Overview
As organisations become increasingly reliant on digital systems, ageing server infrastructure can quietly become one of the biggest operational and security risks within the business.
Our client, Macphie of Glenbervie, were recommended to modernise their entire server estate after several critical risks were identified across their infrastructure. Their existing environment consisted of ageing hardware and operating systems, and a virtualisation platform that required upgrading to be on par with the expectations of a modern business-critical system.
The project involved a complete refresh of the server and storage environment across two locations, alongside the redesign of the VMware platform to provide proper failover, resilience, and long-term stability.
The Challenge
Macphie’s infrastructure had reached a critical point in its lifecycle. Several production servers were at their end-of-life, creating a growing cybersecurity risk across the business.
At the same time, the organisation was preparing to roll out a new security platform, but many of the existing servers did not meet the minimum operating system requirements needed to deploy the software. This meant the business was effectively unable to implement an important layer of modern security protection until the underlying infrastructure was upgraded.
Storage infrastructure was also a concern. The existing SAN environment lacked suitable redundancy; this created multiple single points of failure within the environment and limited opportunities for resilience or failover.
Taken together, the environment represented a significant operational, security, and continuity risk.
Our Approach
Rather than simply replacing hardware, we approached the project as a full infrastructure modernisation exercise designed around resilience and security.
We designed and deployed a new server and storage platform built on modern HPE infrastructure, replacing ageing Cisco servers and the legacy SAN environment. Redundancy was built into the SAN design from the outset, removing the single points of failure that had previously existed.
We retained the existing virtualisation platform to align with the requirements of Macphie’s new backup and replication provider. However, the underlying architecture was completely redesigned. Fit-for-purpose clusters were implemented across both sites, being a centrally managed environment to provide visibility and consistency across the estate.
Alongside the hardware deployment, we conducted a full review of the virtual server estate. Legacy servers that were no longer required were decommissioned, while others were consolidated, migrated, or rebuilt on modern supported operating systems.
This ensured the new environment was not simply newer, but also cleaner and more efficient moving forward.
Implementation
The deployment was carefully planned to minimise disruption across both sites.
New hardware was shipped directly to each office, with two engineers spending three days onsite at the primary location to build, configure, install, and fully test the new servers, SAN infrastructure, virtual machine environment, and management platform. The same process was then repeated at the secondary site over a further two-day deployment window.
Once the physical infrastructure was operational, workloads were migrated in phases to maintain service continuity while reducing risk throughout the transition.
Old infrastructure was then securely decommissioned and disposed of in line with best practice.
The Outcome
Macphie now operates on a fully modernised and supported server infrastructure designed around resilience, security, and business continuity.
All production workloads now reside on supported operating systems receiving regular security updates, reducing the organisation’s exposure to vulnerabilities associated with end-of-life systems.
The redesigned virtual machine clusters now provide proper failover and resource headroom across both sites, eliminating the risk of critical virtual machines failing due to the loss of a single host. The new SAN infrastructure also includes the redundancy and resilience required for a modern production environment.
Operationally, the business is now in a far stronger position. The risk of unplanned downtime has been dramatically reduced, infrastructure management is simpler and more centralised, and all new hardware is covered by five-year manufacturer warranties for long-term peace of mind.
Most importantly, the business now has an infrastructure platform capable of supporting future growth rather than constraining it.
Conclusion
Infrastructure projects are often viewed purely as technical upgrades, but their real impact is measured in business resilience and risk reduction.
By proactively replacing ageing hardware and aligning infrastructure with modern security and backup requirements, we helped Macphie move from a position of growing operational risk to one of stability and resilience.
