Storage & Logistics

Why it matters

Data is the cornerstone of modern business. If there is one certainty in modern IT management, it is that the volume of data which needs to be ingested, sorted and stored is increasing every day. That growth creates competing pressures: your data must be held securely and compliantly (GDPR, sector regulations), but balanced with accessibility and performance. You need storage that is cost effective. And you face a plethora of potential solutions: hyperscale cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), managed hosting services, on premise storage arrays. Each has different economics, compliance profiles, control characteristics and vendor lock-in risks. Managing that complexity increases cost and operational burden.

Three specific business challenges emerge. Affordability: legacy data storage systems are expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. Hardware scarcity drives component costs up. Older solutions consume more power and have less predictable maintenance cycles, driving support costs. Sustainability: old storage hardware is inefficient in energy use compared to modern alternatives. Bigger carbon footprint puts pressure against ESG targets. Certainty: your customers and users expect data to be secure, compliant, accessible. Legacy solutions may lack up to date security features or audit trails for regulatory compliance.

The central placement question is rarely addressed: what is your cloud storage strategy? How much are you paying per terabyte? Do you have control over those costs today, or are you locked into subscription cycles? Are you maximising the utilisation of your existing infrastructure? Have you fully assessed the cost benefit of on premise versus off premise storage for different data classes?

SCC approaches data storage not as a purchasing decision, but as a long term infrastructure investment. We start with a full assessment of your existing legacy storage infrastructure, work out savings opportunities, sustainability contribution and map a long-term strategy. We investigate what data needs to be stored where, recovery, optimised performance and scalability cost effectively and securely. If your data is on premise, in the cloud or a combination, we have the expertise to design, implement and operate a storage solution that is tailored to your business and your data profile.

Key features

Tailored storage assessment and design across cloud, hosting and on-premises

We audit your current storage estate across all three models, on premise arrays, managed hosting services and cloud storage (AWS, Azure, GCP). We map what data currently lives where and why. We evaluate cost, performance, security and compliance implications of each placement. Then we design a tailored strategy that combines the right storage type for each data class. On premise storage provides greater control and security, can save money by eliminating monthly subscription costs and suits sensitive data under stringent regulation. Cloud storage provides elasticity and pay as you grow economics. We blend these to create optimal cost and compliance outcomes for your business.

Predictable cost model with data compression savings

Storage costs are often unpredictable because most vendors charge per terabyte subscription with volume commitments. We charge only for storage you actually use. Data compression and deduplication reduce storage footprint further. We don’t charge per-user seat, per-transaction or per-month-minimum commitments. This transparency eliminates budget surprises and gives you real control over storage spend. You understand your costs and can plan growth confidently.

Concierge service with account manager and 24/7 lifecycle management

You don’t manage storage operations yourself. We assign a dedicated account manager who installs and oversees your infrastructure and adds capacity as required. Your manager understands your business, your data, your compliance requirements. We provide 24/7 maintenance, periodic health checks and proactive issue resolution. If problems emerge, your account manager contacts you before users are affected. You get white glove support without the cost of building and maintaining storage engineering teams internally.

Recyclea-integrated decommissioning with certified data destruction

At end of life, data destruction is not your problem. Recyclea is SCC’s sustainability focused lifecycle service comprising recycling, refurbishment and remarketing. We decommission your old storage hardware professionally and handle data destruction to the highest standards. Our data destruction services are fully certified to meet stringent Government, Ministry of Defence and National Cyber Security Centre criteria. Chain of custody is documented throughout. You can be confident that decommissioned data is truly destroyed and not exposed to risk.

How it works

Step 1

Full assessment of legacy storage infrastructure

We audit your current storage estate. What platforms do you operate? What’s on premise, what’s hosted, what’s cloud? How old is the hardware? What are the maintenance contracts and support costs? We map utilisation, performance characteristics and redundancy. We interview stakeholders to understand compliance requirements, security policies, disaster recovery expectations and budget constraints.

Step 2

Map data placement and recovery strategy

We classify your data by business criticality, access frequency, retention policy and compliance requirements. We assess which data classes are suitable for cloud, which need on premise control, which can be tiered between storage types. We design a recovery strategy: what needs 100% uptime, what can tolerate brief outages, what can be recovered from backups rather than real time redundancy. This mapping eliminates over-provisioning storage to classes that don’t need it.

Step 3

Design across cloud, hosted and on-premise with sustainability factored

We model three scenarios: current state cost, optimised state cost with upgraded on premise, and optimised state cost with cloud first. For each we calculate total cost of ownership including hardware, software, power, cooling, support and staff overhead. We assess carbon footprint and ESG contribution of each option. We present cost and sustainability trade offs so you can decide the right balance for your business.

