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As companies stretch to keep up with digital transformation, NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd in Malaysia supports them with slick, agile IT services. The company uses IBM FlashSystem® storage solutions to provide ultra-fast data storage that is also highly flexible, compact and efficient, enabling high performance and competitive fees.
To achieve competitive advantage by harnessing the importance of data, NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd needs the right infrastructure to keep clients ahead of the game.
NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd deployed IBM FlashSystem storage and IBM® Power® Systems servers to support SAP ERP and SAP HANA, optimize storage utilization, and enhance performance.
Results
storage cost savings enable competitive pricing while protecting margins
consumption of rack space from multiple rows of racks to just one 8U rack
regulatory compliance for clients with at-rest encryption
Winning the numbers game
With stiff competition and tight margins, every organization is looking for a way to get ahead in the market. This increasingly means using data to find opportunities to boost revenue, cut costs or streamline business processes. For example, predictive analytics is being used to forecast and prepare for damages in the supply chain, while machine learning can help businesses target customers better.
However, the amount of information that businesses must analyze as they seek insight is increasing exponentially. This poses a problem for those running the underlying infrastructure: how can they efficiently and cost-effectively store these mountains of information, and how can they give business users fast access?
NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd in Malaysia guides and supports companies through data-powered digital transformation, providing consultancy services, managed IT services, and technical support. It also develops software to work in its clients’ SAP ERP and SAP HANA environments—helping with both efficient operations and rapid insight.
Sebastian Chia, Head of Global Managed Services – Data Centre Services for NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd, comments: “To take full advantage of data as the new natural resource for business, organizations need the right infrastructure—and especially the right storage architecture. Our clients rely on us to provide them with cutting-edge IT capabilities that enable them to focus on their business objectives. As part of our journey of continuous improvement, we looked to improve the performance and scalability of storage.”
Raising the bar for storage
For almost a decade, NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd has relied on IBM Storage solutions to underpin its services, which run on IBM Power Systems servers. Chia adds: “We were using various types of storage across our global data center network and decided to consolidate on solutions from one vendor. When we evaluated the different offerings, IBM emerged the clear winner: the IBM storage portfolio includes the range of functionality we need to meet our clients’ increasingly complex workload demands.”
Recently, NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd chose IBM FlashSystem technology as its new strategic storage platform. Chia explains: “As SAP HANA grew in popularity, the IBM all-flash storage became the ideal option to ensure extremely rapid access to the large amounts of data generated by our clients’ SAP applications.”
As part of its latest storage refresh, the company implemented IBM FlashSystem solutions, enabling it to take advantage of new features including powerful inline data compression, deduplication, encryption of data at rest, and IBM HyperSwap®.
“IBM FlashSystem solutions were easy to install and allow us to reconfigure the way we store and manage data,” comments Chia. “They have enabled us to ramp up utilization of storage resources significantly. The encryption-at-rest feature helps us protect client data, while HyperSwap means we can provide exceptionally high availability.”
Foundations for transformation
Using IBM FlashSystem technology, NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd decreased its storage footprint dramatically while maintaining exceptional performance.
“Moving to FlashSystem enabled us to reduce our rack space from multiple rows to just one 8U,” says Chia. “Overall, the savings in power, cooling and maintenance add up to a decrease in storage costs of 80 percent. By making our internal operations more efficient, we can safeguard our margins while offering very competitive fees to customers.”
With regulatory compliance a growing challenge for its clients, the ability to encrypt data at rest is proving a key differentiator for NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd. Chia explains: “The regulatory landscape is becoming more complex for many of our clients, and it’s essential that we can provide services that help them meet emerging guidelines—such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).”
The versatility of the IBM FlashSystem solutions enables NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd to meet a broad range of client needs, helping the company protect and extend its market share.
Chia concludes: “The performance, flexibility and efficiency of IBM FlashSystem help us stay ahead of competitors to provide high-quality services. FlashSystem gives us the strong storage foundations to support our customers, as they grow and develop in an increasingly data-driven world. Next on the agenda, we plan to deploy servers featuring the latest generation IBM Power System H924 with 12 cores, which will enable even greater performance for SAP applications that we can use to delight clients.”
NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd (link resides outside of ibm.com) is a leading international full-service provider focusing on SAP deployments, offering consulting, licensing, application management services, hosting services, and proprietary industry solutions. Parent company NTT DATA Business Solutions employs around 11,000 people globally. NTT DATA Business Solutions MSC Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian subsidiary, is based in Cyberjaya, Selangor.
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© Copyright IBM Corporation 2021. 1 New Orchard Road, Armonk, New York 10504-1722 United States. Produced in the United States of America, June 2021.
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