Unlike most companies, Roxel UK does ‘rocket science’. They design, develop and manufacture rocket propulsion systems for a wide range of uses across the globe. It is part of Roxel Group that is based in France as well as the UK and they recently celebrated their twentieth anniversary.
The challenge
As part of the defence industry, Roxel UK is required to maintain the highest standards of security and safety. This had meant a fortress mentality about its computing and networking with a traditional on-site data centre and carefully monitored links to the outside world. However, the traditional approach was questioned by a new management team who could see the industry was moving to a more collaborative approach and wanted to understand the potential benefits of Cloud computing.
Drivers for change included:
- A desire to stay current via subscription services with associated licensing rather than having to plan and manage upgrades which typically slow the pace of innovation
- Improved disaster recovery through Cloud-based infrastructure that would still run and be accessible if the site, , had an issue, or had to be evacuated
- Being able to scale seamlessly as demand increases
- Take advantage of advanced computing technologies to develop new and more efficient propulsion systems
- Improved security alongside controlled sharing of data using world class security policies and controls
- Cost savings through licence rationalisation
- A desire to upgrade computer technology ready for work on the ‘Future Factory’ project
A close working partnership with Digital Space
Digital Space has provided IT services to Roxel UK for 16 years and is keen to remain their IT partner of choice, so they suggested a free Cloud Discovery Lite workshop. This involved:
- Gathering actual usage data for the on-site infrastructure;
- Mapping this to AWS (Amazon Web Services) alternatives;
- Applying Digital Space expertise to show how costs could be saved through a combination of rightsizing, licence optimisation, scheduling and buying Reserved Instances;
- Defining and prioritising Roxel’s Cloud drivers; and
- Considering what skills Roxel needed to develop in its own team to make the most effective use of the Cloud
- Identifying opportunities to take advantage of new compute and analytics tools and technologies
The solution
The workshop went well but Roxel’s existing infrastructure was not yet end of life so Digital Space worked with Roxel to define projects that would help Roxel to gain the benefits of AWS and improve local experience and confidence before starting a full Cloud migration.
To date, these projects have included:
- Building a secure AWS Landing Zone that Roxel can use to deploy Cloud workloads
- Defining how Roxel’s security posture translates into Cloud-based controls
- Creating a resilient Cloud twin for a mission-critical legacy VAX system so that local failure would not impede progress
- Using AppStream to provide graphics intensive design workstations that could be accessed remotely and at scale when required but would have minimal costs when not in use
