As data volumes increased and the University began moving services towards the cloud, managing and protecting that data was becoming more complex. Working with Parallo, the University upgraded its Commvault data protection platform and introduced ongoing managed support, improving backup performance while creating a stronger foundation for its evolving technology environment.
Today, the University benefits from greater visibility and confidence across its backup environment, with backup completion success rates of more than 99% in most months.
Managing growing data complexity
With a large and diverse technology environment supporting students, academics and administrative teams, the University needed to manage growing volumes of data across a range of systems and devices.
At the same time, its technology strategy was beginning to incorporate cloud services, adding another layer of complexity to an already substantial environment. Data needed to remain readily accessible while being appropriately stored, protected and recoverable.
The University had already invested in Commvault and identified an opportunity to upgrade the platform to take advantage of improved data protection capabilities, including functionality supporting cloud services. The upgrade would also provide opportunities to improve storage management, backup and deduplication.
Upgrading without disrupting critical backups
Parallo was engaged as the University’s backup management partner, providing the specialist Commvault expertise needed to plan, implement and manage the upgrade.
The engagement began with a series of workshops to understand the University’s environment, explore the capabilities of the upgraded platform and determine how new functionality could be integrated. Detailed migration and testing plans were then developed to manage each stage of the upgrade and minimise risk.
The planning gave the University sufficient confidence for Parallo to perform the upgrade remotely over several days. Throughout the process, backup services were maintained, with any issues communicated and resolved while preserving the stability of the platform.
Improving backup performance and efficiency
Following the upgrade, Parallo continued to provide ongoing management and support for the Commvault environment, supplementing the University’s internal IT capability with specialist data protection expertise.
The managed service provides continuous monitoring and ongoing improvement of the platform, helping the University maximise its investment while reducing the day-to-day management burden on its own team.
The University now manages data ranging from file servers through to block-level data across virtual images and virtual machines, with backup completion success rates exceeding 99% in most months.
“The combination of the new Commvault technology and the Parallo managed service has increased ITS efficiencies and increased backup success rates.”
— Stuart Haselden, ITS Director, Victoria University of Wellington
Creating a foundation for cloud
The upgraded platform also gave the University the ability to begin testing backup, long-term archiving and migration to Microsoft Azure, supporting its broader strategy to move services towards the cloud.
Rather than treating data protection as a standalone infrastructure function, the University established an environment capable of evolving alongside its wider technology strategy.
With specialist management and monitoring from Parallo alongside its internal IT capability, Victoria University of Wellington gained greater confidence in the protection of its growing data estate and a stronger foundation for the next stage of its technology journey.
