Platform-as-a-Service solves key challenge for UK government
UKCloud is a major force within IT for the UK public sector. It has 20% of the G-Cloud IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) market and has been involved in more than 200 transformation projects.
Its client, a high-profile government department, planned to move to a fully managed cloud environment in three years. However, its current hardware was end-of-life — and so a new platform was needed fast. Huge amounts of sensitive records also had to be migrated safely and with zero disruption.
UKCloud was happy to host a new platform but the government department didn’t wish to own any hardware. Both organisations needed a trusted IT specialist to step in with a bold and flexible solution. CAE was up for the challenge.
Zero downtime and no disruption to day-to-day operations
The CAE team used its leading skills in UDS (Unstructured Data Solutions) to create the ideal solution using Dell Isilon clusters — the premier product in the UDS space, with multi petabyte storage. The resulting solution is a robust, bespoke private cloud.
The Outcome
The Government client’s brief was met with the delivery of an on-premises platform with cloud-like consumption and billing with no risk to data and zero operational disruption. The solutions proving an important stepping-stone towards full cloud transition within three years.
The commercial model has a monthly subscription that’s completely predictable, with maintenance and support included — and no hidden costs for the client. The project has saved the department from expensive alternatives — and ultimately ensured its valuable data has been kept safe.
The new platform is extremely robust, while offering greater scalability, capacity, and efficiency, with a smaller and greener footprint.
