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Bespoke, scalable global infrastructure

Bespoke, scalable
global infrastructure

2,000+ hosting accounts

World-class hardware,
in tailored configurations

Robust data security and full compliance with local regulations

Robust data security
and full compliance
with local regulations

Executive summary

Global Data Sentinel (GDS) are a leading provider of data security solutions for a wide range of industries, including healthcare, legal and government agencies. Their solutions are designed to create security ecosystems that allow their users to maintain complete control of their data at all times, no matter where it is stored and whether it needs to travel outside their environments. This is achieved through sophisticated blends of advanced cryptography, biometrics, encryption, analytics, and backup/recovery.

GDS have utilised OVHcloud’s range of Dedicated Servers to design and deliver their solutions to a global client base, utilising a flexible, scalable infrastructure, designed to their exact specifications.

The challenge

Data security, scalability and flexibility of hardware are of paramount importance for GDS and their end-users. Their projects encompass a wide range of requirements that often evolve over time, and so they must be able to build custom environments efficiently and cost-effectively, without compromising standards of data security. This is not just a question of maintaining a high standard of service quality: GDS and a considerable number of its end-users around the world are subject to strict compliance requirements due to local laws regarding the handling, storage and transmission of sensitive data (the EU’s Global Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), for example).

While GDS had investigated a number of well-established cloud providers, it became clear that they simply could not offer the level of flexibility – in terms of hardware, location and configuration – their sophisticated projects required, while still remaining cost-effective.

“Data security needs to be a focus of every organisation.  It’s a key platform for building successful businesses – because without it, one hack or data leak can undermine your whole operation. If that isn’t motivation enough to seek out strong data security, new legislation – such as the GDPR in Europe – has highlighted the need for data security in every organisation.”

Mark Thompson, Head of Product Development, Global Data Sentinel

The solution

GDS infrastructure diagram

OVHcloud’s comprehensive range of Dedicated Servers and global network of 28 first-class datacentres (including both London and Paris) proved the ideal fit for GDS, providing them with a strong foundation on which to build their solutions.

Given that GDS projects regularly encompass multiple locations around the world, the OVHcloud vRack solution has enabled the creation of a secure private network between environments, encompassing severs located in datacentres all over the world. Services can be effortlessly synchronised for smooth, consistent performance, even for environments spanning multiple continents. Furthermore, as GDS’s users occasionally direct connections to the services hosted at OVHcloud’s datacentres, the OVHcloud Connect solution was utilised to ensure this could be achieved easily when required – an extra level of flexibility that end users appreciated.

In addition to this, the OVHcloud Load Balancer was deployed to further ensure consistent performance could be maintained across all locations, while also enabling redundancy on a global scale. To further enhance the overall standard of data security, OVHcloud’s high-capacity firewall was utilised across the whole infrastructure. This has helped GDS deliver solutions that are both highly scalable and fault-resistant, with the ability to withstand even the most aggressive DDoS attacks.

This bespoke combination of solutions was the end result of close consultation between teams at GDS and OVHcloud, in order to ensure the new production environment would not only meet GDS’ immediate technical requirements, but also provide plenty of scope to scale and evolve in the future. This includes the automation of select parts of projects, making use of OVHcloud’s API for quick access to services, and allowing additional firewalls and Load Balancers to be deployed quickly, in bespoke configurations.

“The move to cloud computing has meant that a great deal of data has been moved from premises to the cloud. Global Data Sentinel and OVHcloud solutions together can ensure that data can still be tightly managed and audited once it leave the premises – even to the very high-standards we see demanded in upcoming legislation. GDPR, for example, forces organisations to take responsibility not only for their own data security, but also for any other organisations that may access or process the data.”

Mark Thompson, Head of Product Development, Global Data Sentinel

The result

The partnership with OVHcloud has led to a number of successful projects and innovations at GDS. This includes:

  • High-availability global file systems that allow for real-time access, with biometric access control maintaining robust security at all times
  • The ability to securely store high volumes of data in the same country as the user, helping them to achieve compliance with data security regulations, such as the GDPR
  • Faster, more effective deployment of software updates when needed, with the OVHcloud VLAN and Load Balancer tools allowing for managed updates to be rolled out on a global scale, with minimal service disruption
  • The use of OVHcloud’s Hosted Private Cloud has allowed GDS to create and tear down highly advanced testing environments for new products and solutions – something that would otherwise be prohibitively costly and time-consuming. This has provided GDS with an extra level of flexibility when it comes to testing and demonstrating new solutions in ‘real world’ environments

Plans are already in place to explore how OVHcloud’s solutions can further enhance GDS’ global capabilities and ability to meet the demands of current and future data protection regulations.

“GDS Solutions are designed to scale massively.  While traditional cloud providers offer scalability, OVHcloud gives a greater control over how we scale – as well as being able to identify and select specific datacentres around the world to best meet our customers’ requirements.”

Mark Thompson, Head of Product Development, Global Data Sentinel