Wai Chui

Commenting on their choice of platform, Wai Chui, IT Manager at EDF Trading, "The solution supplied was well matched to our requirement; there was a natural migration path and it integrates effectively into our storage network devices.

Responsibility for getting the new data center implemented fell to Wai Chui, Manager of Infrastructure at EDF Trading, who proceeded to put together a system specification for the tendering process that would be used to select a suitable supplier. In addition to the functional requirements for application support, the new configuration had to meet stringent targets for energy conservation, ease of management and performance.

A complete refresh of the desktop systems for the trading floor was also included, together with new, colour co-ordinated monitors designed to present a professional image. The overall system specification was both large and complex, featuring backup systems from Symantec using HP tape devices, application delivery solutions from Citrix and WAN acceleration from Riverbed.

"Our challenge was to find an IT partner that we could depend on, with the experience and knowledge to assist in the design, supply and ultimately to implement this ambitious new infrastructure," observes Wai. "The large scale of the configuration and the fact that a tight relocation schedule was involved meant that project management capability would be crucial and, of course, the price had to be right".

The Solution

The solution defined by Wai and his team made extensive use of advanced blade technology, housed in water-cooled racks, to optimise the use of space and power, plus server consolidation through virtualisation using VMware software. "As Softcat had very high levels of knowledge around the technologies involved, its consultants assisted us with the design and liaised with HP to provide us with the product information we needed, which was a great help", says Wai.
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"This was a substantial undertaking for a supplier of Softcat's size," says Wai.
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"Careful planning and preparation by Softcat, together with meticulous attention to detail, was key to the smooth execution of the project," reports Wai.
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"We feel we get a better, more responsive service from Softcat than we would from a larger service provider," says Wai "Our Account Management team are always accessible and helpful, and they have shownthat they can manage the largest projects successfully".