Cisco Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud 2.0 Information Guide
Flückiger and his team began the search for a vendor to help Swisscom build a fully
integrated, enterprise-wide cloud offering on a hypervisor-agnostic architecture,
with the aim of combining various virtualization platforms to meet the company’s
unique needs. “We needed a vendor with deep experience in deploying and
optimizing cloud solutions,” he says. “By attempting to create our own cloud
infrastructure with no external assistance, we were simply stealing focus from our
own areas of specialization. We saw this challenge as a genuine opportunity to
invest in the long-term future of the Swisscom cloud.”
integrated, enterprise-wide cloud offering on a hypervisor-agnostic architecture,
with the aim of combining various virtualization platforms to meet the company’s
unique needs. “We needed a vendor with deep experience in deploying and
optimizing cloud solutions,” he says. “By attempting to create our own cloud
infrastructure with no external assistance, we were simply stealing focus from our
own areas of specialization. We saw this challenge as a genuine opportunity to
invest in the long-term future of the Swisscom cloud.”
Solution
Competing with two other top cloud vendors, Cisco engaged in an intensive proof-
of-concept to demonstrate its capabilities on a wide range of use cases to the
Swisscom team. “The proof-of-concept sealed the deal,” says Andreas Arrigoni,
head of cloud infrastructure services small and medium business at Swisscom. “We
assumed that some use cases would be too challenging for an external vendor, but
Cisco proved otherwise. Only Cisco offered a truly dynamic, customizable solution
to meet our complex needs.”
of-concept to demonstrate its capabilities on a wide range of use cases to the
Swisscom team. “The proof-of-concept sealed the deal,” says Andreas Arrigoni,
head of cloud infrastructure services small and medium business at Swisscom. “We
assumed that some use cases would be too challenging for an external vendor, but
Cisco proved otherwise. Only Cisco offered a truly dynamic, customizable solution
to meet our complex needs.”
Cisco Services was instrumental in making the deployment a success, designing
an optimal integration of Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud (IAC) software with
the Swisscom legacy environment. The Cisco IAC solution offers secure, automated
workload deployment in the cloud, with a self-service portal that allows end users
to order workloads on demand. Cisco Data Center Optimization Services helped
Swisscom understand its technology and operations management architectures.
Other solution components include VMware vCloud Director for provisioning virtual
data centers, VMware vCenter Orchestrator for developing complex automation
tasks within heterogeneous environments, and storage from NetApp and EMC.
an optimal integration of Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud (IAC) software with
the Swisscom legacy environment. The Cisco IAC solution offers secure, automated
workload deployment in the cloud, with a self-service portal that allows end users
to order workloads on demand. Cisco Data Center Optimization Services helped
Swisscom understand its technology and operations management architectures.
Other solution components include VMware vCloud Director for provisioning virtual
data centers, VMware vCenter Orchestrator for developing complex automation
tasks within heterogeneous environments, and storage from NetApp and EMC.
Swisscom now offers a standardized catalog of 26 different cloud-based services,
including virtual servers, storage, network, and security, all managed through Cisco
IAC. Business customers can place orders online and provision a virtual data center
in minutes. “The key to the whole solution is the level of customization provided
by Cisco Services,” says Simon Ruch, project manager at Swisscom. “Our cloud
services are now fully integrated into our billing systems, our incident management
system, and even our extranet resources. We’ve automated some of our most time-
consuming processes, and we’ve gained greater visibility across the enterprise from
a single portal. It’s a huge improvement.”
including virtual servers, storage, network, and security, all managed through Cisco
IAC. Business customers can place orders online and provision a virtual data center
in minutes. “The key to the whole solution is the level of customization provided
by Cisco Services,” says Simon Ruch, project manager at Swisscom. “Our cloud
services are now fully integrated into our billing systems, our incident management
system, and even our extranet resources. We’ve automated some of our most time-
consuming processes, and we’ve gained greater visibility across the enterprise from
a single portal. It’s a huge improvement.”
Results
For Swisscom, Cisco is not simply a software provider, but also a trusted cloud
solutions consultant. “Throughout this implementation, Cisco Services listened to
us,” says Flückiger. “They were open to input, because they were committed to
finding the right solution for Swisscom. It was a dynamic process. We learned a lot
from each other, which is exactly as it should be.”
solutions consultant. “Throughout this implementation, Cisco Services listened to
us,” says Flückiger. “They were open to input, because they were committed to
finding the right solution for Swisscom. It was a dynamic process. We learned a lot
from each other, which is exactly as it should be.”
The Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud (IAC) self-service portal offers a level of
flexibility that Swisscom simply didn’t have before. “With the portal, we now have a
separation of the business logic from the GUI,” says Gfeller. “Cisco Services helped
us develop the logic, making sure to keep it entirely separate from the graphical
presentation. That way, we have total freedom to create our own GUI, maintain our
unique corporate identity, and integrate our Cisco IAC portal with other portals.
Flexibility is also helpful for localization, which is always a challenge in a country with
four official national languages.”
flexibility that Swisscom simply didn’t have before. “With the portal, we now have a
separation of the business logic from the GUI,” says Gfeller. “Cisco Services helped
us develop the logic, making sure to keep it entirely separate from the graphical
presentation. That way, we have total freedom to create our own GUI, maintain our
unique corporate identity, and integrate our Cisco IAC portal with other portals.
Flexibility is also helpful for localization, which is always a challenge in a country with
four official national languages.”
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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Customer Case Study
Adrian Flückiger
Head of Cloud Infrastructure Services
Corporate Business
Swisscom AG
Corporate Business
Swisscom AG