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Within our current environment , there is room for upscaling without the need to purchase any additional hardware , making our current setup fit-for-purpose and fit for the immediate future .
As we know , in IT , technology continues improving on a daily basis , and with the current setup , changes can be made fairly easily with limited impact on the current production environment .
How seamless was the transition and how did Datacentrix enable this ?
The transition was very much seamless . We basically had four days to complete the physical transition from the old data centre to the new data centre .
Fortunately , with the help of Datacentrix , we were able to start the process early with the project , and Datacentrix did a complete audit of our environment – hosting as well as networking . This audit allowed us to plan the relocation properly , as well as assisting with what would be needed when relocating and what could be disposed of . It also allowed us to make improvements as part of the relocation , allowing us to future-proof our environment .
The audit allowed us to do a server consolidation ahead of the relocation , reducing the impact to the business and decreasing downtime required .
Probably the most significant action was the physical relocation of our hosting environment . With the help and expertise of Datacentrix , we had a few scenarios on the table on how to approach the physical relocation of the servers , storage and backup environments .
The recommendation was to relocate the complete racks that were already consolidated beforehand to the exact specs for the new data centre . This was a bit of an unknown for myself and the team , as with previous relocations this had been done piece by piece and not as a complete unit . We put our trust in Datacentrix as it has the expertise and has done this many times .
Proper planning was done by Datacentrix , with site visits ensuring the relocation routes of the racks , the access at both data centres , what was required and , most importantly , ascertaining whether the lifts would be capable of handling the load . All of this was done well in advance , providing us , the customer , with peace of mind .
This made the day of relocation seamless : we started at 08:00 on the Friday morning , and by 16:00 in the afternoon on the same day , all server racks were located in the new data centre , the only outstanding task was powering up the environment to ensure all was working as expected .
This was a challenge , as part of the relocation required moving the existing UPS environment as well . Again , Datacentrix did the job well , dismantling the UPS environment , relocating it to the new offices , configuring and setting it up , and ensuring there was uninterrupted power for the data centre in case of power failures .
Power to the data centre was restored on the Friday at around 21:00 . A decision was made to do a full power cycle on the Saturday morning .
WE HAVE BUILT A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH DATACENTRIX OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND FIND THE COMPANY TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL PARTNER .
By midday Saturday , all equipment was in place and powered on , allowing my team to do proper testing , ensuring that everything was working as needed .
The data centre relocation was completed by the Saturday , with all service restored to full functionality , thanks to the expertise of Datacentrix and the awesome infrastructure team behind me .
What business benefits have you seen since relocating ?
With the current pandemic , our business requires the ability to work from wherever needed . With locations across South Africa and Africa , it is crucial that our data centre is accessible 24 / 7 / 365 .
With the successful relocation and streamlining of our environment and great partners , this is a reality for us .
We have not lost a day of connectivity or operations across our offices during the challenging year , allowing the business to successfully demerge and rebrand to be the Zutari we need to be for our clients and the future .
It has also ensured that we meet our targets for our clients and deliver as promised . Having Datacentrix as a technology provider gives us peace of mind for the now and the future . ◊ www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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