TBC Saves Money while Increasing Floor Space and Efficiency
The Challenge
TBC Corporation (TBC), the nation’s largest integrated marketer for the automotive tire replacement market had been supporting its thousands of retail outlets from an aging data center in Juno Beach, Florida. The data center had become too crowded, ineffecient and too expensive to maintain.
After an initial assessment, TBC decided to build a replacement data center. While TBC knew they would use the architect and engineering firm with whom they've had a long standing relationship, they also wanted to take advantage of deeper expertise specific to data center design, construction and operations. TBC turned to Transitional Data Services.
The TDS Approach
TDS helped define the data center requirements and assisted in the development of a ten-year roadmap for TBD. The new facility was designed to support 150% of the current data center’s capacity, and is expected to meet TBC’s computing needs throughout the expected lifespan of the facility and installed infrastructure.
Transitional Data Services also represented TBC’s interests throughout the construction phase of the project with oversight, owners rep and peer review services. TDS helped ensure that the new data center would meet the established uptime, efficiency, and “green” objectives.
Benefits
By leveraging Transitional Data Services, TBC achieved the following:
- Saved more than 25% on the critical infrastructure costs by establishing a more competitive bid process
- Increased usable floor space capacity by 17% by optimizing the layout
- Increased cooling capacity without increasing cost through efficiency improvements in the implementation of CRAC units, chiller loops and ductwork
- Improved the operational performance and reduced the risk of fire at the site by implementing the new TDS designed fire detection & suppression systems
About TBC Corporation - TBC Corporation, a company of Sumitomo Corporation of America, is the nation's largest vertically integrated marketer of tires for the automotive replacement market. The Company's retail operations include company-operated tire and automotive service centers under the "Tire Kingdom", "Merchant's Tire & Auto Centers" and "National Tire & Battery" brands, and franchised stores under the "Big O Tires" brand. TBC markets on a wholesale basis to regional tire chains and distributors serving independent tire dealers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Recognized by Network World for Leading Green Design
Challenge
In order to support demand for enterprise grade, Tier-3 class data centers in New Englad, Internap needed to quickly increase its inventory of data center space or lose busines to other data center providers.
TDS Approach
Under the leadership if Karl Robohm of TDS, a new, green data center was brought online just 12 months from getting permits.
This new data center in the Boston area was built from the ground up to be a "state-of-the-shelf", green data center facility. To support a wide range of potential tenants over a long life cycle, this 45,000 SF colocation facility includes the necessary security, fiber access, power and efficiency to minimize operating expense over a wide range of occupancy levels and power densities.
Benefits
The new Internap green data center in Sommerville, MA was recognized by Network World online as a model example of green data center design:
Companies looking for a green data center model should take a look at the new facility Internap built in Somerville, Mass., just outside Boston, which is so environmentally efficient the local power company wrote it a rebate check for $453,000.
"Internap expects that the data center will save another $400,000 every year by using less power than it would have had it not built to green specifications," says Mike Higgins, vice president and general manager of Internap's data center services.
To read the entire story complete with photos, please visit:
What does a real green data center look like?
About Internap's Data Center
The TDS staff has been instrumental in the design, construction and commissioning of the Internap / Sommerville facility. Please click the image below to launch an interactive flash demonstration of the Internap facility.
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"We needed a partner capable of delivering on the optimal design of the new space all the way through the actual move execution which is what differentiated TDS for Eaton Vance. Failure to successfully execute on the relocation to our new state-of-the-art data center with adverse impact to the business was not an option.
"Eaton Vance made a significant investment in the new data center and TDS was instrumental in helping us position the company for future growth and success."
Tully Cunningham
AVP of IT Infrastructure
Eaton Vance
"TDS helped us with our initial data center design, build-out and migration almost three years ago. They provided us with a scalable, highly redundant, server and network architecture and have continued to provide 24x7 data center operations.
"TDS has helped us grow our server farm by 300% and network traffic by 1000%, all of which has allowed us to become a top 10 travel web site.
"I have recommended TDS to a number of colleagues who have enjoyed similar success."
Paul English
CTO / Founder
Kayak.com