Hellmann Australia Consolidates Infrastructure With Nutanix

Nutanix, Inc. announced that Hellmann Australia is using the its Virtual Computing Platform for its virtual server environment.

The decision to replace its traditional data centre blade servers and SAN infrastructure was taken after an analysis of the cyclical costs of upgrading the infrastructure and evaluating the benefits of web-scale IT.

With 200 staff across offices in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth and more than 40,000 square meters of warehouse facilities nationwide, Hellmann Australia forms part of the German-based, family-run Hellmann Worldwide Logistics conglomerate.

Since deployment, Nutanix has reduced the amount of rack space required by almost two 42RU racks, and increased performance from 75 IO/s per VM to more than 5,000 IO/s. It has also halved uninterruptible power supply (UPS) requirements, and reduced its cooling infrastructure. The immediate next step for Hellmann Australia is to replace its virtual desktop environment with Nutanix, currently scheduled for early next year.

“The lifecycle of traditional server and SAN infrastructure typically features a significant initial capital outlay, followed by smaller incremental investments and operating costs,” said David Attana, region IS manager, Oceania, Middle East and Africa, Hellmann. “The cycle repeats with a major investment every few years, as the equipment ages or the data centre fails to keep pace with the company’s growth.“

Hellmann runs various business systems in a virtual server environment, complemented by a dedicated SAN, from its Melbourne data centre.

“In Australia we reached the point earlier this year where we were due a large investment to replace and upgrade our ageing equipment,” he said. “As the infrastructure aged, the business started to feel the effects of the gradual degradation in performance.“

The company enlisted reseller and service provider Cloud Solutions Group (CSG) to find suitable options for its data centre upgrade, including potential new technologies to replace the traditional server and SAN arrays.

“The Nutanix Virtual Computing Platform is a radical departure from the traditional costly and power-hungry SAN and server arrays,” said CSG’s MD, Josh Rubens. “Nutanix eliminates the need for separate servers and shared network storage by delivering a converged appliance. The Nutanix solution can be deployed quickly and managed easily. Need more storage, memory or CPU cycles? Simply, just add another Nutanix node.“

Wayne Neich, MD, Australia and New Zealand, Nutanix, commented: “These people are the unsung heroes who keep their organisation’s infrastructure running, often giving up their weeknights, time with friends and family to keep their systems running smoothly on inherently complex traditional SAN infrastructure. It’s great to see them feeling like they are back in control and being able to provide the agility their business unit owners need.“

While the Australian implementation is still in its infancy, the anecdotal success of the Nutanix solution has already prompted other regions – notably Asia – to investigate a similar deployment. Attana said that deployment throughout his own area of responsibility will proceed on a country-by-country basis as existing infrastructure nears its end of life.

“Once we switch to Nutanix for the virtual desktop we’ll be able to centrally administer, manage and support our entire operation using one consolidated platform,” said Attana. “This will ultimately make our business more responsive, agile and competitive.“