Unparalleled data management is crucial to our mission of driving healthcare forward. Our goal was to deploy a data management and storage strategy that would enable us to connect data across multiple sites. Spectra’s Digital Archive solution provides the insight into our data that we need to make better storage management decisions, helping us scale our storage capacity on a lower-cost tier, freeing space on our primary storage by moving unused data to an archive infrastructure.
The Challenge
To manage their expanding data storage requirements and replace an aging archiving environment, IQVIA went looking for a new data management and storage solution that could help them better connect data between multiple locations and make data available as needed. Ideally, IQVIA preferred a new solution that would integrate with their existing storage environment, allowing them to make the most out of their existing infrastructure investment and slowly transition the storage workflow to a new system with minimal disruptions.
The Solution
IQVIA implemented Spectra Digital Archive, a hardware and software solution for cost-effective digital preservation. Their Spectra Digital Archive includes the following components: two instances of Spectra StorCycle enterprise software for digital preservation, two Spectra BlackPearl Nearline Gateway systems and two Spectra Stack Tape Libraries with LTO-8 tape drives and media.
Spectra StorCycle scans data residing on primary storage and identifies it based on criteria such as age and size. Once identified for archiving, StorCycle moves data to the BlackPearl Nearline Gateway, which in turn writes data to their Spectra Stack Tape Libraries in an open-standard format.
BlackPearl Nearline Gateway automatically replicates data between their two primary data centers in New Jersey and Dublin, Ireland, which is essential to IQVIA’s ability to avoid unexpected disruptions to data workflows in the event of a natural disaster or data center outage, improving data availability and resiliency.
IQVIA’s Spectra Digital Archive solution offers the expandability they need to scale their data storage by migrating inactive data to the archive infrastructure, freeing up space on primary storage.
Environment Snapshot
- Spectra StorCycle® Enterprise Software for Digital Preservation, three instances
- Two Spectra® BlackPearl® Nearline Gateway systems
- Two Spectra® Stack Tape Libraries
- LTO-8 tape drives and media
