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NDS has created a network of dedicated professionals with extensive knowledge in designing, constructing, implementing and managing your data centre project. From small refurbishments to complete data centre upgrades, NDS has the proven knowledge, skills and resources available to help.

From our experience, many organisations:

• Don't have the time, in-house skill sets or access to the required resources for such a project
• Don't have an understanding of the issues that could put the company and their Directors at risk
• Don't know or understand the latest technologies and how to apply them to their businesses needs
• Do "bandaid" fixes, without any real thought or design, which ultimately leads to unnecessary and ongoing expenses
• Do have an understanding of the I.T. side but often forget about the infrastructure, power, environmental and security aspects, and
• Prefer to concentrate on their core business and outsource their I.T. project needs

To save you time and money, call us before commencing your data centre relocation, expansion, upgrade or even downgrade, to book in a complimentary review of your requirements.

Network Data Solutions (NDS) commenced operations in September 1999 and was created out of a sense that the industry needed a no-nonsense approach to IT procurement. Our success in this area has lead to an expanded range of complementary product and service offerings allowing us to provide a more holistic solution to our client's information technology needs.

Information Technology is usually deemed an expense in most businesses. We turn it into a profitable part of your business by giving you the tools and resources to maximise your core business potential.

"We are IT resource specialists. We help all kinds of organisations reduce their operating costs which in turn helps them to boost their bottom line. I firmly believe that IT is the most cost-effective tool available to individuals and companies to help them increase their efficiency and productivity levels."
Varun Katyal, Director

Our customers

• Large organisations
• Small to Medium organisations
• Government
• Hospitals
• Education

The benefits of trusting your IT requirements to NDS

With over 10 years experience in the Information Technology industry and with established relationships with the industry's top vendors, Network Data Solutions is uniquely positioned to draw on the best resources to meet your IT needs or to bring your IT project to fruition.

Our knowledge and experience coupled with access to a wide range of products across a variety of technologies, ensures that our role as a hardware and software integrator brings the disparate elements of a project together to provide the desired solution. When required, we also draw on the expertise of our vendor partners to ensure the best advice and outcome is provided for your project.

Our clients range from small businesses to large enterprises. We support all clients equally and do not make the small business feel "small", as they often require more assistance than larger enterprises.

Tailored solutions

The IT industry has any number of organisations willing to supply equipment with little regard for the overall infrastructure, network design and requirements of individual businesses. NDS will look at the project outcomes required and ensure that the solution provided delivers those outcomes based on the needs of the business as a whole, not just the IT department.

NDS's works with your staff to ascertain your requirements, scope the project and establish the key outcomes, including timing. Once we have this preliminary information we draw on our technical resources to recommend a solution meeting those requirements consistent with your budget constraints.

Client relationships

Our aim is to develop an ongoing partnership with your business that ensures your IT infrastructure is a support to your business, not a hindrance. The majority of our clients have had a long term relationship with us and use us as a trusted source of information and advice.

Our ongoing support programs allow you to get on with the task of running your business while we work to keep the IT backend functioning efficiently and reliably.

One stop solution

We act as a single point of contact - meaning a single point of accountability. No matter what the issue or requirement we will develop a solution and then see that solution through to completion.

We have a "no finger pointing" policy. We accept responsibility and focus on the only thing that matters - delivering a solution that meets your current and future needs. NDS is your point of contact for all issues associated with any given project.

Quality industry partners

The effective way to provide a prime solution is to utilise "best of breed" equipment and associated designs. NDS partners with the industry's top vendors to give you access to the most cost effective, reliable, highest performance, and best supported equipment available.

Our vendor partners include IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, Juniper Networks, Symantec, Canon, Computer Associates and Trend Micro. Specialised partners include Netapp, Check Point, SourceFire and Lumension.

You don't need to be concerned about which vendor to use. We will present the best option or range of options, and then integrate these into your project to deliver the optimum outcome.

Infrastructure

The reliability and efficiency of power supplies and the effectiveness of temperature control systems are a critical element of IT infrastructure.

IT systems require a reliable supply of power with emphasis on efficiency to help contain increasing power costs. NDS partners with world leading power integrity companies like APC to provide reliable and cost effective power systems.

NDS has also developed specialised cooling systems that ensure the integrity of your equipment and, in turn, your data.

Turn-key solutions

Many projects require a "turn key" solution where you need all the setup, configuration and testing to be done before the installation goes ahead. This may be due to remote locations or time constraints. NDS has the capability to deliver projects on this basis ensuring a clean, swift, hassle free commissioning.

Access to live systems

Understanding what various equipment and systems can deliver can be difficult and confusing. Network Data Solutions is able to demonstrate live examples of the available technology solutions in a real operating environment.

Working with the world's top equipment manufacturers, we have access to a range of demonstration facilities where you can get a "hands on" feel for the equipment and its capabilities before you decide on the final solution that will meet your company's needs.

