Proact Supplies Finland’s First VMware Virtual SAN

Proact IT Group AB, an independent storage integrator in Europe, will be supplying what is thought to be Finland’s first VMware Virtual SAN implementation to Pohjanmaan Verkkopalvelut Oy.

This is a redundant, scalable system based on Cisco UCS servers. The package includes VMware application solutions that will permit automatic system scaling.

Pohjanmaan Verkkopalvelut (PVP), which operates in Raahe and Ylivieska, is an enterprise under the ownership of adjacent municipalities. PVP, a former subsidiary of Pohjanmaan Puhelin Oy, provides services for the public administration as well as SMBs in the region.

“We have had virtual storage systems before, but building one on VMware’s hypervisor is a new solution for us. The solution implemented also includes Cisco UCS servers and Cisco switches. Proact provided Cisco’s solutions, while the VMware licenses were included in our current service provider contract,” says Sami Tiinanen, IT specialist, PVP.

“PVP was looking for a modern, automatic, reliable system without the complex, costly infrastructure solutions associated with traditional hosted servers. This is why Software-Defined Data Centre (SDDC) architecture provided the ideal solution,” says Kimmo Nurmivuorsales manager, Proact.

“Proact is not a small operator, so ensuring reliability. At the same time, it is not one of those gigantic corporations that can sometimes be difficult to work with,” concludes Tiinanen.

Proact operates in the Northern Ostrobothnia municipalities where PVP’s ownership is located, such as the subregions of Ylivieska, Raahe and Haapavesi-Siikalatva.