Increasing Data Center Efficiency for an American Cloud Computing Company Case Study

Not all data erasure software is created equal. Last year, a large U.S. cloud computing company found that out the hard way as it struggled to keep pace with its server decommissioning process. In the data center, time equals money, and typical data erasure software for server decommissioning processes is extremely time-consuming and prone to failure.

Challenge

The data center had a huge backlog (hundreds) of servers and drives waiting to be erased. Because the company predominately leased its servers, it needed to securely erase the data on those servers and drives before they left the data center and were returned to the lessor. The data erasure software had a high failure rate. Data center technicians could only connect a few drives at a time, and the erasure could not take place in the servers themselves—drives had to be physically removed one by one. Overall, the erasure process could take multiple days for one server. The company needed a more efficient process.

Solution

The company needed a decommissioning solution that could address the needs around its leased devices. Efficiency, reliability, and remote, convenient setup were also of the utmost importance. Because the company’s existing data erasure solution did not address the particular model of servers it was using, Blancco was brought in. We tested our solution with the company in one of its data centers in Spring 2016. The company was impressed with the solution, but it required some additional development of the Blancco Drive Eraser product to fix issues and support every type of hardware the vendor held. Blancco delivered a solution that pleased the customer and addressed its hardware at the time, as well as in the future.

The Blancco Drive Eraser solution allowed the company to erase many different servers at once, oftentimes directly in the rack. The company no longer had hundreds of servers and drives piling up; this security risk was remedied with a faster, more efficient solution.

In 2017, the cloud computing company is working with Blancco to make its decommissioning process more efficient at its data centers across the globe.

Results

Helped the cloud computing company erase hundreds of servers in a few days and get rid of backlog. Erased servers in-rack, as well as loose RMA drives, with a reliable, efficient and secure process. Internal data center operators were taught Blancco solutions and created regular erasure processes. Addressed privacy and security concerns with certificates of erasure of every erasure instance

About Blancco

As the de facto standard in data erasure, Blancco provides thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail. Our data erasure solutions have been tested, certified, approved and recommended by 18 governing bodies around the world. No other security firm can boast this level of compliance with the most rigorous requirements set by government agencies, legal authorities and independent testing laboratories.