ARAG SE ITALIA

ARAG SE Italy: Enhanced Performance, Business Continuity, and Advanced DR with NetApp
When the technology ARAG SE Italy relied on reached the end of its lifecycle, the company turned to partner VEM sistemi to completely redesign its architecture using NetApp’s all-flash array technology.

ARAG SE is a German insurance group with 88 years of experience in legal protection. Present in 19 countries—including 16 in Europe, as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia—the group plays a leading role in numerous markets by offering legal protection policies and services. With over 4,700 employees, the group generates total premium income exceeding €2 billion. The Italian branch of ARAG SE, with €170 million in premiums collected in 2021, is the market leader in legal protection insurance in Italy.

ARAG SE Italy reached a crossroads: the technology it had been using was nearing the end of its lifecycle. It was time to decide whether to continue relying on outdated technology or embrace innovation. ARAG SE Italy chose to completely redesign its IT architecture, adopting NetApp All-Flash Array systems and deploying new storage solutions across its three data centers. This approach ensured uninterrupted operational continuity during the transition to the new technology, along with carefully managed disaster recovery.

A Comprehensive Redesign Project
The project unfolded in several phases—from planning, installation, and testing, to production launch and data migration—all carried out in collaboration with partner VEM Sistemi. This was not a simple hardware replacement, but a complete data center redesign with a long-term vision. The data replication design was also reimagined, particularly from a disaster recovery perspective.

Specifically, ARAG SE Italy implemented two NetApp All Flash Array AFF300 systems in a MetroCluster IP configuration, connected via NFS and Fiber Channel. This setup enabled seamless operations while adding an extra layer of protection for the entire storage and hosting environment. For disaster recovery, SnapMirror and SnapShot technologies were used, allowing for near-instantaneous data recovery through high-speed replication and space-efficient copies.

The Benefits
Thanks to these solutions, ARAG SE Italy achieved several key benefits:

Significant performance boost for all workloads;

Uninterrupted service delivery;

Increased flexibility in maintaining disaster recovery capabilities;

Reduced energy consumption.

“The new architecture allowed us to take a major step forward in terms of business continuity, disaster recovery, and performance,” said Francesco Spadi, ICT Vice President of ARAG SE Italy. “This was made possible by the value of NetApp’s technologies and the synergy between ARAG’s IT specialists and the consultants from our partner VEM Sistemi.”