Modernizing for Future Success

The Challenge

Even for the most advanced and capable of organizations, keeping pace with the speed at which technology evolves can prove a difficult endeavor. A commercial manufacturing company recognized that their carefully constructed IT environment had reached the point where it needed a refresh, without which they would be unable to remain compliant with industry standards or achieve their desired aim of business acceleration. Adding a layer of difficulty were two outside factors beyond their control: the price for VMware by Broadcom’s VCF licensing had significantly increased over the past few months, and RAM shortages and other looming supply chain constraints were causing substantial pricing fluctuations and lead-time delays.

In short, the client needed to modernize their environment while navigating an increasingly turbulent industry landscape. Because a technology refresh of this scale is rarely straightforward, partnering with a trusted Global Solutions Integrator like Sterling™ was key to the project’s success.

The Solution

For nearly a decade, Sterling has been working alongside the customer in their efforts to strategically integrate technology into their various workflows and operational processes. As such, we’ve garnered a profound degree of trust with their internal IT department, who immediately reached out to our team and explained the situation.

After a thorough consultation and assessment period, Sterling’s experts outlined a phased, multi-step/multi-discipline approach for the refresh, one that accounted for the entire framework of their environment and the specifics around effectively modernizing each disparate segment within it.

The project unfolded in five unique stages. The first consisted of a complete compute and storage refresh, including the deployment of new Dell vSAN Ready Nodes.

The second phase homed in on the organization’s networking environment. Over time, bottlenecks had formed within the ecosystem, with some of the attendant software no longer supported. To help eliminate these logjams, Sterling provided a complete wireless upgrade, creating a detailed risk profile as well as implementing several crucial firewall automations.

The third piece featured an overhaul of the client’s software licensing, specifically VCF. Some of the previously available offerings had been reduced, so, to remedy that, our team helped them add to their existing contract by significantly expanding their coverage.

The fourth stage of the project covered a multitude of VCF/vSAN services, including design and planning; configuration and network preparation; installation and the optimization of new infrastructure; the deployment of the VCF software stack; post-deployment validation, training, and handoff; and complete project management.

The fifth and final phase of the modernization efforts centered around disaster recovery (DR). Sterling started with an in-depth evaluation of the organization’s current DR strategy, with an eye toward enhancing their overall readiness posture, and then helped them migrate to a three-year, full-adoption solution from Stage2Data.

A Results-Driven Outcome

Across these five distinct stages, Sterling endeavored to provide immense value to the customer. The new vLAN-backed networking architecture and optimizations, for example, now allow the organization’s employees to execute and make decisions much more quickly, with the requisite data needed for their individual job functions readily available (yet still secure).

Additionally, Sterling not only helped the client with the acquisition of new licensing but also with the training to utilize it and migrate their data. Likewise, we didn’t merely sell a DR solution and move on; we delivered a full DR-as-a-Service offering that eliminated the need for the company to procure additional hardware, software, and staff skills/competencies with which to manage the solution for themselves.

Refreshed for the Future, Positioned for Success

Originally, the client’s tech refresh was scheduled for 2027; with the supply chain constraints seen in the market today, they decided to move up that refresh and tackle their modernization efforts sooner. They had a plan where they wanted to go; in their minds, with the uncertainty around costs, it only made sense to enact that plan now and, while they can, to optimize their spend. Sterling agreed—and then set out to help bring that vision to life.

Because of our efforts, the commercial manufacturing company is now more efficient, secure, and modernized than ever. Because of our efforts, they were able to make the most of current industry pricing, they’ve maintained compliance, and they’re now set up for the next era of their technical journey, one in which they’re well-positioned both for the future and for sustained, long-term success.