ISG Technology “All In” for Supporting Overland Park Arts & Recreation

Overland Park, KS – June 13, 2019 – ISG Technology, a fourth-generation family owned company headquartered in Overland Park, KS is announcing its support and sponsorship of Stems: A Garden Soirée.

Stems is a garden party at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens that benefits The Arts & Recreation Foundation of Overland Park. Proceeds ensure the continued support and development of Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead, the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens and city art installations.

“Supporting the arts and recreation in Overland Park is a way to ensure that future generations get to enjoy this great community,” stated ISG CEO, Ben Foster. “We live, work and play in Overland Park, and want to make sure it continues to thrive.”

The foundation is currently in the middle of it’s Growing to Inspire capital campaign that aims to gain $12.4 million to enhance and expand the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. Stems is a way for the people of Overland Park to enjoy one of the city’s best attractions while also helping fund its future.

“We spend most of our days at work helping our clients achieve generational success in business,” Foster added. “It’s nice having events and opportunities like this to help our community achieve that same success.”

Stems: A Garden Soirée is on Saturday, June 22nd at 7:00. Tickets and more information can be found at the Stems website.

About ISG Technology:

ISG technology helps organizations unlock possibilities so they can realize their full business potential. They do it by providing a unique combination of managed IT services, technology consulting, professional services and cloud/data center solutions.

Part of the Twin Valley Family of Companies and a fourth-generation family business, ISG Technology has grown and evolved into the recognized leader in the area by aligning its success with the long-term success of its clients. They were recently recognized on CRN’s Tech Elite 150 for excellence in managed IT services.

The company is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, with seven additional locations across the Midwest, as well as a regional network of data centers. ISG services clients throughout the region, nationally and internationally.

ISG Technology Recognized for Excellence in Managed IT Services

Overland Park, KS  February 19, 2019  ISG Technology announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named ISG Technology to its 2019 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Elite 150 category. This annual list recognizes North American solution providers with innovative approaches to managed services. These services help customers improve operational efficiencies, maximize return on IT investments, and continuously help them navigate the complexities of IT solutions.

Managed service providers are integral to the success of businesses everywhere. They empower companies to implement and operate complex technologies while staying within their budgets and keeping focus on their core business. CRN’s MSP 500 list identifies the most groundbreaking managed service organizations, with advanced solutions that have endless potential for growth.

This annual list is divided into three categories:

  • MSP Pioneer 250 – recognizing companies with business models weighted toward managed services and largely focused on the SMB market
  • MSP Elite 150 – recognizing large, data center-focused MSPs with a strong mix of on-premises and off-premises services
  • Managed Security 100 – recognizing MSPs focused primarily on off-premises, cloud-based security services.

“Capable MSPs enable companies to take their cloud computing to the next level, streamline spending, effectively allocate limited resources and navigate the vast field of available technologies,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “The companies on CRN’s 2019 MSP 500 list stand out for their innovative services, excellence in adapting to customers’ changing needs and demonstrated ability to help businesses get the most out of their IT investments.”

ISG’s managed service offering is centered around a core set of services such as 24×7 network monitoring, proactive alerting, patching and updating, infrastructure maintenance and a help desk to keep users productive. Customers also have the ability to add advanced services such as cloud backup and replication, hosted voice, managed security, Office 365+ and more.

“Our goal is to help unlock new possibilities for our customers,” commented ISG Technology CEO, Ben Foster. “And the managed services offering is a critical piece to doing this. We take technology maintenance off their plate so they can focus on initiatives that help drive business growth. When you combine this with one of the best professional services and technology advisory teams in the Midwest, we are able to help our clients in so many ways.”

The MSP500 list will be featured in the February 2019 issue of CRN and online at www.CRN.com/msp500. Learn more about ISG Managed Services at www.isgtech.com/managed-services/

 

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

ISG Looks to Strengthen Partnership and Commitment to Salina Area in Office Relocation

SALINA, KS, JUNE 1, 2018 – ISG Technology, one of the Midwest’s leading technology consulting and solutions providers, is moving – but they’re not going away. ISG has been a staple of Salina’s downtown landscape since they opened their doors on 7th Street in 1981.

The company will be joining K-Coe Isom in their facility located on the south side of town at 3030 Cortland Circle.

