The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) is a manufacturing research and innovation organization. It works with companies to develop and adopt advanced technologies, improve productivity and sustainability, and support skills development across the U.K.’s manufacturing sector.
Rather than us throwing data up into the cloud and saying it's secure, our partners wanted a way to make sure their data was somewhere they could really trust.
The Challenge
To support its Industry 4.0 initiative to promote intelligent factory design, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) required a scalable and secure way to manage the increasing volume of research data generated across its facilities. The team needed an approach that could accommodate different data types, support both high-access and long-term storage, and fit within existing University of Strathclyde processes.
The Solution
After reviewing a range of options, a tiered on-premises storage system was identified as the most practical solution, offering the control, integration, and consistency needed for the NMIS research environment. To deliver this, NMIS implemented a centralized storage architecture that incorporates Spectra Logic components as part of the wider system. The configuration brings together disk and tape tiers for a secure, cloud-like infrastructure, along with automated workflows that support data movement, verification, and managed access.
The Result
Migrating legacy data into this new storage environment helped streamline administration, reduce manual steps, and create a more consistent experience for teams who need to access or store research data across the network. Now, when users request data, the system authenticates permissions and provides access, simplifying workflows and freeing valuable IT time.
Environment Snapshot
- Spectra Stack tape library
- 2x LTO-8 SAS tape drives
- 2x Spectra BlackPearl Object Gateway
- Spectra StorCycle enterprise software
- HPE Apollo server
