Logicalis UK builds and deploys
FlexPod ‘Pop-Up’ Cloud in just three days to support the ICT
requirements of WorldSkills London 2011
Slough, UK, 17th
October 2011- Logicalis UK today announced the successful
deployment and operation of FlexPod virtual data centre
architecture to support the computing and storage needs at
WorldSkills London 2011. Based on Logicalis’ private cloud service
platform, FlexPod was designed and built in situ at ExCel London
just three days prior to the go-live date, and operated smoothly
throughout the event. This proven speed of deployment makes FlexPod
one of the ‘fastest to deploy’ virtual data centre architectures
available today.
WorldSkills is the largest
international skills competition for young people in the world, and
took place from 5th to the 12th October. Gerard Nolan, Senior
Sponsorship Manager at WorldSkills London 2011 and ‘Acting IT
Director’ at the event, says, “Speed and flexibility were critical
to us, and we needed a robust, always-on and secure IT experience
for all users throughout the event. Logicalis proved that it had
the engineering expertise - and moreover, the innovative technology
- to deliver WorldSkills London 2011’s ICT needs in what was a very
challenging environment.”
David Swayne, Director of Services at
Logicalis UK, comments, “WorldSkills London 2011 presented a
fantastic opportunity for our Project Managers and Engineers: to
design and build a data centre architecture to support the
exhibition in just three days. We knew that 1000 competitors from
51 countries would arrive at the event, expecting access to ICT
resources which were critical to their success, and we had to
deliver in very short timescales. Our secure, ‘pop-up’ Cloud did
just that.
“Even with the limited amount of
planning time we had available, it was vital that we deployed a
virtual data centre platform that provided the highest levels of
flexibility and reliability. WorldSkills London 2011 went very
smoothly, and the only headlines in the news have rightly focused
on the amazing young people taking part in the competition, at an
event that delivered on a global stage.”
As WorldSkills London 2011’s
official ICT infrastructure and services partner, Logicalis
provided all core communications and data centre infrastructure for
the event, including FlexPod, LAN communications, IP telephony,
email and other services used by the organising teams, competitors,
support staff, and visitors.
Chris Gabriel, Marketing and
Solutions Director at Logicalis UK, comments, “WorldSkills London
2011 enabled us to prove that virtual private data centres and
cloud services can be quickly and successfully implemented in
challenging locations to meet specific and timely requirements. As
the first Cisco UCS Partner in the UK, and the first to build a
hosted Cisco UCS and NetApp Cloud, we lead the way in innovating
for our customers.
“Logicalis believes that the
maturity of the FlexPod virtual architecture makes it a mainstream
approach to deploying private data centre platforms. WorldSkills
2011 demonstrated that we can solve real business challenges with a
new approach to delivering ICT resources. WorldSkills didn’t
want to build a new data centre, they wanted to put on the largest
skills exhibition in the world, and do it in incredibly tight
timeframes. Logicalis’ deployment of FlexPod was a key enabler to
ensure that the show did go on.”
FlexPod combines the power of Cisco
UCS compute platform, NetApp storage, and VMware virtualisation
software in a vendor certified architectural design. The FlexPod
virtual data centre is based on Logicalis’ industry recognised
private cloud service platform, already deployed at UK
organisations such as Loughborough University, where £2.4million of
existing data centre refurbishment costs were mitigated through
Logicalis’ self-contained private cloud architecture.
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international
provider of integrated information and communications technology
(ICT) solutions and services founded on a superior breadth of
knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration; data
centre; business analytics; video; professional and managed
services, hosting and cloud services.
Logicalis Group employs nearly 2,500
people worldwide, including highly trained service specialists who
design, specify, deploy and manage complex ICT infrastructures to
meet the needs of over 6,000 corporate and public sector
customers. To achieve this, Logicalis maintains strong
partnerships with technology leaders such as Cisco, HP, IBM,
Microsoft and NetApp.
The Logicalis Group has annualized
revenues of over $1 billion, from operations in the UK, US,
Germany, South America and Asia Pacific, and is fast establishing
itself as one of the leading IT and Communications solution
integrators, specializing in the areas of advanced technologies and
services.
The Logicalis Group is a division of
Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock
Exchanges, with revenues of approximately $5 billion.
For further information
please contact:
Andrew Parker/Jennifer Manning
Cohesive Communications
T: +44 (0)1291 626 200
E: Logicalis@cohesive.uk.com