“While the physical storefront won’t be seen in the downtown area, we remain committed to serving the Salina community,” said Vice President of Strategy & Operations Eric Tabor. “All of our current team members will make the move to the new location.”

The move marks a strengthening of ISG’s partnership with K-Coe Isom, one the nation’s leading accounting services firms that has built a reputation as the leader in agricultural accounting.

“ISG has been doing business with K-Coe for decades,” said Tabor. “Our companies share a similar passion for building lasting relationships with clients and helping them grow their business. Through our common midwestern roots and values, we help the clients and communities we serve, thrive.”

Tabor added that the space they will be sharing with K-Coe is better suited for the modern B to B workforce and that ISG will continue to be a big part of the Salina community. To learn more about ISG Technology, visit isgtech.com.

Meet Ryan Jackson: CTO and SVP of Technology Operations

ISG Technology, part of the Twin Valley Family of Companies (TVFC), announces the addition of Ryan Jackson as its Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Technology Operations. Jackson brings more than 20 years of experience in IT management, most recently with Computer Sciences Corporation.

As CTO, Jackson will serve as head of the company’s client-centric product/service development and related technology operations. He will provide key leadership in ISG’s ongoing commitment to helping clients drive business innovation through best-in-class technology solutions.

“Companies that want to thrive in today’s economy must close the gap between what their current technology allows them to do, and what is possible,” said ISG and Twin Valley CEO Ben Foster. “Ryan is a dynamic leader with a track record of innovation. We’re fortunate to have him on board as we help our clients focus on what matters most – growing their business.”

Foster added that TVFC has a rich tradition and culture of innovation that dates all the way back to 1947.

“Ryan’s vision for how technology can empower business is going to be a big part of our future.”

About Ryan Jackson
Ryan Jackson brings more than 20 years of experience in IT management to ISG Technology.  He most recently served as Computer Sciences Corporation’s Global Director for Account Service Delivery, Big Data Analytics and Business Intelligence. He has worked across several industries including A&D, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Insurance, Telecom, Consumer Products/Retail, Pharmaceutical and Transportation.

Davis Selected As Nimble Regional Rep of the Quarter

Nimble Storage recently selected their Q1 2017 Representative of the quarter for the region, Mike Davis – Account Executive at the ISG Wichita location.

Created four years ago as a fresh, fun way to energize key partners, the Nimble “rep of the quarter” program includes a much sought-after traveling trophy and bragging rights for partners across Missouri & Kansas. In selecting the rep of the quarter, the local Nimble team takes into account the representative’s largest deals, number of deals, and other metrics above and beyond the ‘call of duty’ – certifications, meetings, pipeline build, support and more.

Mike’s contributions include having closed the nation’s first Nimble All Flash AF7000 array to Hutchinson Clinic – Nimble’s newest innovative technology solution to support massive databases for the client’s electronic health records, patient check-in and billing systems. The Adaptive Flash AF7000 supports more than 200 virtual machines running file, exchange and web servers.

“Mike did an outstanding job closing the first All Flash Array in our company history,” said Leif Peterson, Account Executive at Nimble Storage. “It garnered a lot of recognition within Nimble, and continues to prove out the Nimble/ISG partnership.”

Mike’s name is now etched on the traveling trophy (pictured below) along with other ISG greats who’ve also earned recognition in the program.

 

Get to Know Mike

What Brought You to ISG?
I was ready to move on from my current company and had interest in IT, so I started searching for the top IT companies in Wichita and checking to see if they had positions open. I found ISG Technology, and the rest is history!

How long have you been in this profession?
I’ve been in sales over 10 years, but only in IT for as long as I have been at ISG. Before that, I worked in telecommunications.

Tell us the story about selling the first Nimble All-Flash Array.
Hutchinson Clinic likes to stay on the forefront of technology. When discussions came up about replacing their primary array to get more performance, the timing was perfect. We had just started hearing about all flash coming to Nimble, and they [Hutchinson Clinic] were already a satisfied Nimble client who had come to appreciate the great support and ease of management that comes with their products. In the end, the All Flash AF7000 had the performance increase they needed, making it easy to replicate to other Nimble arrays. It was the perfect fit, and they couldn’t be happier with the purchase, which is the part I get the most satisfaction from.

Who’s your hero?
I’d have to say my father. He worked very hard to take care of our family growing up and always made sure we had everything we needed. He always made sure to take time out to spend with us, too. I try to be like him when raising my kids now.

