Teneo helps Morgan Sindall add 2000 users to its existing network without significant bandwidth upgrades

Teneo has implemented a Riverbed Wide Area Network (WAN) optimisation solution to help construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall accommodate 2,000 new users by reducing bandwidth usage by 80% and speeding up large file download times significantly. The new users came from Morgan Sindall’s acquisition of another construction group AMEC Design and Project Services.

Morgan Sindall is a leading construction and regeneration group which employs over 8,500 people across the UK. In 2007, it acquired AMEC Design and Project Services (DPS) which it merged into Morgan Sindall’s construction division to create Morgan Ashurst and Morgan Professional Services (MPS). The merger added an extra 2,000 employees based in 70 former AMEC DPS offices spread across the UK.

The group runs a decentralised, empowered organisation with a small central executive team, allowing each of the seven group companies to have a great deal of autonomy. Each group company also has its own IT network infrastructure, united by a central WAN operated by Morgan Sindall Group.

Ben Justin is Group Infrastructure Manager for Morgan Sindall who embarked on a nine month project to bring 2,000 AMEC DPS employees into the Morgan Sindall network. The newly merged business employs 500 designers who send data heavy CAD files. This changed the profile of data on the WAN, with CAD file transfers taking as long as 30 minutes each. Ben identified a solution after a trial of Riverbed Steelhead WAN optimisation appliances by IT colleagues at MPS between two sites at Ipswich and Stratford-upon-Avon. Riverbed reduced 50 Mb CAD file transfer speeds to as little as 10 seconds.

Ben established that the existing network would not cope with the extra data traffic if data flowed to a central data server, and faced the dilemma of upgrading bandwidth links. This combination of recouping billable designer time for each CAD download, the cost and unproven effectiveness of bandwidth upgrades, and the potential to remove individual office servers and move towards centralised data, Morgan Ashurst commissioned Teneo to roll out 50 Riverbed Steelhead appliances. Steelheads were also installed at Morgan Sindall’s central data centres in London and Stratford, plus an additional 20 appliances across the group.

For each install, Teneo supplied pre-configured appliances and, where required, fitted the unit. With each install, Ben ensured that where it was feasible, local storage servers could be removed with data centralised at Morgan Sindall’s data centres. Ben has now opted for Teneo’s managed service on a six month trial, with Teneo able to gain access to Morgan Sindall’s Riverbed Central Management Controller unit via a secure VPN. Teneo provides Morgan Sindall with detailed reports on network traffic such as trends and exceptions and ensures each Riverbed appliance is optimised and updated.

Ben Justin, group infrastructure manager for Morgan Sindall commented:
“We had a choice to either spend a lot of money on upgrading the WAN, but this gives no guarantees as to whether it would be adequate for the next five years. Riverbed Steelheads help to reduce our data traffic by around 80% which has freed up substantial network capacity. Teneo has also helped us to pursue our consolidation strategy to remove local servers and centralise our data, as all IT managers know that maintaining your server estate is costly.”

“We chose Teneo because of their Riverbed expertise and their overall professional approach. Teneo is a nimble, responsive company – always accessible and easy to deal with.”

James Hall, marketing director, Teneo, commented:
“Morgan Sindall had to take big decisions with regards to its network infrastructure when it acquired AMEC DPS. By using our Riverbed Steelhead solution, the company has not only solved its bandwidth upgrade issues, it is now on a solid path to realise its data centralisation ambitions. Our solution has given Morgan Sindall the flexibility and control they need for the future of their network infrastructure.”