Multi-manger hedge fund advisory firm Evanston Capital Management (ECM) has successfully migrated its core servers and applications to the Gravitas Private Cloud.

Gravitas’Private Cloud is a secure, scalable and integrated solution built on VCE’s Vblock state-of-the-art virtualization and cloud technology.

ECM faced an impending upgrade and replacement of its in-house data center, which would necessitate significant capital expenditure.  Leveraging a longstanding relationship with Gravitas, ECM explored alternatives to the traditional capex methodology, deciding instead to embrace “computing as a service” and migrate to the cloud. The project centred on relocating ECM’s computing infrastructure to Gravitas-linked datacenters in Chicago and New Jersey to support production and disaster recovery. The entire process, from initial concept discussions to full implementation, was completed in less than six months.

Gravitas’ cloud-hosting infrastructure provides multiple benefits, including secure hosting in dual, geographically dispersed, Tier 4 datacenters, continuous replication between datacenters, providing robust DR failover, as well as 24x7 monitoring and administration supported by Gravitas’ global Network Operating Center (NOC).

“Migrating to Gravitas Private Cloud allows us to replace significant recurring capital expenditures tied to on-site infrastructure with a predictable monthly operating expense for hosting and monitoring of all our systems. Looking ahead, we envision taking advantage of seamless and efficient scalability as additional capacity is needed in the future,” says Kenneth Meister, ECM’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

“In their pursuit of alpha, asset managers working in today’s market environment face intensive cost pressures and regulatory demands,” says Mark Seaman, Gravitas’ Sr Managing Director for Co-sourcing Services.  “At the outset of this migration project, ECM made it clear that it needed an infrastructure solution that is secure, flexible and can scale effortlessly. We look forward to providing continued cost efficiencies and operational freedom to ECM through our collaborative integration of people, processes and technology.”