NSI

Challenges

Rethinking the backup foundation: performance, simplicity, and long-term viability

NSI, which employs around 2,000 people at the group level and is present notably in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Canada, has initiated a structural redesign of its private cloud portfolio to converge legacy environments inherited from acquisitions. In this context, backup was not a “side issue”: it had to remain a pillar of resilience while limiting operational effort.

Historically, administering backup storage involved managing underlying components and regular optimizations. It was a well-mastered but time-consuming task. The goal: reduce this “run” time to reallocate skills to what creates more value for the customer.

“With ARTESCA, backup is under control: simple, fast, and reliable enough that you no longer have to think about it.” Jérôme Kindermans, Business Development Manager NSI

Solution

ARTESCA: storage designed from the start for backup

Before offering ARTESCA in its portfolio of backup solutions for its customers, NSI had already integrated ARTESCA for its private cloud: object storage, immutability, simplicity of administration, and consistency with tooled environments—they know what they are talking about since they use it themselves. During the study conducted as part of the private cloud redesign, NSI evaluated several options. ARTESCA clearly stood out, notably due to:

a TCO considered the most favorable over the project’s duration;
superior performance;
and a product approach designed for backup storage, rather than adapting a general-purpose solution.

A “frictionless” implementation The deployment went smoothly:

NSI had the skills and certifications, and benefited from ARTESCA support to secure the configuration and best practices. For customers, the solution is integrated into a managed services offering: they consume VMs with a defined backup framework, without any added complexity for the user.

HIGHLIGHTS

Challenges

Reduce the administrative burden related to backup storage (managing underlying layers, optimization, multi-component operations).
Industrialize a backup foundation for NSI private cloud customers, with a robust service level (encryption, retention, etc.).
Select a sustainable solution as part of a private cloud portfolio redesign (convergence of legacy environments).
Improve operational efficiency: spend less time on the technical foundation and more on high value-added activities for customers.

Solution

Adoption of Scality ARTESCA as an object storage foundation optimized for backup, initially integrated into the NSI portfolio for customer “backup” use cases, then chosen for NSI’s private cloud backup storage.
Deployment supported by ARTESCA teams, using a controlled approach: configuration, deployment, validation.
Integration designed for “backup” usage and tooled environments (including the Veeam ecosystem).

Results

Simple and seamless deployment that met expectations, without tuning and with less maintenance.
Performance was present right from the start, to the point that an internal administrator highlighted the speed of the backup storage.
Built-in immutability and ransomware resilience by design, without complex configuration.
No operational incidents noted after more than a year: a solution that has become almost “invisible” on a daily basis.
Transfer speed 8 times faster.
High restoration throughput, even on an S3 architecture
Reduction of human errors.

Results

An “invisible” solution… in the best sense of the word

Looking back after more than a year, NSI highlights one key point: zero operational problems. Updates and maintenance remain standard and fast, without excessive mobilization of the teams. On a daily basis, ARTESCA has become a reliable building block that works as expected, a rare quality for such a critical component.

“”In terms of performance, the experience confirmed the promises: speed, stability, and consistency between the product pitch and the reality on the ground,” Jérôme Kindermans, Business Development Manager NSI

Regarding operational gains, NSI notes a real reduction in the time spent operating backup storage: We observed a transfer speed 8 times faster than with another object storage solution not optimized for Veeam.

NSI recommends ARTESCA to its customers with a decisive advantage: having first tested it internally, then having deployed it in its own services. This dual experience lends credibility to the pitch and secures decisions.

For NSI, ARTESCA brings a rare combination: simplicity, performance, and operational stability. The solution keeps its promises, fades into the background of daily operations, and frees up teams to focus their efforts where it counts: the value perceived by customers.

DOWNLOAD CASE STUDY (FR)

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We must stop compromising on ‘ultimate protection’. Investments in preventive cybersecurity are essential, but zero risk does not exist: when an incident occurs, it is the ability to restore quickly and cleanly that makes the difference. A robust backup is not an extra: it is the last line of defense, the one that must not fail.”

Jérôme Kindermans

Business Development Manager, NSI