IMDEX ensures data availability and supports 24/7 global operations with Commvault
Global mining tech data provider reduces data management time and cost in a
multi-cloud environment
Challenge
- Multiple technologies and bespoke solutions due to acquisitions across regions created data discovery challenges
- Substantial increase in work volume and overhead to manage growing data in multi-cloud environments
- Needed to protect and recover data from multiple sources and operating systems
Solution
- Build private cloud platform using Commvault Complete™ Backup and Recovery, Cisco FlashStack, VMware and Pure Storage
- Implement installation with support from Commvault Partner Cirrus Networks
Result
- Anticipated savings of A$500,000 operating costs over five years
- Provided confidence that data is safe and available by consolidating various bespoke backup systems into a single Commvault solution
- Supported non-stop global operations with flexibility to seamlessly migrate data from multiple cloud service providers to the private cloud platform
- Recovered Office 365 data in just hours instead of days
- Enabled the business to access all the data in every virtual machine and start analyzing the value of data

Industry
Mining technology
Headquarters
Australia
URL
At-a-glance panel
- A leading global mining tech company with 20 offices internationally and sales in 102 countries
- Operates in key mining regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Americas
- Presence in 70 per cent of mineral drilling projects globally, with two data centers in Western Australia
Key assets protected
- 100 TB of data including Microsoft Office 365
- Microsoft Exchange
- Microsoft SharePoint
- 150 Virtual machines
- Microsoft Azure workloads
- Amazon Services
- Pronto Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
- Linux, Windows Server and Solaris operating systems
The backup environment
- Commvault Complete™ Backup and Recovery
- Cisco FlashStack
- VMware hypervisor
- Pure Storage
Ensuring data availability across global operations
IMDEX is a leading global mining tech company, enabling successful and cost-effective operations from exploration to production. The ASX listed company develops cloud-connected sensors and drilling optimisation products to improve the process of identifying and extracting mineral resources for drilling contractors and resource companies globally.
IMDEX’s unique end-to-end solutions for the mining value chain integrate its leading AMC and REFLEX brands. Together they enable clients to drill faster and smarter, obtain accurate subsurface data and receive critical information in real-time.
With clients around the globe, IMDEX needed instant accessibility to data around the clock. IMDEX adopted a multi-cloud approach by running Microsoft Azure and Amazon Services on Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms. However, the growing data in cloud environments led to substantial increase in work volume and overhead.
Working with Cirrus Networks, IMDEX built a private cloud platform with Commvault Complete Backup and Recovery, Cisco FlashStack, VMware and Pure Storage. Its goal is to provide a robust, cost-effective and highly available platform to manage data from multiple sources, including Office 365, Windows servers, SharePoint, virtual machines and Linux operating system.
“There was a perception in the marketplace that if data is in the cloud, it’s always available. That’s not the case at all, and you need to rethink what’s required for data protection,” said Brad Harvey, Global IT Operations Manager, IMDEX Limited. “With the seamless integration between Commvault Complete Backup and Recovery and Azure Cloud, IMDEX can now recover Office 365 data in hours instead of days.
“We now have the flexibility to move workloads from cloud service providers—including Rackspace, Azure, and Amazon—to the private cloud at any time. Commvault does exactly what it says on the box, giving us confidence that our data is safe and available between regions.”
Saving significant costs with a private cloud approach
Through acquisitions in different regions, IMDEX inherited various bespoke backup solutions like Bacula. With data spread across multiple repositories and systems, discovery exercises became challenging.
“You don’t want the situation where you’ve done ten acquisitions and you need ten people to manage those legacy solutions. There were no economies of scale,” said Harvey. “By using the private cloud platform built on solutions from Commvault, Cisco, VMware and Pure Storage, we have not only improved the quality of our data protection but we also expect to save approximately A$500,000 operating costs over five years.”
Because it backs up everything in a hypervisor rather than a server, IMDEX now has access to every piece of data in its virtual machines, minimizing reliability issues. The simplified backup operations also helped to raise morale among IT staff members and enabled them to focus on adding value to the business.
Greater capability in data readiness and supporting growth
The company is considering adopting Commvault Activate™ to provide granular visibility of data across multiple sources and even greater governance control.
“We have grown through acquisitions, so it’s great that we finally have a system in place that allows us to start realizing the value of data to the business,” said Harvey. “I am confident that Commvault can accommodate whatever changes occur in the industry and will empower us with greater data readiness.”
The analytics from Commvault Activate provide actionable insights across both your production and backup data sources to increase storage efficiency, enable faster responses to compliance requests and lower your data risks.