Knowit is Valmet’s main partner for AWS - from development to VMware Cloud on AWS

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries. By helping customers achieve better results in performance, efficiency, quality, cost savings, and sustainability, Valmet empowers them to improve their competitiveness.

As Valmet’s key AWS partner, Knowit takes care of all things AWS-related, including AWS architect services, AWS managed services, and service management for Valmet’s platforms on AWS. Knowit has helped boost their Valmet Industrial Internet (VII) journey, and Knowit consultants also provide expert services at Valmet’s headquarters in Tampere, Finland.

Recently, Valmet Automation worked with Knowit to integrate VMware Cloud with their AWS infrastructure.

Prior to using VMware Cloud (VMC) on AWS, Valmet had a private cloud in Tampere, hosted by Knowit, to deliver customer projects. They needed to solve the challenges that come with this limited environment, and expand their remote locations globally.

“Using the platform in Tampere from, for example, South America has its limitations with latency and distance - you basically need to increase the speed of light,” explains Ville Kauppinen, Director, AUT Business Infra Team at Valmet.

After considering different solutions, Valmet decided to go with VMC on AWS as it was one of the easiest and most cost-efficient methods to reach their goals. Ultimately, using VMC on AWS gives Valmet one big engineering platform that can be used globally.

Since Valmet is happy with Knowit as their AWS partner, they decided to work with Knowit for this VMC on AWS project as well. Plus, Ville explains it’s easier to work with one AWS partner for multiple services rather than work in a multi-supplier environment.

A smooth VMC on AWS implementation gives scalable resources

Valmet now has scalable resources available for two new AWS regions.

“The main goal was to get the environments available for our remote locations. The secondary goals relate to budgets and upkeep—the environments need to be cost-efficient, and we don’t want to increase the headcount in those locations,” says Ville.

Setting up VMC on AWS took about one month to complete. “From our point of view, the process went smoothly and the environments were set up quickly,” explains Ville.

Valmet gets deep AWS knowledge and expertise from Knowit

From the business point of view, Ville explains that Knowit provides Valmet with cost-efficient and effective AWS solutions.

“We’ve worked with different kinds of service providers, and I’d say Knowit is by far the most expert and easiest to work with. They have really deep knowledge and expertise,” says Ville.

He continues, “One of the reasons why we chose the service provider approach is that we don’t need to make big investments in people or equipment, but instead we buy it as a service.”

When working with previous service providers, Valmet ran into problems relating to complicated technical issues. At times, Valmet experiences networking issues—and not solving these issues fast enough can cost them a lot.

“We have hundreds of engineers working with the platforms and it costs us when our teams are doing nothing because their work is interrupted due to technical issues,” says Ville.

Fortunately, Valmet doesn’t have any issues when it comes to service speed or communication with Knowit. Plus, they can easily connect their other partners and contractors with Knowit to keep all projects running smoothly.

“Working with Knowit is effortless, and they make running our IT infrastructure easy. With traditional ways of communicating, you open a ticket and it can take weeks to get a simple answer to your question. But in our current model with Knowit, we can engage the experts easily. That’s something that saves us time, and we’ve been really happy about it,” explains Ville.

Wondering if VMware Cloud on AWS is the right solution for your business? Get in touch with us if you have any questions or want to learn more about the benefits of VMC on AWS.