CASE STUDY. Nirvanix, Inc. Finds a Secure and Reliable Data Center and a Strategic Partner for Cloud Services at CyrusOne

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1 CASE STUDY Nirvanix, Inc. Finds a Secure and Reliable Data Center and a Strategic Partner for Cloud Services at CyrusOne

2 The Company Nirvanix, Inc. is the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud storage services. Headquartered in San Diego, Nirvanix offers backup and archiving solutions through its public Cloud Storage Network, and provides consulting and buildouts of storage infrastructure at client sites for fully-managed private or hybrid cloud setups. We currently service about 1200 companies worldwide, says Steve Thompson, Director of Partner Marketing at Nirvanix. Our clients include everyone from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. The range of storage they require is very diverse. Some small companies need only a few gigabytes, while larger organizations like international banks may require 40 petabytes or more. Our main verticals are financial services, healthcare and life sciences, media and entertainment, and IT service providers. These clients have perpetually-growing amounts of content that need to be archived. They find it s easier and less expensive to use our cloud-based storage than to continuously build, manage, and upgrade their own storage environments. The Challenge Nirvanix has built its public Cloud Storage Network by contracting with data center providers to establish infrastructure nodes in 10 carrier-class data centers throughout the world. When Nirvanix decided to establish a new node in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, it looked for a data center that could provide the high availability and continuous uptime that Nirvanix promises to its own cloud storage clients. We needed a top tier, SSEA16 certified facility, says Thompson. We contract with our clients to store their data on our public cloud network. In return, we give our clients up to a % availability SLA for their data. So our network nodes have to reside in data centers that will not go down. If the data center isn t available, we get penalized financially for not meeting our SLAs. Many of Nirvanix s clients need their critical data to be replicated and stored at multiple data center locations. There are several reasons for this: The first, of course, is disaster recovery. Having copies stored in multiple locations ensures that the data will still be available if the business 2

3 itself experiences a disaster, or if one data center location on the cloud goes down. Also, many clients need their content stored in multiple locations for cross-geo collaboration, and to meet regulatory compliance standards. The data center s reliability and integrity are both crucial, says Thompson. Our global financial and healthcare clients are storing highly-confidential information on our cloud. So the facilities where we establish a node must have very strict security features, because that information cannot be compromised. Also, the facility where we house our node must have redundant levels of connectivity, so that our clients will always have access to their data. The Solution After considering several providers, Nirvanix decided to establish a new node in CyrusOne s Lewisville, TX, data center. Nirvanix chose CyrusOne based on its redundant power architecture, abundance of space, fiber connectivity, and tight security. An additional factor was CyrusOne s convenient pay-as-you-scale contract the same model Nirvanix follows with its customers. The Lewisville facility gave Nirvanix easy access to customers within the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At the same time, the carrier-neutral facility had the fiber connectivity to allow Nirvanix s Lewisville node to connect to its cloud customers, and to the other nine data center nodes that make up Nirvanix s Cloud Storage Network. CyrusOne s facility meets all our standards for a reliable and secure data center, says Thompson. They could provide the floor space and infrastructure we needed to support best-of-breed 3

4 load balanced servers, and the network connectivity we needed. They have redundant power and network setups, and a very high level of security. These standards enable us to provide the SLA that our customers expect out of our cloud storage service. We would not be in business if CyrusOne could not help us meet those SLAs. CyrusOne had a better cost value than their competitors. They help to keep us within our costs to deliver unlimited storage capacity and higher availability. Benefits A Disaster-proof Data Center As a top tier, SSAE16 certified facility, CyrusOne s Lewisville facility is built to withstand electrical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. The facility is built inside a reinforced physical structure that includes concrete bollards, steel-lined walls, and bulletproof glass. Also, the facility is equipped with a Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA) fire prevention system. CyrusOne provides us with a disaster-proof data center, says Thompson. That was the #1 requirement for us. We needed a facility that could keep crucial data safe and available, just as we promise our clients in our SLAs. In terms of power, we love the efficiency of CyrusOne s distributed redundant architecture model. They have disparate power feeds coming in from two different grids, so if one grid or a connection goes down, the facility will still have power from the other grid. But if both sources go down at once, the facility has on-site diesel generators that can keep them going for several days on their own. It gives us great peace of mind, because we re protected by redundancy on top of redundancy. Multi-level Security CyrusOne s Lewisville facility, like all CyrusOne facilities, provides multiple levels of security, including exterior and interior video surveillance, on-site 24/7 security staff, and biometric and key card security for rigid access control. CyrusOne is very proactive about protecting Nirvanix s infrastructure, says Thompson. They built a caged environment for our servers that only we can access. When we visit the facility, 4

