Private cloud for auction platform – Carrot.pl case study

From this case study you will learn:

1. What challenges the client faced
2. What solution was proposed by MAIN engineers
3. What benefits the private cloud provides

About the client

The client is the owner of Carrot.pl – an auction platform where damaged vehicles can be auctioned directly from customers of Polish insurance companies (including TUIR Warta, Ergo Hestia and Interrisk). The company is present all over Poland, has a network of sites, a fleet of lorries and provides a comprehensive process of managing the remains of motor vehicle damage.

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Client’s needs

For its auction service, Carrot uses proprietary software tailored to its business model. As the system grew, so did the needs for the parameters of the underlying infrastructure. When looking for a new solution, the company placed particular emphasis on meeting parameters such as:

• High level of availability and security for the entire auction site,
• Constant monitoring and analysis of both hardware and software layers,
• Professional maintenance and administration,
• High quality of the overall infrastructure.

Carrot has decided not to invest in its own data centre, which is currently facing a number of difficulties due to a shortage of equipment and IT specialists. Due to the market situation, the company considered two solutions – migrating the auction platform to the public cloud or using a technology partner to take over the task of maintaining the entire infrastructure.

After analysing the available solutions, it became apparent that moving the system 1:1 to the public cloud would be suboptimal and the system would require significant adaptation to the public cloud architecture. As a result, Carrot decided to look for a provider of a private cloud.

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Why MAIN?

We chose MAIN due to several important aspects of their offer. MAIN offered us very high quality - in terms of infrastructure and competence - at an affordable price.

The timing of the project, and the very idea of how to carry it out, suited our needs perfectly. The proximity of the MAIN Data Centre and our Warsaw office was also important.

Above all, however, we were convinced by MAIN's partnership approach at every stage of cooperation - when analysing the environment, developing the offer or planning the migration. We are always treated as an important client, not an email address at the end of the list.

Maciej Seroczyński Chief Information Officer, Carrot

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Solution – Private Cloud

After getting acquainted with the current environment, the MAIN team proposed a private cloud based on Enterprise-class hardware and software from virtualisation leader VMware. This configuration guarantees high performance, scalability and security for the auction platform.

MAIN engineers also ensured an efficient deployment procedure, administration and maintenance of the environment and monitoring of the virtual machines. The cloud based on MAIN’s infrastructure ensures a high level of business continuity thanks to automated backup from Veeam.

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Implementation and transformation

After a thorough analysis of the legacy environment, in consultation with the client we decided to break the project into two phases: a 1:1 migration of virtual machines to a stable infrastructure, followed by a rebuild and upgrade of the architecture.

Within a week, we had fully implemented the first phase of the project:

• Development, presentation and consultation of the offer,
• Preparation for migration,
• Migration of virtual machines to the new environment.

Over the course of three days, we identified areas where improvement significantly increased system performance. After performing database monitoring, MAIN engineers were ready for the second phase of the project. For the duration of the design and creation of the target configuration, we increased the parameters of the machines on which the auction platform resided to ensure its continued operation.

Ultimately, we deployed a secure and efficient High Availability (HA) architecture in which internal and external user traffic (auction platform users) are separated.

Throughout the entire process - from the launch of the environment at MAIN to the maintenance and development phase - we remain in constant contact with the client.

It is particularly important to us that we are transparent every step of the way and that our offering is tailored to the needs of the company.

The key is to understand the challenges faced by the client and provide appropriate solutions. An ongoing and open dialogue forms the basis for mutual success

Adam Markowski Head of Sales, MAIN

Benefits of private cloud at MAIN

By moving its auction platform to the cloud-based architecture at MAIN, Carrot has gained:

• A stable and efficient environment that allows the platform to operate without disruption, even under heavy load,
• Secure and flexible space to ensure continuous availability,
• Infrastructure maintenance and monitoring at the highest level,
• Failure recovery according to agreed SLAs,
• A modular cloud solution that enables further gradual development of client’s proprietary system.

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Client testimonial

Migrating to MAIN has given us peace of mind - we can be sure that our auction service will run reliably and stably.

In the event of any problems, we can also count on fast and professional help from engineers.

Over the past six months, we have been able to achieve great success with MAIN. We have also gained the potential for growth and the support of a trusted partner.

Maciej Seroczyński Chief Information Officer, Carrot