e-know.net
Business Challenge
With e-know.net’s business growing rapidly year on year, e-know.net needed to build a data-centre with an infrastructure that would be class leading, efficient and most importantly, scalable.
EPI Solution
EPI helped e-know.net to design and build the new data centre that will enable e-know.net’s Managed Service Provision business to meet the demands of its marketplace.
Results
e-know.net can now enjoy the benefits of a physical infrastructure that can meet the needs of their strategic intent and e-know.net’s clientele can also have the peace of mind that they will always receive the managed IT service they expect from e-know.net.
Customer Profile
e-know.net is a dynamic UK managed service provider, delivering Application Hosting, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Business Continuity to clients in 20 countries around the world. e-know.net support customers and allow them to focus 100% on their business by taking responsibility for 'all things IT' – communications, networks, applications, support, even strategy. e-know.net provide a fully managed service, maintaining server infrastructure and delivering software and data to any user anywhere in the world and are an established Microsoft Gold Certified partner.
Business Challenge
Since 1990, e-know.net had been part of the rise of the “cloud” computing market and thus had grown rapidly as a company. Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s Managing Director comments: “In March 1998, we [the board] all sat down and fashioned out the strategic plan for the next growth phase of this company and as a data-centre formed a critical part of our plans, we simply had to get that right”.
Part of the plan also included a brand new head quarters, ISO certification and a focussed drive into new markets with innovative service offerings.
Nigel Redwood continues: “The most important part of our business is our people, our data-centre forms a close second. The hardware, software and communication systems form the physical basis of our service. The infrastructure in which these all sit on needs to be robust, resilient, efficient, green and have the all important ability to grow as and when our business demands it”.
EPI Solution
On selecting a contractor to design and build the data-centre, Steve Brown, e-know.net’s Technical Director, states: “Our challenge was not just turning our idea of the “right” data-centre into reality, but finding the right company to help us make this possible. We were looking for a partner really, a partner who understood the technical as well as commercial pressures we were under. A partner who was flexible enough to design solutions around our particular needs. A partner who would assist us in the long term. That’s why we chose EPI”.
EPI consulted with e-know.net assessing their requirements on a variety of area including planning permission, efficiency (PUE and DCiE analysis), resilience issues, scalability planning etc. Finally EPI put together a full design of the proposed data centre facility together with schematic layouts, project plans and computational fluid dynamics modelling reports. Steve Brown continues: “EPI were very professional and competent. They were constantly trying to focus on bridging best practice solutions to our particular commercial requirements. I found that refreshing”.
EPI built a 1 hour fire-rated 24 rack modular data centre at e-know.net’s brand new HQ – Datapoint House in Telford. The solution included the fabric being fully waterproofed. The room was cooled by two 120kW close control smart computer room air conditioning units in an N+1 configuration, within a closed aisle containment system. A complete fire suppression system was also installed plus a UPS system also in an N+1 configuration which supplied two separate electrical distribution boards which in turn fed each rack which dual electrical supply. This level of redundancy ensures maximum uptime and removes all single points of failure. The facility contained full environmental monitoring.
The plant room was designed to take on another 48 racks without any downtime whatsoever.
Steve Brown says: “The EPI project team had a real can do attitude. Nothing was too big or complex to handle”.
The Results
The result is a scalable, efficient, secure, resilient and robust data-centre facility, one that will help secure e-know.net’s future as a leading Managed IT Service Provider.
Steve Brown explains: “Through the smart cooling technologies and the cold aisle containment system, we have managed to gain 25% less power consumption and a smaller carbon footprint.”
Nigel Redwood comments: “I am pleased that we now have a class leading facility that forms a platform for our innovative products and services to be built on. We had the Datapoint House Grand open day recently and clients and business partners alike where thoroughly impressed with the facility.”
e-know.net’s new IT infrastructure will enable the following:
• Provide rapid deployment of new technologies
• Improve information flow
• Increase business uptime thereby minimising risk
• Increase business agility
• Deliver a competitive edge
• Drive efficiencies resulting in operating cost reductions
• Maximise resilience and therefore service delivery
• Secures the technical future of the company
• Enables complete control and management
• Maximises e-know.net’s eco-friendly credentials
EPI Service Limited
Witan Park, Avenue Two
Station Lane, Witney
OX28 4FH
E: sales@epi-uk.com
W: www.epi-uk.com
T: 01993 708855
F: 01993 708850