Savenet took rack space in BT Data Centre and is already planning to expand its footprint to support continued growth. As well as providing the capacity to scale, BT is responsible for power, cooling and monitoring, standing over guarantees of 99.95 per cent uptime. With a 24/7 help desk, a new state-of-theart ticketing system, and plenty of floor pace to grow, Savenet has found its perfect hosting partner.

BT Data Centre is certified to the highest levels of security (ISO 270001) and service standards (ISO 20000) as well ITIL accreditation. The recognised skillsets provide a comfort factor, not just for Savenet, which considers them essential, but also its customers. When it comes to the cloud, end users are as concerned about who hosts the offering as the provider.

“We do business in an open and transparent way, telling our customers about the data centres we are using,” explained Cunningham. “The BT brand has been very useful because it gives them an extra level of reassurance.” Another attraction was having access to BT’s gigabit mesh network and the multiple carriers that connect into BT Data Centre. Savenet needed four different providers to deliver its services, mostly over internet connections, and found the BT proposition much more cost-effective than its previous provider.

The BT solution is based on Ethernet Connect, an intelligent network solution designed for large organisations that require exclusive control over their IP architecture and want the freedom to evolve their infrastructure in their own way. Also included is BT Ethernet Connect E-Line for virtual connections providing protected bandwidth for mission critical applications between sites.

The network transition began with a successful four-site as a proof of concept deployment of Ethernet Connect. This was followed by a nine-month rollout to connect 60 sites in 28 countries, completed by BT without service disruption. Bandwidth ranges from 10Mbps to 10Gbps dependent on the requirements of individual sites. BT has end-to-end responsibility for connectivity, including last mile services procured through local service providers that have demonstrated their ability to meet exacting service standards.

The BT service includes sourcing, installation and onsite maintenance services for edge routers as well as proactive network monitoring and performance reporting against a comprehensive and well defined suite of Service Level Agreements. A dedicated BT service relationship manager and a contract manager address NATO operational needs on a daily basis.

The new BT Ethernet Connect global network has provided NATO with a faster, more flexible core infrastructure at around five per cent lower cost. It has also created an IT transformation platform.

Moving to BT Data Centre has saved the company at least 20 per cent in power and connectivity costs alone, according to Lorcan Cunningham, and he’s found it refreshing to get things done without incurring the extras charges that niggled him about the previous provider.

“From the outset it was like chalk and cheese compared to our old data centre; to it’s been a really positive experience working with BT,” he said. “Moving from one data centre to another can be a very difficult process, but BT was very accommodating and did a great job.”

As a business predicated on cutting-edge technology, Savenet is always open to innovative ideas and is circumspect about whom it partners. Working with BT has delivered benefits by association as well as through technology. “It is a major selling point,” he said. “We are doing more and more business in the UK where having BT as a brand name and partner really helps. They need no introduction.”

Since making the move over three years ago, Savenet has not suffered a single outage. When assistance is needed the ticketing system always elicits a quick response. “BT has been an absolute joy to work with,” said Cunningham.

The strategic benefit of working with a multinational provider like BT brings added value. With 48 data centres globally, BT offers Savenet the option of expanding its footprint, taking cloud services closer to international clients. “That is definitely a driving force behind partnering with them. We already have some UK customers using our file share and backup platform, so it’s a nice option to have,” he said.

Many Savenet customers also appreciate that BT is a European headquartered vendor at a time when US cloud companies are unable to give assurances about the security of their data. “The US Patriot Act doesn’t come in to play when you’re with the likes of BT. That is definitely a plus with some of our customers,” said Cunningham.

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