Ducati renews its data center with Aruba

A tailor-made hybrid infrastructure to ensure performance, security and maximum flexibility.

The customer

"Style. Sophistication. Performance. Trust." Founded in Bologna in 1926, Ducati is a proud ambassador of Made in Italy. As is well known, the essence of Italian style shows through in the lines of every one of its motorcycles: sinuous, sleek, seductive shapes, for a timeless style that becomes an unattainable benchmark.

In more than 60 countries around the world, Ducati motorcycles represent the dream of the most passionate riders who make up the Ducati family, the Ducati community.

Its distinctive traits — from the desmodromic valve control system, to the steel tube trellis frame, the L-twin engine and the unmistakable "sound" of the Ducati engine — are the distinguishing marks that assert its uniqueness.

The need

A new hybrid infrastructure was needed to innovate faster and increase the resilience of company data.

The solution

New Generation Data Center: on-premise Private Cloud at Borgo Panigale and disaster recovery in Aruba's Global Cloud Data Center.

The benefits

Customized RTO and RPO, a Rating 4 certified data center, and infrastructure powered by renewable energy.

The need

A data center to renew and make resilient

At a time of major transformation and focus on innovation, as well as strong acceleration and the ability to keep pace with market demands, Ducati Motor Holding needed to consider a partnership that went beyond the standard, with an outstanding partner able to offer and provide the best infrastructure and technology solutions.

This is why the collaboration with Aruba was born, as Aruba proved able to listen to and closely follow the Holding's specific needs. Ducati Motor needed a new technology solution to renew the data center infrastructure at Borgo Panigale and activate an additional solution to increase the resilience of its data.

The goal was threefold: renew the IT infrastructure at Ducati's headquarters; activate a remote site able to provide Disaster Recovery in an innovative way; and use an enterprise-level data center to deliver these services, with the ultimate aim of improving response times to business needs.

The solution

New Generation Data Center between Ducati and Aruba

The Aruba solution built for Ducati Motor Holding is characterized by an approach to cloud technologies entirely based on customization.

To meet this need, the project effectively went beyond the limits of traditional cloud infrastructure to arrive at a hybrid solution that in fact involves both data centers — the customer's and Aruba's. The project addressed three main requirements: renewing the on-premise data center hardware, delivered as a service in on-premise Private Cloud mode, with Lenovo servers and NetApp storage components for on-premise backup at Ducati; providing a fully dedicated Cloud solution to guarantee the highest level of security and confidentiality; and building a Disaster Recovery environment activated in Aruba's Global Cloud Data Center for the most important applications hosted on on-premise systems at Ducati.

This is how the New Generation Data Center came about, a true extension of the data center Ducati Motor Holding has in-house: a hybrid data center was designed, combining an on-premise hybrid cloud solution at Borgo Panigale with a cloud solution within the Global Cloud Data Center.

The solution implemented at the Data Center serves a dual function: it acts as an extension of Ducati's cloud, allowing workloads to be migrated from the Borgo Panigale site to the Global Cloud Data Center in Ponte San Pietro (BG) without service interruption; and, when needed, the Ponte San Pietro site becomes the data Disaster Recovery site.

The benefits

Total flexibility and advanced physical security

Having a customized infrastructure available makes it possible to get the most out of it: Disaster Recovery is used as an extension of the primary infrastructure, giving Ducati full freedom to decide when to use the 'unused' Disaster Recovery resources as if they were primary resources — for example, when the need arises to create test machines for specific projects.

The Disaster Recovery solution implemented guarantees maximum security for the Holding's data, since it is replicated and, in the event of a disaster, can be made available regardless of the risk involved. The RTO and RPO parameters are also customized, allowing for shorter recovery times, while also using the Disaster Recovery machines for testing, with the ultimate goal of supporting the development of new products in less time.

When it comes to security, physical security must also be considered: the Global Cloud Data Center is an enterprise-level campus data center, with 7 access perimeters, anti-intrusion systems, video surveillance and data rooms with specific access controls. It is accredited to the ANSI/TIA 942 "Rating 4" standard, meaning it guarantees the highest technological standards for data resilience and redundancy.

Another important factor in the final decision to choose Aruba's Data Center on the outskirts of Milan was its attention to green practices and the production of energy from renewable sources: the technology campus houses a hydroelectric plant, most of its walls are covered with photovoltaic panels, and a geothermal system is used to cool the servers. The rest of the energy that is not self-produced is guaranteed through GO certification, with a Guarantee of Origin from renewable sources.

"We needed to renew the on-premise IT architecture that supports our development, innovation and general business processes, managing to obtain a Disaster Recovery site, increase the resilience of our data and shorten the time to market that sets us apart when it comes to the innovation we bring to our motorcycles. Aruba Enterprise gave us the answers we were looking for".

Konstantin KostenarovCTO of Ducati Motor Holding

Future developments

Aruba and Ducati Motor Holding have launched a complex project to renew and enhance the existing IT infrastructure within Ducati, combining engine technology expertise with IT technology and cloud and data center services expertise: the ideal synergy for achieving maximum performance.