In a bold move to capture the South African disaster recovery mainframe market and to provide its clients with the most cost-effective and proven solution available, SafeGuard iT, the joint venture between the AST Group and UK-based Guardian iT, has invested in the leading-edge IBM zSeries Mainframe Server at its disaster recovery and business continuity premises in Randburg.
The R15 million IBM zSeries supports the new 64-bit z/Architecture and provides excellent application flexibility. Powered by z/OS, the zSeries servers deliver the highest quality of service for enterprise transactions and data. The foundation of the new z/OS, OS/390, provides high levels of availability, scalability and manageability for mission-critical workloads.
"SafeGuard iT is one of the first companies to install and run the IBM zSeries in SA," says SafeGuard iT GM, Bernard Vertenten. "This significant investment demonstrates our commitment and response to clients` immediate and future requirements, by offering, where necessary, leading-edge technology on all possible platforms to support and keep their businesses running in the event of an outage.
"This offering fits in well with two of our key strategies: to provide customised technology and services, and to offer services over a very broad range of platforms and systems. We are once again in a unique position to offer our clients access to many different computer systems, even state-of-the-art workplace technologies, such as call centres," adds Vertenten.
Together with AST Enterprise Hosting and AST Consulting, SafeGuard iT, provides a comprehensive service with their combined proven skills, experience and expertise to support clients on the various platforms ranging from mainframe to numerous Unix and client server platforms, to ensure that its clients have access to exactly the right contingency measures to safeguard them against system failure in even the most demanding and complex corporate environments.
The IBM zSeries Server will be housed in SafeGuard`s High-Availability Computer Facility (HACF) in Randburg, which provides for computer hardware and high-specification workplace positions. As with all of SafeGuard iT`s recovery centres, each purpose-built suite contains the latest IT and communications facilities, with stand-by generators and a UPS to ensure a fail-safe power supply in blast proof buildings.
Clients also have as an option the opportunity to use SafeGuard`s HACF to install customer owned backup discs to replicate data for mission critical system. The replicated data can then be connected to the server platform such as the zSeries, reducing recovery time, downtime and cost, as the client does not have to purchase the server platform, but makes use of it as a shared resource. The data replication and mirroring solutions has already been proven and implemented for a number of clients across most platforms and network connections.
Share
In just three years the AST Group has established itself as one of the leading information and communication technology companies on the JSE Securities Exchange. Its consistent creation of value for shareholders, clients and employees has resulted in a steady increase in monthly revenue to the R100 million plus mark.
AST is now the fourth largest South African IT company by market capitalisation, and is one of the top three in terms of physical infrastructure (mainframes, servers, desktops, and networks under management) and geographical footprint with over 62 physical locations. Counting almost 90% of the top 100 JSE-listed companies among its clients, the AST Group services mostly large corporate and government clients, but is increasingly offering services to rapidly evolving small and medium enterprises.
Editorial contacts