Cisco Cisco UCS B420 M4 Blade Server Information Guide
© 2011 VCE Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
Commitment to support due to the integrated support model from VCE. "We can
call any of the three partners and know they will identify and resolve the issue no
matter which component is responsible,” says Nagesh Kunamneni, chief
technology officer for ACS ITO.
matter which component is responsible,” says Nagesh Kunamneni, chief
technology officer for ACS ITO.
Use of open standards. The management software included in Vblock
Infrastructure Platforms is based on open standards, enabling ACS to use them as
the basis for innovative self-service offerings.
the basis for innovative self-service offerings.
ACS launched the enterprise cloud service offering in March 2010. Currently, customers
can use the ACS enterprise cloud service for their custom applications. Later, ACS will
add support for enterprise applications and begin offering software as a service (SaaS).
ACS developers have already designed an offering for Microsoft Exchange as a service.
Results
Customer Responsiveness
The ease of provisioning resources on the Vblock 0 platform helps ACS respond rapidly to
customer requests, creating a competitive advantage. ACS quickly built a proof of concept
for its first customer, with help from Cisco Services. “Without the Vblock system, we would
have needed 60 to 90 days to configure, cable, and test servers, networking, and
storage,” says Kunamneni. “With the Vblock system, we set up a production system in just
three weeks.”
Once a customer is on board, ACS needs less than one hour to provision additional
resources, and customers can begin using those resources within minutes of selecting
server and storage capacity from a self-
The ease of provisioning resources on the Vblock 0 platform helps ACS respond rapidly to
customer requests, creating a competitive advantage. ACS quickly built a proof of concept
for its first customer, with help from Cisco Services. “Without the Vblock system, we would
have needed 60 to 90 days to configure, cable, and test servers, networking, and
storage,” says Kunamneni. “With the Vblock system, we set up a production system in just
three weeks.”
Once a customer is on board, ACS needs less than one hour to provision additional
resources, and customers can begin using those resources within minutes of selecting
server and storage capacity from a self-
service web portal. “ACS is the first service
provider to enable customers to turn up capacity for individual user groups within
minutes
minutes
,” Stephens says. “The Vblock system gives us that flexibility because we don’t
have to spend time configuring system components.”
The Vblock 0 system also accelerates introduction of new services, such as the ACS
virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) service. When ACS was acquired by Xerox, the ACS
IT team needed only one afternoon to set up 200 virtual desktops with the ACS image for
Xerox managers.
More Time for Innovation
By eliminating the need to integrate and test multiple vendors’ components, the Vblock 0
system frees up time for ongoing IT innovation. “Preintegrated Vblock Infrastructure
Platforms allow our talented IT staff to focus on value-added activities like building
customer self-
The Vblock 0 system also accelerates introduction of new services, such as the ACS
virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) service. When ACS was acquired by Xerox, the ACS
IT team needed only one afternoon to set up 200 virtual desktops with the ACS image for
Xerox managers.
More Time for Innovation
By eliminating the need to integrate and test multiple vendors’ components, the Vblock 0
system frees up time for ongoing IT innovation. “Preintegrated Vblock Infrastructure
Platforms allow our talented IT staff to focus on value-added activities like building
customer self-
service portals instead of rote tasks like debugging,” says Joe Berding, vice
president of technical architecture and design for ACS. “The simplicity and speed of
deploying the Vblock Infrastructure Platforms are refreshing. It lets us stay in the business
of serving customers, instead of tending to our technology p
deploying the Vblock Infrastructure Platforms are refreshing. It lets us stay in the business
of serving customers, instead of tending to our technology p
latforms.”
Simplified IT Operations
Finally, the Vblock 0 system has allowed ACS to streamline its IT organization, minimizing
operational expense. “Our server, networking, and storage engineers now work in cross-
functional teams, increasing the efficienc
y of service delivery,” says Kunamneni.
“Preintegrated Vblock
Infrastructure Platforms allow
Infrastructure Platforms allow
our talented IT staff to focus on
value-added activities like
building customer self-service
portals instead of rote tasks like
debugging,”
debugging,”
Joe Berding
Vice President of Technical
Architecture and Design
Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.