Cloud computing drives infrastructure upgrade at service provider

IT services company Ardenta has implemented F5 network security technologies to upgrade its infrastructure to offer cloud services to customers.

Increasing demand for cloud services from its customers meant Ardenta had to offer a multi-tenanted network with high performance and security. Ardenta needed a multi-tenanted infrastructure that could be increased in capacity quickly and at low cost.

Ardenta has implemented F5 BIG-IP Application Delivery Controllers in its two datacentres in the UK and one in Denmark. The technology means customers’ internet traffic, data and applications are entirely separate. But the company does not need to build a new platform for each new customer.

The company was previously part of retail chain Londis until the retailer spun out Ardenta so it could focus on its core retail business.

Now a standalone hosted service provider it has customers such as William Hill and Ladbrokes, that receive e-gaming services. Ardenta manages the entire IT infrastructure for organisations including the Health Lottery.

Con Spathas, director at Ardenta, said: “BIG-IP devices can be carved up logically to sit in different parts of our network and provide a mix of front-end and back-end services. Alongside load balancing, BIG-IP products also give us intelligent monitoring, application security and global traffic management.” 

The technology gives Ardenta up to 100Mbps throughput at each of its three sites and it can increase if required.

The technology means Ardenta can grow its business without continuously building new infrastructure and adding a licence every time it adds a new customer. “This gives us the headroom to grow our business and expand our customer base for many years to come,” said Scott Hanson, co-founder and technical director at Ardenta.