Ensuring that data is always available, quickly and reliably, is one of AMIS Conclusion’s core competencies. We spoke with Gerard van den Broek, Manager of Platform Operations at AMIS Conclusion, about the importance of data and the expertise we bring to deliver value to our customers.

Gerard says: “At AMIS Conclusion, we recognise how important data is. We have been managing, processing and monitoring complex data systems for our customers for more than 30 years. These systems support core processes in sectors including insurance, energy, healthcare, government and logistics. Every system uses data, and without it, critical business processes come to a complete standstill. That is why our customers entrust us with managing their data.”

Can you tell us more about the importance and volume of the data you manage? Gerard explains: “In total, we manage more than six hundred terabytes of data for our customers. That is comparable to 300,000 hours of high-quality video, almost 35 years of continuous viewing, ten million hours of music or 150 million high-quality photographs. Downloading all that data over a fast internet connection would take four months. You can imagine that this is on a completely different scale from a simple database supporting a website. This is the core of our service.” 

“We ensure that our customers can securely store different types of data, retain it and retrieve it quickly whenever they need it,” Gerard explains. “That includes text, images, video, geographical data, documents and other files. At its core, our work involves storing, retaining and making this data available. But making it usable requires us to meet additional requirements. Storage must be fast enough, retention must be secure, unauthorised access must be prevented, and the data must remain usable for years to come. We keep the data systems’ software up to date to support this. Reliable backups are also essential, ensuring that a copy is always available if an incident occurs.” 

Gerard says: “With almost a hundred engineers, we specialise in data management. Customers choose us because we think ahead about how they will use their data. This allows us to take action early to keep it reliable and available. We structure the environment, implement standardised monitoring and upgrade systems when necessary. If something does go wrong, customers can turn to our specialists, some of whom have almost 25 years of experience managing complex data environments.” 

Gerard says: “I have a few tips for anyone working with large volumes of data:

1. Standardise the configuration of your data systems, logging and monitoring. This makes environments comparable and minimises the number of exceptions you need to manage.
2. Keep software up to date and apply upgrades and patches promptly. This prevents complex upgrade projects caused by environments becoming outdated.
3. Discuss changes in business operations with your DataOps team early so they can prepare.
4. Discuss technological developments at least twice a year and assess their relevance to your data strategy.
5. Run a disaster recovery exercise twice a year to make sure processes work properly when needed.
6. Consider the data management risks your organisation faces. Which risks exist, which must or should be mitigated under regulations such as the GDPR, and which are acceptable?
7. Get to know your database administrator personally. This makes communication easier when you are under pressure.

“And, of course, my best tip is to contact me if you would like these matters handled professionally.”