Head of Midrange, Power and x86
The challenge
The physical server solution for the Visma’s Personec F product family was nearing the end of its lifecycle. Visma wanted a solution with more flexibility to better meet the changing needs of customers, business and product development.
The solution
Visma switched from physical servers to a private cloud service – a private cloud-based IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model that leverages TietoEVRY’s Cloud on Power solution based on IBM’s cloud technology and solutions.
About the customer
Visma Public provides software solutions for the municipal, social, healthcare and education sectors by automating financial, payroll and personnel administration functions.
Key benefits for Visma Public
Business flexibility
Flexibility and speed to manage capacity and meet the needs of customers, business and product development.
All-in-one service
Enabled by the IaaS model, Visma gets maintenance for its platform solution as a service that is included in the monthly service fee.
Efficiency in resource management
A single portal for monitoring server resources enabling quick responses to scalable needs.
The transition from on-site servers to cloud service brought flexibility to Visma
With its Personec F product family, Visma offers payroll and personnel administration services to its public sector customers. A significant part of the Finnish public sector’s payroll and personnel administration is handled using Personec F.
Visma previously used three physical IBM Power8 generation servers dedicated to Personec F. The life cycle of the servers and the ongoing leasing agreement were coming to an end, and the question of renewing the servers was raised. Visma’s options were either entering into a new multi-year server leasing agreement or moving to a cloud-based server solution.
The transition from on-site servers to a cloud served our goals from business, customer service and technological development perspectives.
Turo Juutilainen
Manager, Full-stack Coding & Production & Cloud, Visma Public Oy
A smooth and seamless transition to private cloud
Visma chose TietoEVRY’s Cloud on Power private cloud solution, which utilizes IBM’s cloud technologies and solutions. This was a continuation of the long and effective cooperation between the two companies in infrastructure services.
Switching from on-site servers to a cloud-based service within the same IBM environment and platform was smoother and faster than technology transformation to another platform with another service provider.
The transition to a cloud service was strongly supported by capacity flexibility when compared to the traditional solution.
The project began with a planning phase in which Visma’s needs and targets were mapped while the project’s role in Visma’s broader development roadmap was defined. From this starting point, TietoEVRY prepared different solution options with cost calculations, from which two of the three servers were moved one at a time to the cloud during the fall of 2020. The transfer of the third server was originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2021, when the lease was scheduled to end. But Visma was so pleased with the previous transfers that the third server was also transferred to the cloud ahead of schedule in early 2021. All transfers occurred as planned without any rollbacks. The transfers were scheduled for the weekends to avoid any interruptions to the functionality of the Personec F system.
The co-operation was very effective on Visma’s side. Requests were answered promptly, and tickets were processed without delay. In addition, TietoEVRY’s technical expertise in IBM solutions, proactive communication and solution-focused approach through cooperation were praised.
Our cooperation with TietoEVRY was extremely smooth. Their team’s expertise, focus on the solution and communication were visible in the whole co-operation.
Turo Juutilainen
Manager, Full-stack Coding & Production & Cloud, Visma Public Oy
Private cloud service enables capacity increases in minutes, not days
The transition to a private cloud means Visma is not bound to a lease agreement for physical servers for years. Instead, the company gets a private cloud server as an flexible IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) service from TietoEVRY. In addition, Visma got rid of the previously required virtualization layer and related maintenance and updating. Furthermore, Visma does not have to worry about server maintenance and upgrades, as these are included in IaaS solution provided by TietoEVRY. Also thanks to the IaaS cloud solution, the life cycle costs are more predictable, in addition to the immediate cost benefits achieved by switching from to cloud solution.
With the shift to a private cloud service, Visma has a clearer solution that offers a single portal for monitoring server resources and distributing and directing resources to the necessary destinations according to the needs. As part of the modernization, the hardware was upgraded from Power 8 to Power 9, meaning Visma always has the latest technology at its disposal.
Cloud also bring capacity flexibility. Previously when additional capacity was needed for on-site servers, this meant ordering more on-site servers, which can take days or even weeks. Automated server installation also speeds up capacity expansion. In cloud capacity can be increased or decreased on the fly. And this takes minutes, not days. On-site servers are not as flexible as cloud solutions when it comes to serving business, customer and product development needs. The increased speed and flexibility enabled by the cloud service supports Visma’s growth opportunities and allows Visma to respond even faster to the growing needs of its customers and scale its own operations.
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