In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are under constant pressure to deliver flexible, scalable, and cost-effective cloud services. Dustin Group, a leading IT provider in Northern Europe with a €1.2 billion turnover and over 1800 employees, faced a significant challenge: a sprawling and complex infrastructure built on multiple, expensive Tier 1 storage platforms.
This legacy system was hindering their ability to respond to market dynamics and efficiently serve their customer base, which is primarily focused on small and medium-sized companies. To maintain their competitive edge, Dustin embarked on an ambitious project to consolidate their hardware and software into a single, standardized, next-generation cloud platform. The goal was to streamline operations, enhance service quality, eliminate storage silos, and break free from the limitations of traditional hardware.
The solution was a radical shift to a Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) architecture, with StorPool Storage at its core.
The Challenge: Overcoming a Complex and Costly IT Infrastructure
Over the years, Dustin’s growth led to the acquisition of numerous IT and storage platforms. This created a fragmented and inefficient environment that was difficult and expensive to manage. The company’s key challenges were:
- Platform Consolidation: A pressing need to unify diverse hardware and software into a standardized, efficient cloud platform for all business units.
- Operational Inefficiency: High operating expenses and significant IT management overhead were impacting the bottom line.
- Lack of Flexibility: Old technology imposed limitations, slowing down the company’s ability to adapt to new customer demands and market changes.
Dustin needed a solution that would not only solve these problems but also position them for future growth.
The Solution: Building a Future-Proof Cloud with OpenNebula, KVM, and StorPool
Dustin made the bold decision to move away from traditional virtualization stacks like VMware and Hyper-V. Instead, they embraced a next-generation IT stack powered by Linux, the KVM hypervisor, and OpenNebula’s Cloud Management Platform.
For the critical storage layer, after extensive research and testing, they selected StorPool’s software-defined storage (SDS) platform for both primary and secondary block storage needs.
By implementing StorPool, Dustin replaced its specialized and expensive SAN arrays with a highly efficient software solution running on commodity NVMe-equipped servers. This created a powerful, scalable, and API-driven cloud platform that was easily deployed across their 10+ data centers in Europe.
“We are very pleased with the engagement with StorPool and their ability to meet our special needs. In addition to the unique data storage solution, they provide us with first-class support with which we are very happy!” – Dan Mårtensson, Product Manager of Infrastructure and Cloud-services at Dustin Group
Why Did Dustin Choose StorPool Storage?
Dustin’s decision was based on several key factors that set StorPool apart:
- Proven Product Quality: The solution was feature-rich and capable of meeting Dustin’s complex multi-platform requirements, providing storage for KVM, VMware, Hyper-V, Kubernetes, and bare metal from a single system.
- Expert Support and Managed Services: StorPool offers a Fully Managed Service, which means their expert team handles all storage management, monitoring, and tuning. This offloaded Dustin’s internal team, allowing them to refocus on core business objectives.
- Flexible, Pay-as-You-Grow Model: The pricing model was a perfect fit for a growing MSP. “It is hard to predict exactly how much capacity you will need at any moment,” noted Dan Mårtensson. “There is quite a lot of smartness built-in in StorPool in terms of utilising the capacity.”
The Results: A Powerful, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Cloud Platform
The transition to a software-defined model delivered transformative results, strengthening Dustin’s technological leadership in the European market.
Key Benefits Achieved:
- Unified Technology Stack: A single, consistent platform across all companies and locations.
- Reduced Vendor Lock-In: Freedom from proprietary hardware and inflexible contracts.
- Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Significantly reduced Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) by using standard hardware and optimized Operating Expenses (OPEX) through automation and managed services.
- Enhanced Service Quality: Faster and better services for all of Dustin’s end-users.
- Seamless Scalability and Flexibility: The ability to scale resources on demand, ensuring efficient utilization.
- Increased Competitiveness: A streamlined, agile platform allows Dustin to respond quickly to market needs and deliver superior value to its customers.
Conclusion: A Blueprint for MSP Success in Europe
Dustin Group’s project is a powerful testament to the benefits of modern, software-defined infrastructure. By strategically moving away from legacy systems and embracing innovative technologies like StorPool Storage, Dustin has built a cloud platform that is not just efficient and scalable, but also a core driver of business growth and competitiveness.
As Boyan Ivanov, CEO of StorPool Storage, stated, “The project of Dustin Group is impressive… in terms of the willingness of Dustin’s management to use the best new tools available to innovate and set their business apart from their competitors.“
For other MSPs across Europe and beyond, Dustin’s success provides a clear blueprint for navigating the complexities of digital transformation and building a truly future-proof cloud.