What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?|
Never let chores pile up! Always easier to maintain work, whether at home or in the office, than get behind and have to catch up!

Most embarrassing moment at work?
Many years ago I was driving back from an appointment with a co-worker. We were in a hurry to get back, and I was low on gas but we thought we could make it. We ended up running out of gas about 5 miles from the office! His wife had to bring us some gas to make it back. Definitely embarrassing, but we laughed for years later about it.

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A remote island with myself and the family. Beautiful views and weather, and of course a fast Internet connection!

Your friends signed you up to sing Karaoke. What’s your selected jam?
I would have to jam to some Relient K – one of my favorites is Who I am Hates Who I’ve Been.

Congratulations, Mike!

ISG Partners With WSU's ATAI on Data Center and ITaaS

ISG Technology and Wichita State University’s Applied Technology Acceleration Institute (ATAI), announce a new partnership to provide daily end-user support, from desktop application and operating system support, to network administration and dispatch services.

ISG Technology is a full spectrum data center and information technology (IT) infrastructure company that also provides bandwidth, and an array of IT support services designed to help reduce costs, improve efficiency, and safeguard business critical data. A key component of that service is a support center based in Wichita.  Through the partnership with ATAI, ISG Technology will expose students to high engineering technical resources and learning experiences.

“We’re excited to team with WSU to give students in the ATAI valuable real-world experience in our support center,” said Ben Foster, president and CEO of ISG Technology.  “Technology is cresting an innovation wave right now, with increased storage capacity, faster data speeds and virtualization driving advances in cloud computing. It’s exciting for WSU students to experience the many facets involved in IT service delivery first-hand.”

“The timing couldn’t be better,” said ATAI executive director, Kenneth E. Russell, “ISG brings an incredible opportunity for our students, and we look forward to utilizing their expertise.”

Russell believes ISG Technology will be especially helpful as the institute strengthens its key capabilities, including social knowledge and dynamic data analysis.

In addition to providing student learning opportunities, ISG will support ATAI’s internal IT needs and provide ongoing support for projects including on-premises data center support and physical security system design and implementation.

The Applied Technology Acceleration Institute promotes a practical approach to solving complex technology problems and is focused on building strong industry partnerships and providing experiential learning opportunities for students. The institute includes four centers focused on social knowledge; applied research and technology consumption; dynamic data analysis; and commercialization and inventor collaboration. ATAI is a key component of Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus strategy.

Mounts Named In Business Journal's Outstanding Women

The Wichita Business Journal recently recognized outstanding local businesswomen who will be honored at their annual Women in Business program. Fifteen women were announced; among them, ISG Technology’s own Amy Mounts.

The Women in Business initiative recognizes professional businesswomen who are entrepreneurs, upper-level executives or partners in their organizations, have had their business in operation or been in a similar line of work for at least 3 years and are living and working in the Wichita area.

Amy has been a member of the ISG Technology leadership team since 1998, joining the company as Director of Sales and Marketing. She later transitioned to General Manager and relocated to Wichita, KS and led one of ISG’s largest operations. In her current role, Amy has responsibility over the professional services team. Prior to ISG Amy held marketing leadership roles in the financial services industry. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Kansas and continues to be an avid KU basketball fan. She resides in Wichita, KS with her husband and children.

The honorees will be featured in a special WBJ publication and will be recognized at a luncheon in July at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. The 2016 group is the sixth class of honorees to be recognized.

Get to Know Amy

How did you first learn about ISG Technology?
I’ve been with ISG Technology for 18 years. I started with a previous owner, with whom I had a mutual acquaintance. He reached out and I came on board as the Director of Marketing.

How has ISG helped you in your career development?
I’m fortunate to say that my career has been developed here at ISG. I’ve had the opportunity to experience several different departments and roles, which has truly shaped and guided me in having a well-rounded view of ISG.

What advice would you have for women in business?
It’s about not being afraid to speak out, get involved and lead. We are in a male dominated industry, but that should not stop you from pursuing a leadership role.

What do you like most about ISG?
The people. I have loved the opportunity to spend time traveling to every office to collaborate with each of our employees; most recently the chance to get to know the technical team a little better.

Best vacation you’ve been on?
Probably Riviera Maya, it is just beautiful!

Do you have a favorite newspaper or blog?
I read the Business Journal and the Wichita Eagle. They both have insightful information as it relates to business.

