Bridges Electrical Engineers Ltd

Our expenditure was becoming too much for something so unreliable. A new solution was needed desperately. We knew Synology already and so it was a wise decision to go with what we trusted.” Adam Venn, IT Manager

The Company

Bridges Electrical Engineers was established in 1973 by John Bridges. Today, it is a multi-million pound turnover company specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of electrical and mechanical process controls to the water, waste water, nuclear and quarry industry. They have the resources to facilitate an efficient delivery of control panels, cable installations, design solutions, maintenance support and breakdowns. 
The company has 3 offices in the UK, made up of a headquarters in Bath, an office in Exeter, an office in Kent and a remote office located nearby for receiving offsite backups.

The Challenge

The previous and very-costly Windows-based file server was in use for almost 6 years and started to fall behind in terms of performance. For the last 4 years they had been using Windows Distributed File System (DFS) to replicate data between the 3 offices, but this became too costly in time and money. The interface was also poorly designed, difficult to manage and not user-friendly for the average staff member. 
The business replicates a very large number of small files between offices, sharing several hundred gigabytes of contract files per office and with an extremely limited internet bandwidth offsite and online backups were not feasible. The company had also been affected over the years by bad Windows updates, blue screens, incompatibility issues and more. Installing Windows updates, particularly service packs, had always been a concern. Due to expansion, they had outgrown using external hard drives as a suitable option, and needed to find another backup solution very quickly.

The Solution

It was agreed and commissioned to replace the file server. The Synology solution came about as a result of several staff members, Adam Venn included, owning Synology NAS devices at home which allowed the business to run some preliminary tests using those devices before they committed to a purchase. The IT apprentice also had a Synology NAS and so there was a clear agreement from the beginning that Synology would be the primary choice due to A) several users already been familiar with the DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system and its ease of use for others to learn, B) the ability to run an incremental backup, and C) scalability as the business grows with minimal financial impact. It was decided that the business would purchase several models starting off with a DS1812+ and DS1813+, building up to also using a RS3614XS+ and 2 x DS412+ units.

The Benefits

Setup

The RS3614xs+ is set up as the main file server, located in HQ. All staff members have access to store and retrieve files from here. The DS1813+ is also located in HQ and is used as secondary backup device. The DS1812+ is the primary file server backup and is located offsite in a building close by. Due to the bandwidth limitations, it is connected via a very long Ethernet cable. There are then two DS412+ units located in a remote office where there are 4 people based. These two units are used for data storage and back-up. All data stored on the RS3614xs+ is backed up to the DS1812+ and then that backs up to the DS1813+. 
The business has managed to increase the file server storage capacity by 7 times without even half filling the RackStation or accompanying DiskStation units. Each Synology NAS is set up using Synology Hybrid Raid, with VPN access for users and each connected to a UPS for enhanced data security and peace of mind. It has also taken up considerably less physical space in the office, allowing Bridges to have an entire refurbishment of the server room.

Scalability

Bridges have recently won several new long-term contract frameworks which will result in a significant and long-term increase in workload. This will see numerous departments double in manpower over a short period of time, therefore increasing the data storage required. It is imperative that the businesses' latest solutions support that, and therefore the recommended Synology NAS' were purchased to support business growth: the company can start from 8 drives with DS1813+ and 12 drives with RS3614xs+; both can be scaled up in the future – to 18 and 36 drives respectively.

Incremental backup

Currently incremental backup every hour is used for the 3 most critical data shares in the business. These are contracts, quotations and accounts. The future business plan is to have the entire setup running the application but currently, these are crucial and used constantly throughout the day and evening by all departments. To ensure the disks do not get filed up too quickly, Bridges use the Synology Smart Recycle function which clears out old edits no longer needed.

Cost-effectiveness

For years, Bridges Electrical relied solely on a Windows-based server which runs using Client Access Licensing (CALs). CALs need to be purchased for each individual user. With 120 users in total and a price of approximately £40 per licence per user, that is almost £5000 spent on licensing. Backup software also needed to be purchased separately which cost the business around £2000. Purchasing Synology has saved almost £10,000 on software and licensing. 

"I have used Synology for a number of years now both personally and professionally, they offer outstanding customer support as well as extremely reliable products. It makes it easier for the business knowing that that high level of support is available," Adam concluded.

Recommended Models

  • RS3614xs+
  • DS1812+
  • DS1813+
  • DS412+

Recommended Features

  • Incremental backup
  • High Scalability
  • Cost-effectiveness
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