Cisco Cisco UCS Director 4.0 Information Guide
Challenge
Entel is one of Chile’s leading IT and telecommunications service providers.
The company has a network of six data centers in Chile and Peru and a total of
4700 employees. Entel is a pioneer in using advanced technologies to help meet
customers’ business needs.
The company has a network of six data centers in Chile and Peru and a total of
4700 employees. Entel is a pioneer in using advanced technologies to help meet
customers’ business needs.
For example, Entel began offering cloud services in 2010, starting with infrastructure
as a service (IaaS). The company knew that its data center platform would help
determine its success. “Fast provisioning and issue resolution would help us provide
a great customer experience,” says Pablo Lambert, director of IT innovation and
development for Entel. “And efficient management tools would help us grow without
constantly adding more IT staff.”
as a service (IaaS). The company knew that its data center platform would help
determine its success. “Fast provisioning and issue resolution would help us provide
a great customer experience,” says Pablo Lambert, director of IT innovation and
development for Entel. “And efficient management tools would help us grow without
constantly adding more IT staff.”
The company needed two types of technology: a cloud infrastructure platform
and management tools. For its infrastructure platform, Entel chose FlexPod, which
combines Cisco Unified Computing System
and management tools. For its infrastructure platform, Entel chose FlexPod, which
combines Cisco Unified Computing System
™
(UCS
®
) servers, NetApp unified storage
systems, Cisco Nexus
®
switches, and VMware. All components are preintegrated.
“FlexPod lowers data center space, power, and cooling requirements, and it’s
easy to scale as our cloud business grows,” Lambert says. “It’s also designed for
multitenant environments, so it has the security we need to offer cloud services to
enterprise customers.”
easy to scale as our cloud business grows,” Lambert says. “It’s also designed for
multitenant environments, so it has the security we need to offer cloud services to
enterprise customers.”
FlexPod met Entel’s needs for scalable cloud infrastructure. But Entel also wanted
a simpler way to manage FlexPod. At first, the IT staff had to use separate
management tools for servers, storage, networking, and hypervisors. “When a
customer requested a virtual machine, first a network specialist provisioned switch
ports,” Lambert says. “In a day or two, someone else configured the operating
system. Other administrators would install the software and middleware. Finally
someone else would test the server.” Generally it took a couple of weeks before
customers could start using their new virtual machines.
a simpler way to manage FlexPod. At first, the IT staff had to use separate
management tools for servers, storage, networking, and hypervisors. “When a
customer requested a virtual machine, first a network specialist provisioned switch
ports,” Lambert says. “In a day or two, someone else configured the operating
system. Other administrators would install the software and middleware. Finally
someone else would test the server.” Generally it took a couple of weeks before
customers could start using their new virtual machines.
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Customer Case Study
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Customer name:
Entel
Industry:
Service provider
Location:
Santiago, Chile
Number of employees:
4700
Challenge
• Grow by quickly capturing market
share for cloud services
• Build foundation to offer new
cloud services
• Increase profitability by minimizing
operating and capital costs
Solution
• Built scalable cloud platform using
FlexPod preintegrated infrastructure
• Managed all infrastructure
components from one interface
• Provided customer self-service
portal using Cisco UCS Director
Results
• Reduced time to provision
virtual machines from 2 weeks
to 20 minutes
• Supported 50 percent more
customers without increasing IT staff
• Gave IT staff more time to focus on
activities that add business value