SITA upgrades infrastructure with Datacentrix

Last year, the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) collaborated with IT infrastructure solutions and services provider, Datacentrix, to migrate from Microsoft Windows NT to Windows 2003 and implement Active Directory services for SITA nationally.

Datacentrix was chosen to provide the technology deployment while Microsoft was engaged to facilitate the training and skills transfer during the project. This project is envisaged to be completed by the end of February 2006. SITA opted to implement 38 HP servers, 17 racks, storage, uninterruptible power supplies (UPSes) and backup media.

According to Sidwell Ngqandu, General Manager: Operations at SITA, the solution is being rolled out to all SITA branches country-wide, including Pretoria, Centurion, Erasmuskloof, Perseus Park, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town, East London and Port Elizabeth.

"From the hardware point-of-view, the objective of the standardisation exercise is to facilitate effective and efficient management of resources. This will allow SITA the ability to provide structured training for technical staff allowing easy fault handling. SITA also felt that HP`s future roadmap for the technology purchased presented the best option in terms of hardware longevity," he says.

"Improvements in Active Directory deliver key strategic benefits for companies, enabling greater administrator and user productivity," adds Mpume Dywili, divisional director at Datacentrix. "Organisations using Active Directory 2003 can benefit from reductions in cost while increasing efficiency in sharing and managing the various elements of the enterprise.

"Active Directory in Windows Server 2003 provides easier deployment and management, greater security and improved performance and dependability."

Datacentrix supplied and installed the solutions, while also taking responsibility for infrastructure deployment project management.