena Eskilsson, Regional Manager, Proact IT Sweden AB, Tel.: +46 (0) 8 410 667 01, e-mail: lena.eskilsson@proact.se
About Proact
Proact is a specialist in storage, archiving and securing large volumes of mission-critical information. As an independent integrator, Proact provides systems, support and consulting services within its focus area of data storage and archiving.
The Proact Group has more than 600 employees and conducts business in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Proact was founded in 1994 and its parent company, Proact IT Group AB (publ) has been listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm since 1999 under the symbol PACT.
Additional information about Proact is available at www.proact.eu
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