Data Infrastructure
TBWA
Efficient Data Management and Collaboration
TBWA
- Industry: Advertising
- Size: 11,000+ Employees
- Annual Revenue: £250 Mn
Solution
- Selection of a private cloud storage solution based on object storage
- Evaluation with leading vendors
- Implementation of advanced technologies for storage
- Execution of a rigorous proof of concept and testing phase
Challenge
- Reducing 20-30% Data Duplication Across Platforms
- Unifying Diverse Storage Operations
- Centralising Data, Ensuring Branch Availability
- Enhancing Collaboration in Diverse Environments
Results
- Reduced data duplication & streamlined infrastructure
- Boosted productivity and enhanced global project delivery
- Improved resilience of company’s data assets
- Projected savings of over $4.5 million & reduced TCO by more than 60%
About TBWA
TBWA is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. The company creates and manages brand behaviour through disruptive ideas brought to life across the Media Arts landscape.
Its global presence is impressive, with a collective of 11,000 creative minds in agencies spanning over 40 countries, allowing them to serve a diverse range of clients and deliver culturally relevant and impactful campaigns.
The Challenge
As a global agency network, the client’s rapid expansion through acquisitions resulted in a patchwork of different data storage systems across the world. This fragmentation led to inefficiencies, with an estimated 20-30% of their data duplicated across platforms, escalating costs significantly. To address this, the agency initiated a transformative project to consolidate storage operations, aiming to:
- Reduce expenses by creating a universally accessible storage platform.
- Foster worldwide collaboration despite the varied network, infrastructure, and computing environments.
The adoption of cloud solutions appeared to be a promising approach, yet centralising vast data quantities while ensuring branch site accessibility, in the absence of technologies like DFSR, introduced further complications. However, aiming to streamline operations and enhance collaboration, the agency committed to this overhaul, overcoming complexities for a more efficient data management system.
TBWA initiated a transformative project to consolidate storage operations aiming to:
- Reduce expenses by creating a universally accessible storage platform.
- Foster worldwide collaboration despite the varied network, infrastructure, and computing environments.
The Nephos Solution
The client engaged Nephos on a consultative basis to craft a strategy and business case for establishing a cloud storage infrastructure across Europe. Our strategy took into account the following:
- Selection of an underlying cloud storage platform
- Methods of access
- Data backup and recovery
- Management of data flow within a globally distributed network.
After evaluating both commercial and technical needs, we recommended the formation of a private cloud storage solution based on object storage tailored for the European market. Following a thorough evaluation process with leading vendors, tailored to the company’s specific requirements, we proposed a solution leveraging cutting-edge technologies. This was followed by a rigorous proof of concept and testing phase, culminating in our strategy being adopted as the group’s official standard for storage. The result is a scalable and distributed storage system that efficiently serves sites across Europe, APAC, and the Americas at a Petabyte scale.
”Nephos are a true partner that really understand new technology and complex infrastructure
Don PointingGlobal Information Technology Director
The Results
The implemented changes have led to substantial improvements across the company such as:
- Efficient Storage: Introduction of a centralised storage pool led to reduced data duplication and streamlined infrastructure.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Implementation of a global collaboration platform has significantly boosted productivity and enhancing global project delivery.
- Data Security: Consistent data protection methods fortified the resilience of the company’s data assets.
Impressively, these advancements are projected to yield over $4.5 million in savings over the next five years, translating to a remarkable reduction in total cost of ownership by more than 60%.
