Aioi Nissay Dowa are the European subsidiary of Asia’s largest insurer which is part of the MS & AD group; providing both retail and corporate products to meet customers’ and partners’ needs. Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe (AND-E), was formed in 2010 following the merger of Aioi and Nissay Dowa. It has recently expanded its geographic presence beyond its inaugural markets of the UK and Germany, and now operate in more than 10 countries.
AND-E’s principal focus is to provide auto centric insurance products either directly or on behalf of its strategic partners.
AND-E’s core operations are in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium, with strategic partnerships in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Portugal and Estonia. Several new markets are also under development.
Aioi Nissay Dowa approached Technimove to undertake the safe migration of their equipment from a UK based Datacentre to their facilities in Munich. At the initial meeting with a Technimove Migration Consultant, AND-E highlighted the migration plan.
It was advised that the equipment list included a populated IBM Netezza rack that had to be transported to the third floor of a building in Munich. This raised several logistical concerns. The Server Migration Consultant advised on a site survey before proceeding with the project.
An experienced migration engineer visited the delivery site to determine:
After an extensive study of the building, the engineer was able to provide feedback of the approach that Technimove would recommend, to ensure the secure migration of the equipment.
Steps to the entrance of the building – Netezza Racks could not be wheeled in
Lift Restriction – The lift had a weight limitation of 600kg – Netezza racks weight approximately 1 tonne.
A step to the data hall – Netezza racks could not be wheeled straight into the data hall
Due to the lift restrictions, Technimove advised AND-E that the rack could not be moved fully populated and that devices would need to be removed before the rack could be wheeled to the lift. It was also impossible to securely transport the rack up the stairs without compromising safety.
A Technimove Project Manager worked alongside AND-E to create a detailed migration plan. The project manager needed to take account the lengthy journey from London to Munich whilst sticking to tight migration timelines.
Technimove’s Warehouse team used measurements that were taken during the site survey to build bespoke ramps, in order to negotiate the steps outside the building and inside the data hall.
On the Migration day, the Technimove team arrived onsite ahead of time to complete a final assessment of the work and prepare the environment. Spreader plates were laid down from the Data Hall to the loading bay to ensure that the flooring is not damaged whilst moving heavy equipment. Once all the equipment had been powered off, the Technimove team secured the rack in a purpose built rack jacket. Technimove’s rack jackets are foam-protected and water resistant. Once the rack was secured, the team wheeled the rack to the exit before loading it into an 18tonne truck via tail lift.
Once all equipment was loaded, the team commenced the journey to Munich.
Considering the distance of travel and HGV driving hour limitations, a separate Technimove team was flown to Munich in order to reduce the migration downtime.
Once the equipment arrived at the delivery site, the equipment was handed over to the second team. Technimove engineers placed the purpose built ramps and wheeled the rack inside the building. Once inside and protected from bad weather, the team labelled all cables inside the rack before decommissioning the equipment.
Once the rack was lighter and adhering to the lift’s weight restriction, it was wheeled into the lift and transported to the third floor. The removed devices were secured into flightcases and were also transported to the third floor. When the equipment reached the third floor, the Technimove team wheeled it out of the lift and placed it in front of the data hall door. The team placed the purpose built ramp down on the step before wheeling the rack and flightcases up to the data hall. The team then pushed the rack into place. The devices were then re-racked and patched back to their original arrangement. Once the rack was in place, AND-E signed off the project, confirming a successful migration.
Technimove exceeded the client’s expectations by safely completing the work ahead of schedule, reducing the migration downtime. AND-E were delighted with the result and offered excellent feedback. “Even though the project looked high risk, you made it look so easy. You are really good at what you do and the onsite team worked exceptionally well. We look forwarding to working with you again.”
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