Penn National Insurance Cuts Backup Time with Nutanix NDB

Name: Penn National Insurance Cuts Backup Time with Nutanix NDB
Uploaded: 2026-08-25T09:55:39-04:00
Duration: 2 min 46 s
Description: Penn National Insurance gained a competitive edge by transforming its database operations with Nutanix Database Service (NDB). This Database-as-a-Service approach has drastically minimized routine maintenance windows, enabling the company to focus on i...

Nutanix

08/25/2026

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Transcript

We've been based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for over 106 years. I'm a Susquehanna. Don't ask me to spell it. We built the building, we take pride in it being one of the marquee sites here in the city. I've been at Penn National for 29 years. The company attracted me. It seemed like people that care about each other. Everybody was friendly, willing to help each other out. We've been able to put together some really good products because of our size, being nimble, being efficient. Our mission is that we help people feel secure and make life better when bad things happen. It's all about the customer at the end of the day. We have a responsibility to be there for them. We pride ourselves on being a relationship-driven business. You treat people with respect, you treat people with kindness. Basically, everybody's important. The expectations that people have for insurance is constantly ramping up. The stakes are really high because people expect their insurance company to serve them at times when they really need them. There's a lot of competition. You need to take advantage of everything that you can. Nutanix helps us get that competitive edge. In the last 29 years, there's been a big change technology-wise. SQL Server's been a big part of that. Along with that has been an explosion in data. Our goals are to have our infrastructure side-by-side with AWS and Azure and really build that hybrid cloud synergy. The more data that we have, the better we can serve our policyholders, the faster we can address claims when we get them. But with that also comes the challenge of managing that data, keeping that data safe, and using that data in a way that drives the business forward. NDB's made our job easier. Our testing is key. And a lot of times we need a fresh copy of the database to provide a good testing area. Some of the new systems now are 10 times the size of what we used to have. Traditionally, when we were doing our backups before the NDB software, it takes seven hours to do a backup. In Nutanix, I can take a backup or a snapshot of that database. It was near zero footprint, four minutes. It's night and day difference. And we just couldn't do that before without the Nutanix software. I think as we look forward, we really want to continue to innovate and be able to harness the latest and greatest in technology so that we can continue to grow and continue to strengthen our relationships to the community, to our policy holders, and to our agents. One of the things that has been good with the relationship with Nutanix has really been where are we today, but where can we go tomorrow? And companies like Nutanix help you embrace that change and really help you take yourselves to the next level.

TL;DR

Penn National Insurance reduced database backup times from 7 hours to just 4 minutes after deploying Nutanix Database Service (NDB), with near-zero storage footprint.
Growing data volumes — some systems now 10x larger than before — made efficient database management critical to serving policyholders and processing claims faster.
NDB enables rapid provisioning of fresh database copies for testing, accelerating development cycles and reducing operational friction for the IT team.

Summary

Penn National Insurance, a 106-year-old regional mutual insurance company headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, shares how adopting Nutanix Database Service (NDB) transformed its database operations and delivered a measurable competitive advantage. The company faced mounting pressure from growing data volumes — with some systems now ten times larger than legacy environments — alongside rising customer expectations for fast, reliable claims service. Before NDB, database backups took seven hours to complete; with Nutanix, the same operation now takes just four minutes with near-zero storage footprint, freeing the IT team to focus on innovation rather than routine maintenance. Penn National also uses NDB to rapidly provision fresh database copies for testing, enabling faster development cycles. Looking ahead, the company is pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy that integrates on-premises infrastructure with AWS and Azure, and views Nutanix as a long-term partner in navigating that evolution. The overarching message is that technology agility directly supports Penn National's core mission: being there for policyholders when they need it most.

Chapters

0:00 - Penn National Company Overview
0:50 - Rising Customer Expectations
1:10 - Data Growth and Hybrid Cloud Goals
1:40 - NDB Backup Performance Results
2:11 - Innovation and Future with Nutanix

Key Quotes

1:06 "Nutanix helps us get that competitive edge."
1:56 "It takes seven hours to do a backup. In Nutanix, I can take a backup or a snapshot of that database. It was near zero footprint, four minutes. It's night and day difference."
2:35 "Companies like Nutanix help you embrace that change and really help you take yourselves to the next level."

FAQ

What specific problem did Nutanix NDB solve for Penn National Insurance?

Before NDB, database backups took seven hours to complete. With Nutanix, the same backup or snapshot operation takes approximately four minutes with near-zero storage footprint — a dramatic reduction that freed the IT team from lengthy maintenance windows.

How does Penn National plan to use Nutanix going forward?

Penn National aims to build a hybrid cloud environment with infrastructure running side-by-side with AWS and Azure, using Nutanix to help manage growing data volumes and continue innovating in service of policyholders, agents, and the broader community.

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TL;DR

Summary

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FAQ

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