Do you recall any embarrassing moments at work?
I’m sure there are plenty – but you’ll have to ask my co-workers for those details!

What are your hopes for ISG Technology?
In recent meetings with several different groups, it is clear we have a new shared energy towards our vision to become a leading hybrid technology partner. I see the energy that has been built and it’s amazing to be part of.

ISG Offers Veeam Cloud Connect Replication

ISG Technology Expanding Partnership With Veeam
ISG Technology’s Cloud Services business unit, which provides cloud and hosted solutions for small-to-midsized companies throughout the Midwest and beyond, is pleased to announce yet another expansion of its Cloud & Service Provider Gold partnership with Veeam®, innovative provider of solutions that deliver Availability for the Always-On Enterprise™. In addition to its status as a provider of cloud backup repositories using Veeam Cloud Connect, ISG Technology now also supports Cloud Connect Replication. What this means for Veeam clients is that VMs can be replicated to the ISG Cloud via standard Internet connection, providing an offsite cloud environment to assist in executing Disaster Recovery Plans.

ISG Technology continues to provide enterprise-class solutions that help clients meet long-term business objectives through technology. According to Matt Brickey, Vice President of ISG’s Cloud & Hosting Solutions, “Our relationship with Veeam provides a winning scenario – both for ISG and for our clients. Developing Veeam-powered solutions enables us to provide large-scale, multi-tenant Backup-as-a-Service and DR-as-a-Service products while ensuring the best combination of simplicity and value for our clients.”

If you are interested in hearing more about cloud backup and replication opportunities – whether you own your own Veeam licensing or you would like to explore a fully hosted solution – contact your Account Executive or a Cloud Specialist at cloud@isgtech.com.

ISG Grows Family Business Across Fourth Generation

View the full article in the KC Star

Keeping a family-owned business growing across generations

BY DIANE STAFFORD

stafford@kcstar.com

Someday there could be a nonfamily member running ISG Technology. But for now a fourth-generation owner is in charge, and that CEO has advice for any family business that intends to prosper across generations.

Ben Foster is the CEO of a company founded by his great-grandfather. It has grown from a small-town telephone company into a cloud hosting and technology reseller that employs 200 in Kansas City.

“You need the recognition that it’s almost impossible for transition to happen naturally,” Foster advises. “It takes education to keep moving. It took a formula to grow our equity and earnings, to ensure we adapt and ensure that one generation doesn’t take too much money out and not leave money for future generations.”

Someday, too, the family might entertain the possibility of broadening ownership or selling the business. But Foster said the seven family owners in the company now are taking a long-term view as owners, not focused “on the latest bright, shiny object.”

Foster said it’s been key for the family to recognize that it didn’t have all the expertise needed to carry the company into new technology and new business climates. It worked with a family business consultant from Legasus Consulting. It added outside, nonfamily board members to shore up their weaknesses in entrepreneurism, technology and human resources. It created financial incentive plans for key nonfamily employees, designed to encourage them to “think like owners.”

Most important, Foster said, the family had to look inward and have tough conversations about individual roles in the business. It was vital, he said, that it understand the distinction between family members who have a share in the ownership and family members who have ownership and also work in the company.

“When the owners, board members and managers are all in the family, it can be hard,” he acknowledged. “It’s difficult to separate the business from the family, even when the family is number one. There can be occasional differences between those who work in the business and those who don’t, so we meet quarterly to talk about the business, to bring up issues that haven’t been addressed. You can’t let those things go unaddressed.”

Foster encourages family-owned companies to draw on outside professionals to help bridge any work/life barriers.

“It’s easy to talk about it academically, but in real life it’s hard,” he said. “It’s like not talking about politics and religion. A lot of families have trouble embracing frank discussions about their roles.”

The bottom line for Foster is that family-owned businesses — if they survive beyond the crucial third generation (and most don’t) — “can outperform public corporations because we’re not motivated by quarterly change. … We’re motivated by patient capital over the long term.”

Improved Service Delivery with NetApp, Cisco, and VMW

Client Profile

Meritrust Credit Union was founded 75 years ago to offer Stearman Aircraft Company employees and their family members an option to participate in a financial cooperative. Today the organization provides personal and business banking services to thousands of members across Kansas. Headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, Meritrust has 14 branches and a staff of 220 employees, plus more than 4,000 shared branches nationwide.