Software licencing and management

All businesses will have some form of licencing for either software or hardware. Network Data Solutions provides the support you require to manage your licences and reduces the complexity of administration. We can assist with licence renewals and licence co-terming. As part of this process we will proactively assist with providing the best solution at renewal time. Many of our clients have all their licences managed by NDS which gives them peace of mind over an issue that has the potential to disrupt your business activities.

Our approach

Our main proposition to you is to increase your project success through smarter design, due diligence and risk mitigation, regardless of business size or complexity. The results are greater efficiency, lower costs and improved business success.

As we are vendor agnostic we will provide you with independent and unbiased feedback and advice on the best solution to meet your requirements. We review your compliance requirements and ensure they adhere to the relevant guidelines and standards. Our experienced personnel will consider all aspects of the life cycle, design, build, code implementation, migration and operation to ensure that you achieve your desired results with confidence and peace of mind.

Network Data Solutions as a company has extensive experience covering system administration, production support, development, security, networking, and power management and control. We are able to consider all areas of the solution creation and reduce the likelihood of uncertainties later in the development / deployment life cycle. This results in a lower risk project.

Before recommending a solution, NDS works with your team to gather the relevant documents and outcome requirements for review and consideration. Network Data Solutions ensures that the end solution is in compliance with your policies, existing infrastructure and best practices.

Our proven methodology will help you reach your objectives on time and on budget:

• Identifying client desired outcomes (technology and financial).
• Solution design and due diligence
• Cost and risk analysis
• Proposal to client and client approval
• Fulfilment coordination
• Implementation.
• Review of outcomes and resolution of issues
• Ongoing support and managed services

Identifying Outcomes

Working with your company, NDS will identify the desired deliverables which take into account not only the technology requirements but also the overall business objectives. We are mindful of the excess costs that can be incurred in IT projects for minimal added value. By looking at the total picture we aim to deliver the most cost effective solution for your company.

Design and Due Diligence

Whether your solution is designed by us or in-house, Network Data Solutions reviews the proposed solution from the design and risk mitigation viewpoint to ensure the end result meets your company's expectations. The design is analysed from all aspects including Security (operational and architectural), perceived risks and issues associated with the project.

Cost and Risk Analysis

Where possible multiple solutions are developed and analysed. These are fully costed taking into account associated risks, all of which form part of our presentation to your company.

The cost compilation will include items such as software licensing, hardware and technical resource effort estimation (i.e. how many days to install, to configure, for the equipment to be delivered once ordered, etc.)

Proposal to Client and Approval

NDS will not proceed with any work without approval from your company, nor will any variations be made without prior approval.

Fulfilment Coordination

Coordination of a project can be challenging and NDS's experience in this area mitigates the risks associated with project implementation.

In line with our policy of being one point of contact NDS accepts responsibility for coordination of the complete project, including supplier liaison and delivery.

Implementation

NDS has the capability to fully implement the project using it's resources, or we will work closely with your IT team to get the project up and running on budget and on time.

Review and Resolution of Issues

Once the project is operational NDS reviews the outcomes and the effectiveness to ensure desired outcomes are achieved and, where necessary, institutes corrective action to address any issues.

Ongoing Support and Managed Services

NDS continues its support for the project to ensure complete client satisfaction. In addition, and if desired, we have the capability to provide ongoing management of the technology beyond the scope of the project.

If you don't have an IT department or the required resources for ongoing technology management we can fill that gap.

Your company's role

The success of the project is dependent on the preparation undertaken by your company. It is essential that information is collated covering the following areas, as relevant to your company:

• Server utilisation information.
• Future capacity needs and growth rate.
• Indicative costing of data centre space.
• Indicative server costs and maintenance costs.
• Architecture map of existing systems.
• Current storage utilisation.
• Future storage growth.
• Accurate asset data.

This data defines the expected returns to justify budget approval for the project.

Sometimes the most obvious gets overlooked.  Considering the fact that IT equipment requires, at the very least, a reliable, clean power supply, the basic power infrastructure can be one of the most overlooked parts of any business.

Regardless of the size of your business you need to be comfortable with the supply of power to ensure protection from data loss or equipment damage.

With increasing power costs it is important to ensure that this supply of power is managed and carefully regulated for the highest efficiencies and greatest cost savings.

The basic strategy for any IT environment is to ensure that power is retained to IT equipment in the event of a power loss in the environment (blackout etc.)  The most elementary part of this strategy is the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).  The continuation of power allows the clean shut down of servers and related equipment in the event of a power outage, protecting from data loss and equipment damage.

In some ways more importantly, the UPS also conditions the power supply to protect from fluctuations in power being either surges, or voltage drops (brown outs) both of which can cause significant damage to equipment.
The correct planning of a power strategy for your business is a critical “insurance policy” against data loss, equipment damage, and helps ensure your business remains functioning regardless of the environmental power supply.

