The BaaS service from Databarracks is supporting over 10,000 users, at over 250 locations throughout the UK, helping Govia Thameslink Railway to streamline its data protection processes.
The railway franchise’s IT department, which looked after around 1 million passenger journeys a day prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, previously had an amalgamation of two previous incumbents, each with its own data infrastructure, meaning a need for consolidation.
Through its partnership with Databarracks, Thameslink overhauled its IT system by bringing several inherited legacy data backup solutions together, while decreasing strain on staff.
As a technology function, GTR’s IT team needs to support the strategic objectives of the business around modernisation and reliability.
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“Databarracks have proven themselves as a much-valued partner over a number of years and I view them as an extension of our IT department,” said Gordon Rampling, IT operations manager at Govia Thameslink Railway.
“We get to stay up-to-date with the best technologies as part of the service. Databarracks evaluates new technologies and migrated us to new backup software when a better option became availible.
“We added more functionality and the ability to protect our Office 365 estate of over 10,000 users. If we had purchased the technology ourselves, it would have been a major project to upgrade.
“With Databarracks, that transition was managed for us in the background without disruption and it actually reduced our costs overall.”
Choosing a managed service
Rampling went on to identify two key factors in GTR’s decision to choose a managed service: “Firstly, it was a very scalable model. To implement a similar solution internally would mean a significant outlay just to get started.
“We would need to invest in software, hardware, and the team at the offset. With Databarracks, we gained access to everything we needed but could start small and scale-up as we needed.
“Secondly, by working with an MSP, we get a real partner, supplementing the skills of our team. The engineers are experts at what they do. We get to embed that expertise into our out helpdesk.”
The rise in cyber attacks on national infrastructure, including railway services, have increased the importance of effective backup and recovery, to mitigate risks to user data.