 

The Challenge

Building more flexibility into its IT infrastructure

As a credit union, Meritrust offers its members benefits that include competitive interest rates on deposits, lower interest rates on loans, and a broad array of member services. To deliver superior banking services that meet consumer and business consumer needs and foster member loyalty, the organization depends on an advanced  IT infrastructure. Having experienced significant growth in recent years, Meritrust demands a highly flexible IT environment that offers superior performance to deliver its applications to internal and external clients, adapt to changing market demands, and expand its services to remain competitive.

 

“Meeting the changing needs of our client is paramount to maintaining the level of member service that Meritrust is known for and [to] succeeding in a volatile industry,” says Cliff Shoff, director of Information Technology at Meritrust Credit Union. “We’ve listened to what our members want and are investing resources in areas such as extending our online banking and mobile banking services and Web-based offerings overall.”

 

In addition to providing the infrastructure to support expanded services, the IT department is focused on driving new efficiencies through an aggressive virtualization strategy. To continue on its growth path and keep delivering exceptional services to its members, Meritrust decided it was time to update an aging IT infrastructure. The previous infrastructure featured 30 standalone servers and a complex server-attached storage environment that was cumbersome to manage and costly to expand when needed to accommodate growth. Additional challenges included inconsistent performance in the storage systems supporting its business-critical Oracle Database 10g environment.

 

“Overall, FlexPod allows us to focus our efforts on the user experience rather than worrying about the back end, now that we have validated, integrated technologies.”

Cliff Shoff Director of Information Technology, Meritrust Credit Union

Meritrust engaged ISG Technology, an IT solutions provider and participant in the NetApp Partner Program for Resellers, to assist with identifying a best-in-class solution that would meet all of the company’s IT and business objectives. To accommodate growth, support its virtualization initiative, and enhance storage performance, Meritrust selected FlexPod from NetApp and Cisco with VMware technology. “The FlexPod data center solution made perfect sense for Meritrust,” says Randall Aronis, account manager at ISG Technology. “The components work together seamlessly by design, which simplifies management and offers a highly scalable growth path for Meritrust.”

 

The Solution

Supporting 14 branches from a single, integrated solution Meritrust worked with ISG Technology to deploy a NetApp® FAS3240HA storage system in its primary data center. NetApp storage is a component of the company’s FlexPod data center solution, a predesigned configuration comprised of a Cisco® Unified Computing System™ (UCS™) B200 M2 Blade Server, Cisco UCS Manager 1.4(1j), Cisco Nexus® 5000 switches, and NetApp FAS storage. The integrated FlexPod solution, with the addition of VMware vSphere and vCenter™ technologies, supports the credit union’s 14 Kansas banking locations and its account, investment, insurance, and other services.
Meritrust delivers its Oracle Database 10g environment—which is core to business operations—on the FlexPod solution. The IT team leverages NetApp multiprotocol support, particularly NFS connectivity, to maintain tight integration with the Oracle environment. The NetApp Data ONTAP® 8.0 system operating in 7-Mode is at the core of the flexible unified architecture that addresses Meritrust’s multiprotocol needs in a common platform. Meritrust IT uses data management software including OnCommand™ System Manager, Operations Manager, Protection Manager, and Provisioning Manager to control, automate, and analyze the storage infrastructure.
The company optimizes performance of its storage using the NetApp Virtual Storage Tier with intelligent caching from NetApp Flash Cache, which prioritizes critical workloads for fast response. “Performance in our Oracle environment was a key driver in selecting the FlexPod solution,” says Shoff. “Whether supporting Meritrust employees or our businesses and consumer clients around Kansas, FlexPod and the NetApp Virtual Storage Tier deliver the superior 24/7 system performance we need.”
The FlexPod data center solution supports the company’s Microsoft Windows® 2003 and 2008 servers, Linux® servers, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, and Microsoft Windows MultiPoint server, which provides the interface between its debit card processor and Oracle Database 10g. FlexPod also supports the organization’s Citrix XenApp on-demand application delivery system. The FlexPod solution delivers the company’s virtualized infrastructure, running simultaneous mission-critical virtualized workloads including Microsoft SharePoint® and Microsoft SQL Server®.

