Challenges: Cloud migration affects performance
Until recently, Tradebridge relied on a traditional client-server set up, which, although fast, was unreliable. For example, the electricity supply in South Africa is not guaranteed, which can disrupt availability and if the air conditioning that is necessary for computing centers fails, it can take weeks to get fixed. This was having a pronounced impact on productivity.
“We used to have a file server, Exchange server and project server all of which were dependent on the stable supply of electricity. As a result, we experienced occasional downtime,” explains Elize Neethling, Head of Group Information Security and Technology, Tradebridge. “Given the nature of our business is connecting healthcare professionals, that was unacceptable.”
Moreover, the company provides its own solutions to doctors and hospitals via the cloud, so it felt it should be setting a good example in embracing cloud platforms. This led it to migrate its 400 users in four offices to Microsoft® SharePoint and Microsoft Office 365 on Azure cloud. However, despite a smooth transition, there were implications from a performance perspective.
“With on-premises equipment, the user experience was quick, however, following the migration to the cloud, a lag in performance appeared, and users were confronted with a spinning blue wheel,” adds Neethling. “Unsurprisingly and understandably, they were quick to complain: how is slower better?”
The company evaluated the market and found that asking ISPs to solve the problem would be prohibitively expensive. Instead, it worked with local partner, Datacentrix, to find a solution. Datacentrix is an ICT solutions provider and was already providing Tradebridge with various hardware. Together, they undertook a number of PoCs and completed technical evaluations. Tradebridge found that Riverbed® SteelHead™ SaaS ticked all the right boxes.
“Having the service under my control rather than an ISP makes it less expensive,” continues Neethling. “Moreover, once we started the PoC and I saw the results on paper, it was clearly the right choice.”
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