FACILITIES migration


The Challenge


When Harvey Nichols put the project out to tender, the company specified that it had an allocated space for a new build data centre which required power, fire suppression, a newly raised floor, a more resilient Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), structured cabling and monitoring and management capabilities.


The new data centre would act as a central base for monitoring the majority of the wider stores and the database; to enable remote monitoring from any location. The new centre had to vastly improve on the legacy equipment but also offer scope for expansion into environmental monitoring. On top of that, it had to provide robust UPS ensuring that critical IT systems were not disrupted by potential power outages. Due to changing commercial priorities in a fast-paced retail market, the commissioning of the new data centre had to be delivered within a four-week period, instead of the initial timeframe of twelve weeks, and ensure minimum disruption to the Harvey Nichols service across the wider store and restaurant network within the United Kingdom.


After evaluating a range of supplier tenders, on365 was selected to advise, consult and design the new data centre infrastructure. Harvey Nichols began initial talks with on365 to plan an installation over a four-week period. A key part of the process was finding an expert supplier, that genuinely understood Harvey Nichols’ requirement for a flexible and resilient data centre which could be aligned with daily computing needs and an installation team that could move fast, to fit the timeframe.


Matthew Suddock, Infrastructure Manager at Harvey Nichols said: “To meet our operational needs the data centre move had to be fast and


£A power and infrastructure solutions assessment and overview to assess the current data centre provision and new site requirements


£Full project installation deployment, build and management £System training for Harvey Nichols’ infrastructure team £A nation-wide service level agreement (covers all its stores) £A newly raised floor to support the data centre installation and future expansion


£Managed power distribution through a new UPS solution – APC £Symmetra PX48 includes ‘all in one’ product monitoring benefits, and was selected because the unit’s electrical efficiency has one of the highest class ratings in the industry, which is good both from a financial and ‘green’ perspective


£Environmental management – Netbox Environmental Manager measures temperature and humidity per rack


£CPI data cable management overhead ladder runway £A centralised management and monitoring platform to give visibility of all APC equipment across the Harvey Nichols network


£10 APC net shelter 42U SX racks – a mixture of networking and server


£Metered Power Distribution Unit (PDU) strips to monitor how much power is drawn from each rack


Chris Smith, sales and marketing director of on365, commented: “Having worked with Harvey Nichols for the past 20 years, we knew the solution for the new location had to offer maximum use of space, effective power distribution and management, plus the ability to expand with the company’s needs. We were able to design a service that enabled a quick build within a four-week period. The new centre will enable electrical efficiency, a better managed power distribution, overhead cabling and the centralised monitoring


Harvey Nichols now has a fully functioning new data centre on site at the new headquarters, with a range of clear operational benefits. The solution had to match what we currently had, but deliver improved efficiency, the space and capability to expand in support of the growing network and a minimal level of disruption to the wider head office move, network support and store operation


seamless. We needed to ensure that the new site was fully functional and that there was no disruption to any service provided across our network. Therefore our chosen supplier had to offer innovation and resilience in the new data centre design and the ability to act quickly on installation to ensure a smooth transfer. Above all, they needed the vision to create a data centre that could act as a hub for the wider network and grow with the organisation’s demands.”


The Harvey Nichols IT team wanted a mixture of commercial insight and infrastructure know-how as well as design skills from the supplier. As Matthew Suddock explained: “It was immediately clear that, having worked with us over the past 20 years, on365 had a lot of experience with the site’s infrastructure. This expertise, combined with the resilience of the system specification, meant that we were confident that they would create a solution to fit the challenge.”


The Solution


The on365 team stepped up its successful existing support role to become a dynamic facilitator of the move to the new infrastructure, and designed a service that included the following in support of the new data centre build:


capability to ensure 100% service across the company’s network at all times.”


The Outcome


Harvey Nichols now has a fully functioning new data centre on site at the new headquarters, with a range of clear operational benefits. Matthew Suddock explained: “The solution had to match what we currently had, but deliver improved efficiency, the space and capability to expand in support of the growing network and a minimal level of disruption to the wider head office move, network support and store operation. The on365 infrastructure and technical support solution matched the brief. Through a seamless transition, it enabled us to embrace new technology and create a better configured site, both on a usability and efficiency level.”


To assess the success of the project, metrics and benefit expectations were set and assessed on completion. The project was completed on time, on budget and accommodated alterations within the plan and provided the resilient base necessary for future expansion and environmental monitoring.


May 2012 I www.dcsuk.info 29


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