Business Benefits Reaching 80% Virtualization
The FlexPod data center solution is helping Meritrust reach its ultimate goal of a 100% virtualized data center. To date, the IT team has virtualized approximately 80% of the company’s application environments, with 70 virtual servers deployed so far. The team has already eliminated 27 physical servers, with more to come. Virtualization and consolidation are reducing the data center footprint while decreasing related costs. “Prior to deploying the FlexPod solution, we eliminated 4 of 10 storage racks by the time we reached 50% virtualization,” says Shoff. “With virtualization from FlexPod, we’ve eliminated another 5 racks, which reduces storage costs by 40% and our power and cooling costs by 25%.”

 

ISG Technology notes the importance of technology innovation to Meritrust. “Meritrust was an early adopter of the FlexPod data center solution,” says Aronis. “As a preconfigured, integrated virtualization solution, FlexPod enabled Meritrust to see immediate returns in storage efficiency and performance, as well as management simplicity. And with the inherent flexibility in the solution, Meritrust can better provide the robust services that every consumer and prospect is looking to the credit union to deliver. The FlexPod data center solution from NetApp and Cisco with VMware technology allows Meritrust to deliver the right data to the right person at the right time in the right way. That’s the ultimate in flexibility.”
Improved performance, enhanced user experience

The NetApp Virtual Storage Tier with Flash Cache on the company’s FAS3240HA storage systems offers significant performance improvements over the previous storage infrastructure, particularly in the Oracle Database environment. The IT team runs Oracle Database batch processes nightly, which used to take 16 hours to complete. After deploying the FlexPod data center solution, the processing window decreased to 12 hours. Once the team installed Flash Cache, Oracle Database batch processing time dropped to 9 hours, eliminating the impact on weekday operations.
Other performance improvements include application delivery in the Citrix XenApp environment. “We deliver applications as a service to users across our company using Citrix XenApp,” says Shoff. “With the performance gains offered by NetApp, Citrix XenApp login activities that used to take up to 45 seconds now take less than 20 seconds. When you take into account 220 credit union employees accessing applications all day long, those saved seconds translate pretty quickly into improved productivity, not to mention an enhanced user experience.”
A simplified, transformed data center

Within the IT department, moving from infrastructure silos to the preconfigured, unified infrastructure provided by the FlexPod solution has improved the IT management experience for staff members. In the former server-attached storage environment, the IT team managed the complex storage environment from as many as five consoles. Today the team centrally manages computing, networking, storage, and infrastructure software. In addition, the open design management framework integrates with Meritrust’s existing third-party infrastructure management solutions for investment protection and management ease.
The team depends on NetApp OnCommand management software to provision, monitor, manage, and optimize the storage environment. The staff leverages NetApp Data ONTAP 8.0 to configure storage to deliver maximum efficiency and performance while saving on administration time. Featuring 64-bit aggregates, Meritrust IT can store entire databases on a single aggregate while simplifying database management. “NetApp Data ONTAP 8.0 7-Mode makes it much easier for us to resize and move volumes within aggregates, which previously required extensive IT time and resulted in wasted storage space,” says Shoff.
The team achieves additional storage efficiencies using NetApp deduplication, which has reduced storage requirements by 40%. Whether performing deduplication or other storage management activities, the team is benefiting from a noticeably more streamlined approach to storage management with NetApp storage and the FlexPod data center solution. Data center efficiencies result in more budget and staff resources for innovative projects that help Meritrust compete in a complex industry.

 

“The FlexPod solution is much easier to manage, and infrastructure changes take far less time.”

Cliff Shoff Director of Information Technology, Meritrust Credit Union

 

“Scaling up is also a breeze compared with our former storage environment, where we had to power down the system and work through a lengthy deployment process. With FlexPod, we simply add a shelf, plug in a few cables, create an aggregate, load it with volumes, and we’re good to go.” Easy provisioning enables the IT team to more readily respond to the needs of the business units it serves.

 

Adds Shoff, “We can deploy servers in minutes versus hours and quickly allocate storage space whenever needed to accommodate growing pools of data and deliver new applications and services. Overall, FlexPod allows us to focus our efforts on the user experience rather than worrying about the back end, now that we have validated, integrated technologies from NetApp, VMware, and Cisco providing the foundation for our credit union operations.”

 

“The FlexPod data center solution from  NetApp and Cisco with VMware technology
allows Meritrust to deliver the right data to the right person at the right time in the right
way. That’s the ultimate in flexibility.” – Randall Aronis, Account Manager, ISG Technology, Inc.