Keen to consolidate its global data centres, CEVA Logistics first had to do some homework. That included relocating a disaster recovery data centre facility from third-party premises to a safer BT-owned site, both in the Netherlands.

Garry May, vice president of data centre management, hoped for a happy and healthy transition. So he engaged a professional services team from BT. They planned and de-risked the work – then flawlessly executed it over a single weekend with zero business impact. Garry got a perfect move while the company got the platform it needs for future expansion.

Global transportation company gets seamless data centre move.

Case study - CEVA Logistics.

BT services are a lifeline for our business and the key to our future success. BT adapts seamlessly to our changing needs and never penalises us for things outside the norm. That shows the strength of our partnership.

Garry MayVice President, Data Centre Management CEVA Logistics

BT eliminates major data centre migration risk for CEVA Logistics.

Case Study - CEVA Logistics.

Safe pair of hands.A full-service transportation business with operations in 170 countries, CEVA Logistics planned to rationalise its 17 worldwide data centres.

Garry May, vice president of data centre management, says: “We wanted to reduce costs and enhance the customer experience through global standards and processes. That would take a centralised data centre platform.”

BT was ideally placed to help. It already provided CEVA Logistics with a global network connecting 600 sites across Europe and South America, complemented by inbound voice, security and internet access services. “The success of our relationship with BT is built on partnership,” adds Garry. “We can be open and honest on both sides, so there are no surprises.”

The CEVA Logistics primary data centre was also already hosted by BT in Nieuwegein, but the company’s disaster recovery facility was at third-party premises elsewhere. To strengthen business resilience and furnish a sound foundation for further data centre consolidation and the growth of additional IT services, it was decided to relocate the latter to BT premises in Rotterdam.

This was no simple task. It involved the shift of around 26TB of critical business data. It was vital the migration went as smoothly as possible.

Every eventuality planned for.A team of BT Advise Compute network and data centre specialists took responsibility for the whole project, working closely with CEVA Logistics on detailed risk analysis and mitigation plans to cover worst-case scenarios. As part of the precautions, they tested all cabling between the data centres and presented the reports for verification.

The equipment, patch lists and other documentation were checked twice by separate teams, to minimise the chance of human error. A two-week freeze on data centre hardware and software changes ensured no last-minute glitches would prejudice the project. BT also got spare parts for the EMC VMAX storage arrays in case of device failure during the move.

Finally, all 26TB of data was replicated and synchronised before the storage arrays were transported, to make sure nothing would be lost in the event of a transport-induced failure.

“Planning, project management and good communications were key,” says Garry. “BT acted in a highly professional and diligent manner.”

Platform for future technology. The data centre migration took place over a weekend with zero business impact. BT moved 10 racks of equipment, including eight racks of CEVA Logistics servers and two managed storage racks belonging to BT.

Planning, project management and good communications were key. BT acted in a highly professional and diligent manner.

Garry MayVice President, Data Centre ManagementCEVA Logistics

The success of our relationship with BT is built on partnership. We can be open and honest on both sides, so there are no surprises.

Garry MayVice President, Data Centre ManagementCEVA Logistics

Case Study - CEVA Logistics.

With the migration complete, BT is now better placed to help the business grow since the backup facility, located in an area dedicated for CEVA Logistics equipment, has plenty of room for expansion. It also makes it easier for BT to offer CEVA Logistics future technology options like cloud computing, since these would be delivered from the same data centres.

Moreover, BT is able to offer better pricing for services delivered from its own facilities, while having BT experts on site means any support needed is readily to hand.

“BT services are a lifeline for our business and the key to our future success,” Garry concludes. “BT adapts seamlessly to our changing needs and never penalises us for things outside the norm. That shows the strength of our partnership.”

Offices worldwideThe telecommunications services described in this publication are subject to availability and may be modified from time to time. Services and equipment are provided subject to British Telecommunications plc’s respective standard conditions of contract. Nothing in this publication forms any part of any contract. © British Telecommunications plc 2015. Registered office: 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ. Registered in England No: 1800000

Core services.• BT Compute Telehousing

• BT IP Connect Global

• BT Inbound Contact Global

• BT Internet Connect

• BT Advise Compute professional services

• BT Assure

October 2015

Find out more:

Contact your BT account manager directly