GlassHouse Technologies, Inc., the global leader in independent storage consulting services, provided the strategic consulting services that enabled the University of New Hampshire to plan a university-wide storage and backup network with greater scalability, higher utilization and defined service levels for academic and research information.
With 12,000 graduate and undergraduate students, 2,000 courses and more than 100 majors in UNH’s seven schools and colleges, CIO Tom Franke had diverse needs to consider before he could decide on a data storage strategy. He sought out an independent organization to help create a strategy, select the appropriate vendor and manage the deployment of the optimal solution. GlassHouse helped UNH assess its organizational requirements, current infrastructure and storage capabilities. GlassHouse also provided short and long term recommendations for enterprise tiered storage as a service. After GlassHouse reported its recommendations, Franke retained the company to prepare a strategic roadmap and an implementation program for building the new storage infrastructure.
“Our data storage operations grew in a familiar pattern, with faculty and staff outgrowing their local hard drives and creating a need for data storage at an enterprise level,” Franke said. “Now we’re at the point where we could commit to adding more server attached storage, or go to an enterprise model that will provide much more capacity and security in the long run. We thought that was the right way to go, but we needed a consulting partner with background in projects like this so we were sure to address all the stakeholders’ needs before we committed to a plan.”
Franke’s goal for UNH is to create an infrastructure with:
· greater scalability and higher utilization;
· the flexibility for IT staff to create service tiers with varying levels of cost and service level agreements;
· applications separated from infrastructure services;
· secure central support functions for all faculty and staff data; and
· enhanced data protection and disaster recovery capabilities.
“Every business is run on information at least to some degree, and the stakes are just as high at a university like UNH. Student records and data affecting millions of dollars in research grants comprise just a fraction of the information a university has to protect,” said Michael Tobin, GlassHouse senior vice president. “UNH is among the universities paving a route that many will have to follow in the near future. Stored data from records, research, e-mail, finances and every other facet of university operations is growing just as quickly as corporate data. Universities that apply corporate data management principles will fare better in the long run than those who wait.”
About GlassHouse Technologies, Inc.
GlassHouse is the leading provider of independent services that help organizations solve the business problems of enterprise storage. From strategy through implementation, operations and customer support, GlassHouse partners with clients to achieve predictability and manageability in storage operations, enabling cost control, risk mitigation and increased service levels. GlassHouse clients include UBS, Exxon Mobil, Allianz Life, Virgin Mobile, and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. More information about GlassHouse is available at www.glasshouse.com.
