A carrier in Latin America, ranking among the top five globally in customer base, has faced procurement and operational inefficiencies.
With nearly 20 subnets spread across more than 10 countries and an internal IT system supporting 4,000 applications, its annual procurement of 50 petabytes of storage required an extensive process involving over 700 procurement procedures and more than 30 suppliers, Huawei said in a blog post.
The subnet-based, application-driven procurement approach led to inaccurate resource estimation, either resulting in frequent procurement cycles due to underestimated capacity or excessive resource allocation, leading to wasted investments. Additionally, inefficient hardware configurations contributed to high power consumption and underutilized equipment space.
Huawei’s STaaS solution helped the carrier address these inefficiencies by introducing a structured classification system for storage resources, categorizing them into five performance tiers: Ultra Performance (UP1), High Performance (HP1), Medium Performance (MP1), Low Performance (LP4), and Cold Storage (CS4). This standardization ensured that storage vendors provided configurations based on precise performance and reliability requirements, improving resource utilization and simplifying procurement.
A key advantage of the Huawei STaaS model is its pay-as-you-use (PAYU) billing system, allowing subnets and applications to settle costs based on actual storage consumption rather than estimated projections. The self-service resource application feature further enhances efficiency by enabling subsidiaries to request resources directly via the platform, eliminating the need for time-consuming pre-allocation. This dynamic and automated process optimizes resource deployment while reducing procurement complexities.
Huawei’s Storage as a Service (STaaS) solution enables on-demand storage procurement and resource allocation, effectively reducing total cost of ownership (TCO). By incorporating metering, billing optimization, and self-service resource application, the STaaS model streamlines storage management, ensuring that carriers can efficiently scale their storage infrastructure while minimizing waste.
To further enhance performance and cost-effectiveness, the carrier selected Huawei’s OceanStor Dorado all-flash storage solution. OceanStor Dorado’s high-density hardware design, high-capacity SSDs, and effective capacity mode significantly improved storage efficiency while reducing energy consumption and infrastructure costs. Its streamlined deployment process and reliable performance made it the ideal choice for the carrier, enabling faster service delivery and lower maintenance costs.
By implementing Huawei’s STaaS solution, the carrier successfully reduced operating costs by nearly 20 percent, allowing it to reallocate resources toward expanding its service offerings. The strategic shift toward an on-demand, categorized storage framework has positioned the carrier for sustainable growth while ensuring long-term cost savings and operational efficiency. Huawei did not reveal the name of the telecom operator in Latin America.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