Step 4

Install, operate and support with concierge service model

Once strategy is approved, we procure and install the infrastructure. We configure systems to your security standards and compliance requirements. We integrate monitoring, alerting and backup systems. You receive regular reporting on storage utilisation, cost, performance and available capacity. We manage growth proactively: when you approach threshold, we upgrade or expand capacity before performance degrades.

Step 5

Decommission via Recyclea with certified data destruction

Throughout the lifecycle, end of life hardware is managed professionally. We handle decommissioning, secure data destruction to Government and National Cyber Security Centre standards, refurbishment or responsible recycling. You receive audit trail documentation confirming chain of custody and destruction methods. No legacy hardware is abandoned. No data is exposed.

Partners

SCC partners with leading data storage vendors to bring you the widest range of storage platform options:

NetApp enables intelligent data management across hybrid cloud environments, delivering performance, protection and data mobility across on-premises, cloud and edge infrastructure. SCC is a NetApp Star Partner (highest UK tier) and Power of Three Partner supporting joint Cisco-NetApp architectures….

Dell Technologies provides scalable compute, storage and data protection platforms for modern hybrid environments, supporting virtualisation, analytics and AI workloads across data centre and cloud infrastructure. SCC has achieved Titanium Black partner status with Dell Technologies, the highest…

Hewlett Packard Enterprise delivers edge-to-cloud solutions spanning enterprise-grade compute, hybrid cloud through GreenLake, AI-ready infrastructure with NVIDIA integration and intelligent networking combining Aruba and Juniper. HPE’s architecture enables organisations to modernise IT…

SCC is IBM’s largest UK partner and a two-time winner of UK Technology Partner of the Year. Supporting 175+ IBM customers across industries, SCC delivers integrated expertise across enterprise AI, cloud, automation and infrastructure. The IBM portfolio through SCC includes watsonx for enterprise…

Microsoft’s integrated platform spans Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 productivity tools, Dynamics business applications and enterprise security. SCC is a Gold CSP partner delivering Azure migrations, Microsoft 365 rollout, Dynamics implementation and ongoing managed operations. We manage…

Amazon Web Services provides cloud infrastructure at global scale across compute, storage, databases and specialised services. SCC is an AWS Advanced Partner delivering migrations from on-premises to AWS, managed cloud operations and infrastructure optimisation. We’ve completed 400+ AWS migrations…

Ready to understand the real cost of your data storage?

Data storage economics are rarely transparent. Legacy infrastructure hides costs across power, cooling, support and staff overhead. Cloud storage lock in makes it hard to predict long term spend. Let’s audit your current infrastructure, understand what you’re really spending, and map a strategy that delivers cost certainty and compliance.

Speak to a specialist

FAQs

Cloud storage is cheaper than on premise, why would we keep anything on-premise?

Cloud storage is cheaper if you compare per terabyte acquisition cost only. Total cost of ownership includes data egress fees, subscription lock in, potential price rises and the cost of managing cloud vendor compliance. For data under stringent regulation (classified information, biometric data, financial records), on premise storage provides greater control and security. It can actually be cheaper long term because you avoid subscription costs and have predictable capital expenditure. The right answer depends on your data type and compliance profile. We help you calculate total cost of ownership, not only per terabyte price.

How much can we save by consolidating storage?

Depends on your current state. Typical consolidation projects deliver 25-40% cost reduction through decommissioning redundant platforms, eliminating double charged capacity, upgrading to more efficient hardware and optimising power and cooling. Deduplication and compression can reduce storage footprint by another 30-50% depending on data type. We audit your current estate and show you where savings exist. Savings are typically reinvested into capacity growth or improved availability, not cut as overhead reduction, but the point is you control where that money goes.

What happens to our data if we move to cloud storage?

We assess cloud suitability data by data class based on compliance, performance and cost. Highly regulated data (GDPR-covered, financial, healthcare) may stay on premise where you have absolute control. Less regulated data (internal reports, archived documents, non-sensitive logs) moves to cloud where elasticity and cost efficiency are advantages. Migration is carefully planned with zero downtime. You retain all data and can exit cloud vendors if terms change. We don’t create vendor lock in, we design flexibility.

What does data compression actually do, and can we trust it?

Data compression identifies redundant data (duplicate files, repeated patterns) and stores it once, with pointers to that single copy. Modern compression is lossless, data is bit for bit identical when accessed. Savings depend on data type: text and logs compress 3-5x, databases and backups 2-3x, already compressed files (video, images) don’t compress further. We assess your data characteristics, model realistic compression benefits and validate performance before implementation. You see savings on your storage footprint immediately.

How does SCC manage predictable costs when data volume grows?

You pay per terabyte of storage used, not per commitment or per month. As your data grows, your bill grows proportionally, with no surprises. We don’t charge hidden per user, per transaction or per API call fees. We don’t lock you into multi year commitments or volume guarantees. You see growth coming in your storage reports and can plan capacity expansion months in advance. No unexpected bills. No vendor lock in surprises.