JOEMC Turns the Lights Out on VMware & Turns to Nutanix for Improved ROI & Reliability
About This Project
JOEMC
Client
1939
Established in
Jacksonville, NC
Location
Overview
Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Cooperative (JOEMC) is a significant electrical utility cooperative serving Eastern North Carolina. JOEMC is dedicated to providing reliable electrical services to its members in the counties of Onslow, Jones, and several others.
- Industry: Electrical Utility
- Electrical Service Delivery: ~99.99%
- Member Satisfaction: 92% (17 points above public utility industry average)
As a cooperative, JOEMC is owned and governed by the people it serves, meaning its members have a say in how the cooperative is run and benefit from its services and programs. As a result, its leadership and IT team must be good stewards of their investments.
VP of IT Devin Costa explains the mission of JOEMC in this video.
Challenges
The firm’s financial responsibility to its members was challenged by Broadcom’s sharp increase in VMware licensing. The unexpected jump had a significant budget impact.
JOEMC faces numerous other challenges in maintaining their high standard of service, especially in hurricane-prone areas. They need to ensure crew safety and seamless customer communication during power outages. All rely on systems provided by Devin and his team.
Devin explains the importance of resilience in JOEMC’s business.
“We had to find a solution that would not only enhance our reliability but also reduce our costs significantly. eGroup Enabling Technologies has integrity and provided the best solution.”
Devin Costa (VP of IT, Jones-Onslow EMC)
Challenges
- Managing IT costs effectively
- Transitioning from VMware to a new hypervisor without disrupting services
- Maintaining high reliability of electrical services in hurricane-prone areas
- Ensuring communication with members during power outages and storms
“People go to their light switch on the wall and they expect for power to be there,” said VP of IT Devin Costa. “Reliability and redundancy are first and foremost. eGroup Enabling Technologies knows that when they work with us.”
Solution
After years of working with eGroup Enabling Technologies on their IT infrastructure, JOEMC locked in on the option to transition from VMware to Nutanix’s Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV).
“Nutanix is a big contender in the hypervisor world,” asserted Costa. “We did our homework, we did our testing, and felt like it was a reliable solution that we could move forward with.”
Devin’s team was familiar with Nutanix which helped to simplify the decision.
Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor
- Hypervisor licensing included with Nutanix hyperconverged infrastructure
- Seamless integration with existing Nutanix infrastructure
- Minimal downtime during the transition process
“It is definitely a visible change, but all of the functions and features in VMware are available in AHV.”
Devin Costa (VP of IT, Jones-Onslow EMC)
Preparation & Migration
Moving from ESXi to AHV wasn’t taken lightly. “We met with eGroup multiple times,” recalled Costa. “They went through the design with a fine-toothed comb, giving us advantages and disadvantages.”
To pilot, “We set up a test group then migrated a machine over from VMware into AHV and let it run to see if we could see any changes, and we did not,” confirmed Costa.
Resiliency is key in the electrical business. “One of the other products that we use for backup and recovery is Rubrik,” Devin explained. “It works great, but it was one of the concerns we had. eGroup Enabling Technologies was able to help us migrate and make sure that our backups were still functioning. It was seamless.”
While the JOEMC team was familiar with Nutanix, the use of AHV was enabled by eGroup Enabling Technologies. “The knowledge transfer that you guys provide is exceptional,” said Devin. “My team was able to utilize AHV just as we did VMware.”
Hear how JOEMC vetted AHV.
Results
The results of implementing Nutanix AHV were significant. JOEMC experienced improved IT infrastructure performance, substantial cost savings, and increased customer satisfaction. The reliability of their services remained high, and communication during power outages was enhanced.
Devin summarizes this thoughts to “Go AHV”.
Improved Application Performance
Minimal Downtime
$50k ~ $60k Cost Savings Annually
“No one in the organization noticed that we migrated, but the finance department sees a year-over-year cost savings."
Partnerships
In this and other engagements, JOEMC has received:
- Integrity and strong support from eGroup Enabling Technologies engineers
- Comprehensive evaluation and testing before full implementation
- Effective knowledge transfer and training
Conclusion
The transition to Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor has enabled Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Cooperative to reduce costs and maintain their high standards of service reliability and customer satisfaction.
The partnership with eGroup Enabling Technologies has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing support. The future looks even better together. “We’re excited to move forward with eGroup Enabling Technologies on a new disaster recovery standard using Azure VMware Solution,” stated Costa. “They know our business strategy and they know the importance our systems. It’s all about relationships, and we’re looking forward to more in the future.”
Listen to Devin’s future plans and final thoughts.
