Photobox snaps up NetApp HCI for dependable performance and flexibility

NetApp says that online photo printing company Photobox Group has selected NetApp HCI to accelerate its infrastructure transformation. The solution, composed of a hybrid cloud infrastructure for storage and compute, as well as backup across three sites, enables Photobox to fulfil customer orders quickly, for less cost, compared to a traditional data centre infrastructure.

The NetApp HCI solution, deployed in partnership with leading technology services and solutions provider CDW, combines all the elements of a data centre: storage, compute, networking, and management. This combination has allowed Photobox to migrate away from expensive managed service contracts and purpose-built hardware. This is particularly critical for the retailer as it moves into its busiest time of the year for fulfilment in the run-up to the holiday season.

The solution, which includes all-flash technology, enables Photobox to process international orders almost instantly by sending them directly to its factory in Paris for printing. After testing the solution for back-office applications, Photobox was so impressed with its ease of use and performance that the company decided to deploy NetApp HCI to replace its existing HP infrastructure.

The move marks the second phase of Photobox’s software-defined infrastructure rollout, following a recent SD-WAN deployment. NetApp HCI increased Photobox’s capacity and capabilities across three international sites in the UK, France, and Germany. At the same time, the organisation expanded its NetApp E-Series with Veeam backup solution to new sites. The deployment, which was expected to take months, took just six weeks.

John Thompson, director, Photobox Technical Operations, UK and Germany, said, “Migrating our infrastructure to NetApp HCI has transformed the way we deliver our products, allowing us to process orders at lightning speed, even during our busiest times of the year. The rollout is critical to our operations, in terms of future-proofing our architecture and also in delivering the performance and capabilities that the business needs. I am incredibly proud of the team who have completed the migration in record time with zero downtime.”

Lee Hendra, Solutions Sales Director at CDW UK, said, “The energy that the Photobox team brought to the project, coupled with the expertise of our people and a cutting-edge solution from NetApp, is a winning combination. The rate at which organisations across many different industries are transforming digitally has been staggering in the current climate, and we’re delighted to see Photobox benefiting from all that the cloud has to offer.”

According to Chris Greenwood, NetApp UK&I managing director, “Photobox is a true snapshot of digital transformation in action. By deploying NetApp HCI across its international operations, the company can now scale up quickly to meet peaks at busy times of year, such as the holidays, without the burden of excessive infrastructure costs. It also future-proofs Photobox’s infrastructure for any hybrid multicloud service deployments down the line, providing independently scalable compute and storage capabilities.”