MWEB Business has utilised international data centre best practice to construct its new, state-of-the-art data centre in Greenside, Johannesburg. The data centre acts as a centralised storage facility and houses the Web sites, mission-critical servers, applications and other hardware needed to service MWEB Business customers.
The scalable, robust structure will provide customers with access to the latest technology and will allow for their future growth requirements.
A phased migration approach to the new data centre was adopted to ensure the least inconvenience or risk to MWEB Business` customers. The three-month project, which was completed in September 2004, involved moving more than 25 tons of equipment, laying 26km of cabling, using more than 30 000 bricks and installing over 1km of conduit pipes.
"The MWEB Business Data Centre hosts various small, medium and large customers - including popular online retailers. Meticulous planning and ongoing customer communication has been essential in ensuring minimal disruption to our customers," says Andr'e Joubert, general manager, MWEB Business.
The fort-like structure boasts sophisticated air-conditioning, power supply and advanced security features that protect it against fire, floods and unauthorised access. The new data centre is less susceptible to downtime as a result of lightning strikes, as the Telkom interconnections are fibre-based.
An advanced access management system ensures that only authorised employees have access to the centre`s different zoned areas. In addition, the centre and its various components are intelligently monitored by an integrated system, which reports on the environment, networks, servers and applications. This information is fed to the 24x7 technical assistance centre, enabling staff to respond rapidly in the event of an incident.
"The data centre upgrade will allow us to address customer requirements efficiently by deploying the most recent technology innovations. The upgrade will furthermore reduce planned downtime by 75%," concludes Joubert.
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Founded in January 1998 as the business division of MWEB, MWEB Business provides comprehensive solutions in areas of Internet services, application services, content services, Web development, e-commerce, e-procurement and consultancy to businesses.
We are dedicated to helping our business clients leverage the power of the Internet by providing a comprehensive solution for all their Internet needs along with the expertise and skills to successfully implement their ventures online.
MWEB Business has e-commerce-enabled more than 220 businesses and provided Internet services to more than 50 000 business clients, including Pick `n Pay, Makro, Netflorist, Incredible Connection, The Pro Shop and many more.
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