CASE STUDY
How T-Systems Solved Its
Data Center Challenges to Offer
Dynamic Services to the U.S.
CASE STUDY | How T-Systems Solved Its Data Center
Challenges to Offer Dynamic Services
to the U.S.
The Company
T-Systems, part of Deutsche Telekom Group (DT), delivers Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) solutions for major corporations and
public-sector organizations worldwide. With a focus on serving multinational
corporations that require transformative ICT solutions, T-Systems knows
data centers. The company has nearly 100 managed data centers, 56,800
open system servers, and more than three million managed SAP users.
The Challenge
Establish Fully Virtualized Architecture and Industry-Leading
SLAs for the U.S. Market
T-Systems offers Dynamic Services – IT as a service (ITaaS) offerings ranging
from storage as a service (SaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as
well as popular enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship
management (CRM), and business intelligence (BI) applications. T-Systems
keeps its Dynamic Services cost-effective and flexible for its customers by
relying on a fully virtualized architecture.
The following diagram depicts the twin core data center set-up that
T-Systems established as part of their Dynamic Services architecture.
“Full virtualization, of course, requires redundancy to ensure data recovery
and business continuity,” says Dr. Greg Smith, Head of Portfolio Solution
Design at T-Systems. When initially designing its Dynamic Services
architecture, T-Systems had to determine the best way to provide service
level agreements (SLAs) that met or exceeded what customers were
achieving from their internal IT infrastructure.
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CASE STUDY | How T-Systems Solved Its Data Center
Challenges to Offer Dynamic Services
to the U.S.
T-Systems architecture included data center clustering, but legacy clustering
solutions had recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective
(RTO) success rates of just 70-80 percent.
So for Dynamic Services, T-Systems chose the NetApp MetroCluster
software. Smith explains, “for synchronous mirroring in combination with
what we refer to as ‘twin-core’ data centers, in which we have two data
centers that are over 60 miles apart. Each server has independent network
interfaces for the storage network, the administration network, and the
customer network. There is no routing among these interfaces nor among
the networks.”
After vetting all available options and colocation companies, T-Systems
selected CyrusOne to provide a top tier data center facility in Houston that
would meet all of the T-Systems requirements for Dynamic Services. Built in
2009, the CyrusOne data center is now one of sixteen twin-core data centers
hosted by T-Systems.
The facility has 110,000 square feet of data center raised floor space; 8,000
KVA of total power capacity available; multiple and diverse network access
points; and 24 x 7 onsite security. The facility houses the mirrored storage
network, with access to the servers at the twin data center via storage IP
address.
The Solution
Dynamic Services Delivered Via Twin Core MetroCluster
T-Systems needed a twin-core setup in the United States to deliver Dynamic
Services to customers in the U.S. market. To do that, they needed a strategic
partner with:
• Top Tier Data Center /TIA certification
• Site availability of 99.999 or greater
• Military grade security
• High-density architecture capability
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CASE STUDY | How T-Systems Solved Its Data Center
Challenges to Offer Dynamic Services
to the U.S.
Why T-Systems Selected CyrusOne
“There are a number of reasons why T-Systems chose CyrusOne as a
partner for serving customers in the U.S.,” says Smith. Among them:
• The Houston facility was newly built, to the latest industry standards,
and its location met the distance requirement relative to data center two
•
Ability to do maintenance on any system without impacting production
•
Dense architecture support
•
Excellent customer service
•
Cost-effectiveness (which is critical at T-Systems’ high rate of growth)
•
High-density capability for cloud architectures and work loads
•
Flexibility for T-Systems’ highly dynamic customer environments
•
Fully redundant power architecture, which ensures uptime of all
hardware components and supports 100 percent availability of power to mission critical information systems and equipment
•
Multiple generators, fuel tanks, and batteries also ensure seamless
power continuity and 100 percent uptime for all components within the
facility
Military grade security, including 24 x 7 x 365 onsite security guards as
well as biometric and card key security for access control
•
•
Perhaps the biggest benefit of all: by partnering with CyrusOne, T-Systems was
able to grow into the U.S. market, providing cost-effective, flexible Dynamic
Services to customers in yet another global venue. It’s a powerful testimonial,
given T-Systems’ expertise with data centers across the world.
“T-Systems is seeking to use our data centers around the world to drive growth
in key markets. CyrusOne has proven to be a valued and truly strategic partner
in this pursuit,” says Smith.
Advanced HVAC and cooling equipment systems achieve top tier
compliance, with each independently dual-powered to support optimal
performance
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CASE STUDY | How T-Systems Solved Its Data Center
Challenges to Offer Dynamic Services
to the U.S.
About CyrusOne
CyrusOne (NASDAQ: CONE) specializes in highly reliable enterprise-class,
carrier-neutral data center properties. The company provides mission-critical
data center facilities that protect and ensure the continued operation of IT
infrastructure for hundreds of customers, including many of the Fortune 1000.
CyrusOne’s data center offerings provide the flexibility, reliability and security
that enterprise customers require, which are delivered through a tailored,
customer service-focused platform designed to foster long-term relationships.
CyrusOne’s National Internet Exchange (IX) provides robust connectivity options
that help drive revenue, reduce expenses and improve service quality for the
enterprise. CyrusOne is committed to full transparency in communication,
management and service delivery throughout its worldwide footprint of
enterprise data centers.
Learn more at CyrusOne.com.
Scott Brueggeman
Chief Marketing Officer
With more than 20 years of combined experience in data center, telecom, and
internet marketing, Scott oversees global marketing strategy for CyrusOne.
His initiatives have earned CyrusOne notable marketing honors, including the
BMA Gold Tower Award, Gold Stevie Award, and B2B Marketing Campaign
of the Year by the Business Marketing Association.
Scott Brueggeman on Google+
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Scott Brueggeman on CyrusOne Blog
CS-008-2015 | ©2015 CyrusOne, LLC
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