Case Study: National Physical Laboratory achieves scalable, secure data access for global scientific research with Hitachi Vantara

National Physical Laboratory Supports Global Scientific Research with Hitachi Vantara solutions

National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the U.K. national metrology institute, faced rapidly growing volumes of high‑resolution scientific data—including around 500 TB for a Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge tumor‑mapping project—and relied on slow, tape‑based backups that consumed significant staff time. To modernize and cost‑effectively scale its storage, NPL partnered with Hitachi Vantara, deploying Hitachi Content Platform (HCP), Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform 6200, Hitachi Content Platform Data Migrator, Hitachi Data Ingestor and Hitachi Content Platform Anywhere, with migration facilitated by Hitachi Vantara Global Services.

Hitachi Vantara delivered a hybrid object‑storage solution on HCP with an on‑demand pricing model and Data Migrator ingestion, replacing tape workflows and enabling secure, searchable, anytime/anywhere access for collaborators. The Hitachi Vantara implementation freed operational staff time (saving a full day per week previously spent on tape), supports global scientific collaboration and the tumor‑mapping project, controls storage costs through five‑year capacity forecasting, and provides scalable, future‑proofed storage and availability for ongoing research.

National Physical Laboratory

Nigel Budd

Science Support Leader for the IT Services Unit