"What a great partner! TDS brought the right people, tools and experience to assure a worry-free data center relocation. And with the help of Transition Manager, our complex data center move went off like clockwork with full visibility throughout the process. There is not a better partner EMC could have chosen for our data center relocation than TDS.
George A. Parrot
Director, Systems Services
Beckman Coulter, Inc.
"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
Over 1,000 devices relocated with no unplanned outages
Challenge
The 15 year old data center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was suffering from inefficiency and insufficient cooling capacity. The existing infrastructure was incapable of providing the operational sustainability that this nationally recognized hospital required, and the facility’s PUE reflected its age. The hospital knew it needed a new facility and turned to TDS for help with relocation planning and execution.
Because the data center supports critical hospital operations (many of which directly affect patient wellbeing), any unplanned system outages during the relocation was not acceptable. And any planned downtime needed to be minimized needed to be confined to very narrow time windows. The IT department was also in the midst of a server virtualization project leaving very few internal resources available to plan and execute the critical move project.
TDS Approach
TDS provided planning oversight and relocation execution services for Cedars Sinai. The relocation included approximately 1,000 devices, and was accomplished in 15 phases. The diligence that TDS applied to the physical on-site validation of the run book and relocation plans prior to each move event was a major contributor to the overall success of the project. TDS was able to identify and avert issues prior to move day.
Benefits
There were no unplanned disruptions throughout the entire relocation. Cedars achieved a worry free move with core day to day operations continuing unaffected by the major changes taking place.
Because TDS are experts in data center facilities, relocations and IT operations, Cedars used TDS for other services to improve operations. TDS assisted Cedars-Sinai with the rack layout and server elevation planning for the new data center. TDS also helped Cedars-Sinai evaluate CMDB solutions.
About Cedars-Sinai – Composed of more than 2,000 physicians and 10,000 employees, Cedars-Sinai is a nationally recognized teaching and research hospital located in the Los Angeles area. They have tended to the medical needs of thousands of people, including a number of celebrities, since their inception in 1902.
Relocated 6,000 devices in under 60 days - Avoided $500K penalty
Challenge
A major service provider based in Virginia faced a deadline to move out of a leased data center. Once the company decided on their data center strategy, they needed to relocate to a new facility on a compressed schedule or face a $500K penalty in addition to operations charges if they missed the deadline.
The company turned to TDS because the size, scope, complexity and risk of the project demanded an expert organization with the process, tools and people to get the job done right.
TDS Approach
This relocation project included about 6,000 devices representing over 80 different hardware manufacturers. A significant portion of the devices were sizeable, high-dollar network devices. All of the devices needed to be un-racked, cleaned, packed, transported, unpacked, re-racked, restarted and verified that full IT services had been restored.
In addition to the relocation oversight and execution services, TDS also managed the necessary vendor recertification for all of the devices. TDS also provided insurance to cover lost or damaged equipment from the time the equipment was handled until the time it was released back to the client.
Transition Manager
This project showcased Transition Manager, a TDS purpose built system of tools that facilitates relocation planning, improves communications, and simplifies the complexity of move-day logistics. TranMan is indispensible especially for multi-location moves/consolidations, as well as for multiple move bundle events.
With the Transition Manager system, each device is labeled with barcodes. Using barcode scanning handhelds, the move engineers scan and track the status of each individual device through as many as 30 pre-defined tasks depending on device type. The handhelds vigilantly enforce task orders and dependencies and instantly alert the user if they attempt an out-of-sequence task. Device statuses are updated in real time to a web based dashboard where all authorized parties can instantly view activities.
With Transition Manager, relocation project managers can review workloads, recognize bottlenecks, and direct teams as needed without the delays of typical manual updates. The client team can oversee the progress on their dashboard and view when a system is placed in its intended location and passed initial QA. The client team can continue to use Transition Manager to track the progress of client application tasks such as the startup and availability.
Benefits
This relocation project including 6,000 devices and over 80 different hardware manufacturers was achieved on time, on budget and allowed the client to avoid the $500,000 penatly moving out of the prior facility late.
The entire relocation project was completed in 9 phases over just 53 days. By carefully managing the move process with TDS methodology and best practices, there were only two minor hardware issues during the move - both were quickly resolved without service disruption.
This 99.97% success rate greatly exceeded client expectations and is the example of what can be achieved when a data center relocation is performed with the right people, process and tools to get the job done right.