Introduction
Today's fast-paced and technology-driven world requires IT infrastructure systems that are scalable and flexible for data center operations. As organizations expand and technology evolves, data centers must adapt to meet growing demands and diverse requirements. Establishing standardized, flexible solutions is essential for maintaining efficiency and ensuring seamless operations across multiple locations. EIS, a leading provider of data center products and services, partnered with Rittal to develop customized solutions for a global leader in payments and financial technology while also successfully implementing standard solutions. Faced with unique challenges, including varying data center dimensions and low ceiling heights, EIS and Rittal collaborated to deliver a scalable and flexible solution tailored to the customer's specific needs.
About EIS
EIS provides data center products and services to keep mission-critical facilities at the forefront of IT solutions. Beyond offering a wide range of product solutions, EIS delivers consulting, design, installation, and cabling services to its customers. Since joining Rittal’s Partner Program at its inception in 2017, EIS’s business has grown tenfold.
The Challenge
EIS’s customer, a global leader in payments and financial technology serving financial institutions and merchants/businesses, approached EIS to establish standards for its data center enclosures. With multiple data centers catering to its data and analytics needs, each with unique dimensions, the customer required a tailored solution. One data center in particular posed a challenge due to its relatively low ceiling height, which couldn’t accommodate the industry-standard 42U enclosure. This specific need led EIS to reach out to Rittal for a customized enclosure solution.
The Rittal Solution
Together with EIS, the Rittal team developed custom enclosure solutions that answer the various needs of the data centers. For the normal data centers, standard 42U IT enclosures were configured with the appropriate accessories; to fit into those with lower ceilings, Rittal customized enclosures with a height of 33U.
Rittal also solved a secondary challenge related to components within the cabinet; because the enclosure itself is shorter, all cable management, accessories, and PDUs were modified to fit the shorter enclosure.
Conner Archey, Rittal Territory Account Manager, described the partner’s challenge, stating, “EIS’s customer needed a long-term solution that addressed immediate needs and could be used in future projects where room dimensions won’t allow for the standard enclosure. We made the entire enclosure—the cabinet and everything in it—work within those constraints.”
The Results
EIS now has two global standards for use in appropriate situations: the standard 42U IT enclosure and a custom 33U IT enclosure. Both are fully configured to the customer’s needs, making these plug-and-play solutions simple to install, scalable, and easy to maintain without the need to purchase add-ons.
This data center project has fostered a broader, deeper relationship with EIS’s customer. Because of the flexibility and scalability of the enclosure solution, EIS and Rittal were able to establish recurring business from this customer, and the Rittal team had an opportunity to showcase its expertise, solidifying our position as a trusted advisor.
EIS values the partnership with Rittal because of the breadth of the Rittal product line and the ability to customize enclosures. With this customer success added, EIS and Rittal have sold into two locations with more than 150 enclosures and are poised to do more business with this customer.
Archey continued to describe the value of the partnership, stating, “In the end, there are several reasons EIS chose to partner with Rittal: the unparalleled quality of our products and the engineering that goes into them, the fact that they’re made in the USA, our people, and the expertise and services we provide.”
Conclusion
By partnering with Rittal to develop customized data center enclosures that catered to the specific requirements of each customer location, EIS was able to establish a standardized yet flexible solution. This approach not only ensured compatibility across all data centers but also optimized the use of space. This collaboration between EIS and Rittal exemplifies the importance of adaptability and innovation in data center solutions while highlighting the value each partner brings to the table.
Contact Rittal for Flexible Data Center Infrastructure Solutions
Is your data center facing challenges with system flexibility and scalability? Rittal can help. Our innovative solutions are designed to meet the unique demands of modern data centers, ensuring efficiency, reliability, and future-proof scalability. Contact us today to discuss how we can tailor our offerings to address your specific needs and help your business achieve its full potential. Whether you have a dedicated data center on-premises, utilize a colocation, or seek an edge solution, Rittal can help you find a solution that best matches your requirements.