5 their stringent security is very apparent. We can see the RFID card key access, the retina scan equipment, the mantrap at the entrance, and so on. We can see the armed guards who provide visitor escorts. We also know that power to the security systems is redundant at this facility. If the power grid goes out, the diesel generators will continue to operate the RFID card scans and other equipment, so the building security won t be compromised. Room, Power, and Network Connectivity to Grow Nirvanix s Tiger team of infrastructure engineers is collaborating with CyrusOne s staff to ensure that Nirvanix will be able to expand its footprint in the future, and will continue to have the capacity available for its cloud storage customers. As our customers grow, their need for cloud storage capacity multiplies, says Thompson. A customer may start out with only a terabyte of storage on our cloud, and within 12 to 18 months, they need 7 to 8 times that capacity. As their capacity needs grow, so does our need to expand our footprint. As we scale up, CyrusOne s facility can provide us with additional space, power, and network connectivity we need to support our infrastructure. In addition, Nirvanix has taken advantage of CyrusOne s flexible pay-as-you-scale contract model. Under this model, CyrusOne is able to guarantee contiguous space for the Nirvanix footprint expansion, with predictability of future costs. But Nirvanix does not have to pay for that space until they choose to expand. Proactive Customer Service Nirvanix appreciates the quality of CyrusOne s customer service, both in helping to set up cloud storage infrastructure and in preparing for scheduled or unexpected events. From the implementation perspective, says Thompson, CyrusOne s customer service personnel are incredibly professional and very helpful. When our Tiger team set up the new node in the facility, CyrusOne s on-site team worked closely with them to get it done quickly. They made us feel like this was the most important thing they had on their plate. 5

6 CyrusOne is very proactive in letting us know ahead of time when they have planned outages or change control. They re very good at ensuring these events don t impact our business operations. From a disaster recovery perspective, they have some incredible procedures. When the tornadoes hit Dallas earlier this year, CyrusOne sent us a heads up to remind us, Our facility is built to withstand these events. And if we see any impact, we will work with you to ensure a quick recovery. We were then able to notify our own customers of the situation and to reassure them that we had their data backed up in alternate facilities, just in case. Redundant, Carrier Neutral Connectivity Nirvanix has taken full advantage of CyrusOne s carrier neutral network connectivity. The Lewisville facility is connected to the fastest local DWDM network, which allows Nirvanix s customers to easily access data that is stored in the facility. The connectivity infrastructure at CyrusOne s facility resides in a fiber ring that includes multiple telecom providers, and they have an incredible pipe size, says Thompson. With these connections, it s easy for our clients to access their data on the public cloud from anywhere in the world, using our CloudNAS gateway software or the industry-leading backup and archiving products from our partners. Also, CyrusOne s facility has multiple, redundant fiber runs in separate tunnels coming into the building. So if someone outside the building accidentally digs through a fiber tunnel and knocks out one of their networks, the other fiber runs will keep the data center connected to the Internet. This is important for Nirvanix, because it helps us to meet our availability SLA, so that our clients will always be connected to their data. A Strategic Partner CyrusOne and Nirvanix have formed a partnership to offer cloud storage services to colocation customers at the data center. From the start, we saw CyrusOne not just as a vendor, but as a strategic partner for us, says Thompson. We knew their existing customer base could benefit from using the Nirvanix cloud storage services. CyrusOne could re-sell our solution to their colocation customers, and build their kva footprint as well. It s a great value for both our companies, and for the customer because they get their cloud storage from trusted providers like CyrusOne and Nirvanix. 6

7 About CyrusOne With over two dozen data centers across the globe, CyrusOne helps many of the world s largest global businesses including 9 of the global Fortune 20 companies and over 140 of the Fortune 1000 and companies of all sizes take advantage of the latest data center technology and realize top operational efficiencies through: Flexible, Scalable Solutions Receive flexible data center solutions that readily scale to match the needs of your growing business. Proven, Innovative Technology Benefit from the latest data center innovations CyrusOne expert technicians can put to work for your IT environment. Exceptional Service Enjoy personalized, consultative service through all stages of the relationship - design, build, installation, management, and reporting. CyrusOne National IX Offers low-cost metro connectivity and city-to-city transport in an ever growing number of cities across the US. About the Author Scott Brueggeman oversees the management of CyrusOne s global marketing, product development, inside sales, and corporate communications including branding, demand creation, and public relations. His 20 years of marketing and sales experience includes Fortune 50 firms, as well as smaller high-growth companies. Prior to CyrusOne, he spent several years with running marketing at a data center hosting and managed services company, as well as Chief Marketing Officer at an international financial services firm. Prior to that he was VP Marketing for CareerBuilder, and also held leadership positions at AT&T and PepsiCo. Brueggeman serves on several advisory boards. 7