CASE STUDY
Hutchison/MRC Research Centre
Hutchison/MRC Research Centre at the University of Cambridge reduces storage infrastructure costs by up to 60%
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Spectra BlackPearl and Spectra Stack Tape Library

Overview
The Hutchison/MRC Research Centre at the University of Cambridge is a cancer research facility. Built in 2001, it is now the leading site for basic and translational cancer research in Cambridge. Located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre houses active clinicians as well as basic scientists, enabling the rapid translation of discoveries made at the research bench into clinically viable applications at the patient’s bedside.
Addressing the needs of customers with reliable data storage lies at the heart of the Spectra and Arcitecta relationship. The joint solution enables customers to better manage their data and metadata by optimizing multiple storage targets, retrieving data efficiently and tracking content and resources.
— Matt Starr, Chief Technology Officer, Spectra Logic
The Challenge
The Hutchison/MRC Research Centre had developed a complex set of needs. This would include: run applications whose databases are accessing files multiple times per second, potentially opening and closing those files every time; be able to securely share research data with collaborators; and limit access to particular pieces of data in particular locations within the folder hierarchies. Data storage was reaching its limits, and the equipment was reaching its end of life, requiring additional storage to be purchased on an ad-hoc basis to meet the growing demand. As the volume of data continued to expand, and the storage environment continued to expand, users would need the ability to easily and precisely search and access content on tape to continue to extract its value into the future.
The Solution
Environment Snapshot
- Two Spectra® Stack Tape Libraries with LTO-8 Half-Height tape drives
- BlackPearl Hybrid Storage Platform
- Arcitecta Mediaflux platform
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