Volkswagen Group UK
Summary
Business Challenge
With the efficient processing of vehicle sales, dealer network information, and administration, VWG needs a reliable and flexible infrastructure – especially in today’s challenging environment.
VWG’s IT environment has built up over a number of years by adding infrastructure as required. This meant that the environment lacked standardisation and resilience. To address this, VWG embarked on an IT transformation programme.
EPI Solution
EPI helped VWG to design and build the new data centre that will enable the IT transformation programme to be possible through the easy deployment and management of existing and new technologies.
Results
VWG can now take advantage of new applications which will help to improve the speed and efficiency when storing, accessing and managing critical data in the knowledge that the physical infrastructure is secure, robust and intelligent.
Customer Profile
Passionate about cars…
Volkswagen's relationship with the UK dates back to 1952, when the first two Beetles were sold. In 1953 Volkswagen Motors Ltd became the official UK importer, and the brand went from strength to strength. Volkswagen also centralised its operations in 1978, and moved into its headquarters in Blakelands, Milton Keynes. From Blakelands the company controls sourcing, marketing and distribution of all vehicles and parts in the UK.
Today Volkswagen UK, as part of the Volkswagen Group, is one of the country's largest importers of vehicles, employing nearly 600 people nationwide, with the Volkswagen brand employing 180 in Blakelands alone.
Business Challenge
The new car sales market has been hit hard by the current economic climate. As well as using IT to increase efficiency to reduce cost, VWG also needs to be prepared to use IT to stay ahead once the market picks up.
Nick Gaines, VWG’s IT Director, comments: “A lot of our processes, logistics, sales, administration etc. are done here at Blakelands and any IT downtime can hamper our ability to produce, manage and provide information in an efficient and timely manner.”
The main IT challenges for VWG related to the manner in which VWG’s IT infrastructure had grown. As Nick Gaines explains: “Our IT Infrastructure lacked a formal architecture. Investment had been on a tactical basis to support new systems and needs as they arose, but was not always strategically aligned with our business objectives”.
This had led to an ageing and non-standardised IT infrastructure that, although worked very well, potentially lacked the resilience and was becoming expensive to fully support. VWG recognised that rather than continue to grow the facility organically, it would be more efficient and practical to create a whole new facility to house the new IT infrastructure that will be robust, secure and energy efficient.
EPI Solution
Nick Laws. VWG’s Facilities Manager was in charge of making this project successful. On selecting the right partner to help with the design and build of the new facility Nick Laws states: “Though any potential contractor would have to fulfil various criteria, what was important to us was a contractor who could really become an equal partner and work closely with us on all levels. A partner that will have the vision to see the direction we are heading in both commercially and technically. To me, EPI fit the bill on all counts.”
EPI put together a full design of the proposed data centre facility together with schematic layouts, project plans and computational fluid dynamics modelling reports. Nick Laws continues: “I was really impressed with the level of expertise on so many facets of the complex world of data centres and the ease in which they made you understand the issues and solutions particularly at our management meetings”.
EPI built a 2 hour fire rated 32 rack modular data centre at VWG’s National Training Centre at Milton Keynes. The solution included the fabric being fully fire rated and waterproofed. The room was cooled by three 90kW close control computer room air conditioning units in an N+1 configuration. 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. Nick Laws stated: “EPI’s installation team were extremely responsive, dedicated, experienced and hard working. They focused on every aspect of the job with complete professionalism.”
Results
The result is a resilient, secure and fully functional data centre that will become the basis in which VWG will roll out its existing and new technologies for the future.
Nick Gaines comments: “I have been involved in many data centres in my time and EPI’s attention to detail, expertise and solution orientation is rarely seen in this industry….and at such value!”
VWG’s new IT infrastructure will enable is to:
• Improve information flow
• Reduce risk
• Increase business Agility