Remote backup and retrieval specialist, Attix5, has signed a three-year outsourcing agreement with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) for the provision of a real-time disk-to-disk backup and disaster recovery solution which will cater for the investment management organisation`s growing data storage needs.
The PIC, known as the Public Investment Commissioners before it was corporatised on 1 April 2005, invests funds on behalf of public sector entities. Its largest client is the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), which accounts for 91% of assets under management.
Comments PIC Head: Information Management, Walter Baloyi: "We are one of the largest investment managers in the country with assets under management of over R377 billion as at 31 March 2004. Our mandate is to invest and grow funds on behalf of pensioners and other state institutions, and it is clear that the security, availability and stability of our data are paramount. As a result, we identified the need for a solution that would not only meet our growing backup and storage requirements, but would also replace our existing tape-based backup media," he says.
A request for proposals (RFP) was issued and seven companies were then asked to put forward their solutions. Says Baloyi: "The majority came up with `traditional` solutions that rely on outdated technologies. It was only Attix5 that understood the brief and proposed a true end-to-end solution. This involved sourcing, deploying and manning the equipment as well as managing the entire solution in accordance with strict service level agreements - in essence - a true outsourcing agreement."
PIC`s data is now mirrored offsite and, in the event of an incident, disaster recovery is achieved in real-time and online. "Also impressive was time of implementation, just 90 days before we went live in December last year," Baloyi concludes.
Comments Attix5 marketing director, Gary Novitzkas: "Attix5 has an established presence in the financial services sector and we believe this deal with the PIC demonstrates our ability to provide flexible and cost-effective end-to-end solutions to both the public and private sectors.
"We are confident that the improved remote management and lower infrastructural impact of the Attix5 solution will result in significant productivity gains and cost savings at the PIC," he says.
Share
Editorial contacts