Customer Stories: Cardiff & Vale University NHS Trust
Rightsizing Healthcare IT Infrastructure: A VMware Analytics Observer Case Study.
“We partner with Trustco for their deep understanding of the public sector, especially when navigating complex IT requirements in the NHS space.”
Russell Kent, Head of Digital Operations, Cardiff and Vale UHBAbout CAV NHS Trust
Cardiff and Vale University NHS Trust had a sprawling virtualised infrastructure with 71 hosts and 19 storage arrays deployed in Silos of 3 and 4 hosts directly connected to storage arrays.
The IT department recognised the need to reassess their VM environment to ensure it was operating optimally and to identify areas where cost savings could be realised, support times shortened, and a more streamlined, easy-to-manage environment created.
National Healthcare
Supporting 472,400 patients
Formed: 2009
10 hospital locations
(Approx) 14,500 staff
£1.4 billion budget
Client Challenges
Over-provisioning virtual resources, leading to underutilisation and higher licensing costs.
The 19 storage arrays were becoming challenging to manage efficiently, leading to increased operational complexity and higher support costs.
The facility was incurring significant licensing expenses due to the excessive number of hosts and virtual machines.
Challenge Overview
Resource Overprovisioning
Storage Complexity
Licensing Costs
Solutions Implementation
The VMware Analytics Observer was deployed to collect and analyse data from the VM environment. It tracked resource utilisation, performance metrics, and identified inefficiencies.
The analytics report highlighted opportunities for host and storage array consolidation. The IT team decommissioned redundant hosts and storage arrays, streamlining their infrastructure.
By analysing performance metrics, the IT team identified VMs that were over-provisioned. They right-sized these VMs to match their actual resource needs, reducing the demand on hosts and storage.
Solutions Overview
Data Collection and Analysis
Rightsizing VMs
Host and Storage Array Consolidation
The Results
The deployment of a VMware Analytics Observer led to significant improvements:
The number of hosts was reduced from 71 to 30, and storage arrays decreased from 19 to 8. This consolidation not only simplified management but also reduced the physical footprint.
With fewer hosts and VMs, the facility achieved substantial savings on licensing costs. This reduction in licensing costs amounted to 100’s of thousands of pounds annually. With reduced costs and efficiency savings, the client was able to invest in HPE Alletra, improving operations overall.
Managing a smaller infrastructure required less support and maintenance, resulting in additional savings. This equipment will also be recycled, meaning that the trust's sustainability needs are met.
The streamlined environment was easier to manage, reducing the IT team's workload and improving operational efficiency.
The right sizing of VMs and resource allocation optimisation resulted in better VM performance and reduced latency.
With fewer components, disaster recovery planning and execution became more efficient and cost-effective.
Results Overview
Host and Storage Array Reduction
Cost Savings
Licensing
Support and Maintenance
Management Efficiency
Improved Performance
Enhanced Disaster Recovery
In Conclusion
The deployment of VMware Analytics Observer by Trustco PLC allowed CAV to transform its virtualised infrastructure. By right-sizing VMs and consolidating hosts and storage arrays, they achieved significant cost savings while improving overall system performance and efficiency. This case study serves as a testament to the value of data-driven decision-making in healthcare IT, where every pound saved can be redirected towards patient care and improving healthcare outcomes.
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