With 15,000 enrolled students both on campus and online, the private university is anticipating continued growth in both the faculty and student body. Due to this expansion, GCU was looking for the right SAN-based solution to scale up for its back end office needs. After evaluating several vendors, GCU chose Pillar for its user-friendliness and ability to integrate easily with other solutions. The university deployed two Axioms – one for their back office, which houses their Datatel solution and tracks student and financial information. The second Axiom was deployed to store the Angel application, a service that students utilize for online courses.

“With a limited IT staff and growing student population, it was essential for us to get a storage system that was cost effective and easy to implement and scale, while giving us the flexibility to integrate with our current online applications,” said Mike Lacrosse, CIO of Grand Canyon University. “Also, a main priority for us was to grow the physical IT infrastructure so that we could execute a solid business continuity and disaster recovery plan. We were able to achieve all of this with the Pillar Axiom.”

Since its initial implementation, GCU has now standardized completely on Pillar. As a result, the university has achieved greater storage efficiencies and a long-term disaster recovery plan. In terms of their return on investment, GCU is able to point to an extraordinary amount of time savings when deploying and managing the Axiom. For instance, Pillar was able to work with Sysix, Sun, and Datatel to quickly deploy the tracking system and expand it into other platforms. Additionally, since transitioning from a Direct Attached Storage (DAS) environment to a networked Pillar storage system, GCU has seen a huge increase in uptime.

“Pillar is a strong supporter of higher education and we are excited to help Grand Canyon University meet their growing business requirements as their population skyrockets , said Bob Maness, vice president of marketing, Pillar Data Systems. “With the adoption of our uniquely scalable Axiom solution, GCU can accommodate its ongoing expansion, while also alleviating IT’s storage headaches including inefficient energy consumption and low uptime. We sought to simplify the storage problems faced by GCU so now they can focus on what really matters: their exciting and unimpeded growth.”

About Pillar Data Systems

Founded in 2001, Pillar Data Systems develops midrange and enterprise network storage systems. The company's Pillar Axiom solution, driven by its innovative policy-based management capabilities, integrates SAN and NAS into a centrally managed storage platform. Pillar Axiom systems consolidate multiple tiers of enterprise network storage into a single, easily managed system capable of scaling to hundreds of terabytes of capacity. Pillar Data Systems is privately funded by Tako Ventures, LLC, the venture arm of Larry Ellison. The company is headquartered at 2840 Junction Avenue, San Jose, California 95134. The company can be reached on the Web at http://www.pillardata.com, by phone at 408-503-4000 or by email at sales@pillardata.com.

About Grand Canyon University

Founded in 1949, Grand Canyon University is a one of Arizona’s leading higher learning institutions and one of the nation’s fastest-growing. Based in Phoenix, the regionally accredited, private, non-denominational Christian university offers online and campus-based bachelor’s and master’s degree programs through the Ken Blanchard College of Business, College of Education, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and College of Liberal Arts. The school was recently ranked as having the top online education program by OEDb (Online Education Database). With a total enrollment of approximately 15,000 students, GCU emphasizes individual attention for both traditional undergraduate students as well as the working professional. For more information, please visit www.gcu.edu.