The Challenge
In mid-2020, KADOKAWA Connected began to look for alternatives for its storage and backup due to the limitations of its previous on-premises object storage solution. After initial testing, KADOKAWA Connected found that PacketFabric Space, with its high-performance storage platform, local Japanese data center infrastructure, and predictable cost structure, was an ideal partner.
KADOKAWA Connected Inc. faced several challenges in their business:
- The previous cloud storage service and other solutions that were evaluated were mainly for archiving. They didn’t match the use case for the niconico service, which requires high performance Reads and Writes especially for small sized data.
- The legacy on-premises solution had reached its capacity and failed when the number of objects exceeded 100 million. KADOKAWA Connected also experienced systems errors issues when large amounts of object deletions were necessary. KADOKAWA Connected was also plagued with an increasing incidence of hardware failures.
- The previous cloud storage service charged not only for the storage capacity but also for data transfer making the total cost of ownership (TCO) expensive and unpredictable.
- The on-premises system was becoming expensive and hard to manage. It required 5 days of routine maintenance every other month to maintain performance.
The Solution
- KADOKAWA Connected tested the PacketFabric Space solution to solve its various challenges. They tested the IOPS performance, and the bandwidth for Read and Write data for various object sizes.
- KADOKAWA Connected transferred hundreds of terabytes to Space which charges only for data at rest, and has no egress, ingress or API fees. During KADOKAWA Connected’s testing, PacketFabric Space delivered outstanding performance across any type of storage object, at any size.
- KADOKAWA Connected took advantage of PacketFabric’s secure data facilities in the Japan Region using Tokyo and Osaka Space Nodes, relieving their IT personnel of the management and troubleshooting of on-premises server infrastructure and leading to significant cost savings. PacketFabric servers were able to handle millions of storage objects as well as large deletion events without issue.
The Results
- Cost savings –
- KADOKAWA Connected estimates it was able to save nearly 90% of the cost compared to its legacy on-premises object storage system
- KADOKAWA Connected was able to offload routine storage maintenance work, saving 5-person days every other month.
- Better file handling – PacketFabric Space handles any type of file size. KADOKAWA Connected only pays for what it uses, and can now predict future costs and budgets.
- Better performance – During testing dramatic performance improvements were recorded.
About KADOKAWA Connected Inc.
KADOKAWA Connected Inc. was established in April 2019 and is a leader in Digital Transformation (DX) providing IT advisory, infrastructure and operational services to the broader KADOKAWA group. The company has many high value digital business assets including the niconico platform that provides one of the largest video community services in Japan.