UPS Capacity Considerations

It is common to see UPSs chosen to be as big as possible, with little consideration for the actual loads it will be required to deliver.  It is also important to consider the ratings of the UPS in terms of continuous load, run times in the event of a power failure and power input requirements.  A UPS that is far too large for your requirements will result in significant power inefficiencies.  Conversely a UPS that is too small can provide little or no protection from power surges, will have significantly shortened run times and may even be a fire hazard.  The correct sizing of a UPS is also important if you need redundancy in your systems to allow for continued protection during UPS maintenance, or for UPS redundancy in the event of failure.

The choice of equipment to be protected by a UPS is important, and we regularly see organisations ignoring important equipment such as telephone systems.  A correct sized UPS for this equipment is as important as it is for your servers. 

UPS Efficiency

There are so many different types of UPS equipment available and yet there are significant differences between models that may otherwise look similar.

The efficiency of the UPS at converting power from the mains supply to the supply available for equipment is an important consideration in a power solution design.  One of the key differences between UPS units that otherwise seem to have similar specifications will be this efficiency factor.

Core Circuit Capabilities

A standard power outlet can supply at the very most 2.4kW of power.  Power outlets on the same circuit cannot each supply 2.4kW of power - they are limited by the total capacity of the circuit.
During power audits we often find power circuits close to their maximum loads, and very often no redundancy where all supply to IT infrastructure being supplied from the same circuit, although from different power outlets.  The result is that if a circuit breaker trips then power is removed from all equipment, with no redundancy in place.

There are many strategies available to ensure that loads on circuits are kept well within limits, and also provide redundancy in the event of a circuit breaker tripping.

Cooling and Efficiency

All electrical equipment generates heat which must be dissipated.  The cooling required for any installation will be based on how much efficiency there is in the conversion and provision of power as a basic part of the infrastructure.  Cooling itself also requires additional power resulting in a “chasing the tail” situation if careful planning is not carried out.

Strategies like hot aisle and cold aisle containment, as well as NDS’s ACCC system for full data centre cooling maximisation can provide significant cooling cost reduction.  As an example the choice of hot-aisle containment over cold-aisle containment can save 40% in annual cooling system energy cost.

Power Efficiency and Consumption

With increasing electricity costs it is important for all businesses to consider every option for making their IT infrastructure efficient.  Equipment that is being under-utilised is one source of inefficiencies, along with the structure and operation of your equipment cooling.

Consolidation of equipment is also an important part of an efficiency plan.  Many businesses are now embarking on a virtualisation strategy to consolidate their equipment thereby reducing power requirements (see our separate information sheet on virtualisation).  Virtualisation allows you to reduce the physical number of servers in your business while retaining all functionality.  Every server has significant inefficiencies in the provision of power so each server transferred to a virtual environment removes these inefficiencies.  Each server removed also reduces cooling requirements.  We have helped businesses restructure their IT requirements around their current cooling while significantly increasing capacity.

The next step

Power supply and conditioning is a fundamental part of any IT infrastructure - regardless of business size.  Some smaller businesses, in fact, are at greatest risk from their power strategy.

Network data Solutions provides a complimentary power and infrastructure audit to evaluate how well your power strategy can deal with outages, whether there are efficiencies to be gained and what opportunities there are to reduce your power costs.

Our Credentials

SOPHOS Security Platinum Partner

• Sophos Technically Trained and Certified employees
• Expertise across all Sophos offerings including Endpoint security, Mobile Security, Encryption, Email, Web and Network securities

EATON Power Quality Partner – specialising in power design, scope and implementation.

• Eaton's power quality portfolio encompasses a comprehensive offering of power management solutions from a single-source provider.
• Full range of UPS experience and knowledge
• Single Phase and Three phase specialists
• Surge Protection, switchgear, Power Distribution Units (PDUs), remote monitoring, meters software, connectivity, enclosures and services

10+ years APC premier partner, specialising in design, scope & implementation:

• Full range of UPS experience and knowledge - entry-level BackUPS, mid-range SmartUPS & high-end ISX
• Power Distribution (PDU's)
• Rack infrastructure
• Netbotz environmental monitoring

10+ years Computer Associates (CA) Gold partner certified:

Specialising in Backup and Recovery design, scope and implementation.

• Comprehensive knowledge of CA Arcserve Backup, CA Arcserve D2D (disk-to-disk), CA Arcserve High Availability and CA Arcserve Replication
• Experienced Supplier of CA ERwin Data Modelling software
• CA Instant Recovery On Demand
• CA De-duplication
• Endpoint & Security Suites

VMware Certified Partner

• VMware knowledge of design and implementation of virtual environments

Symantec Partner

• Puredisk
• Endpoint & Security Suites

Marshall M86 Security Partner

HP Certified Partner – Servers & Storage

Wyse Partner

IBM Certified Partner

• Specialising in IBM X series range of servers

Cisco Select Partner

• Routers
• Firewalls
• Switched Infrastructure

Juniper Select partner

• EX series Switches
• SA Series SSL VPN's
• WXC Series WAN Acceleration
• SSG Series Firewall
• NetScreen Series Firewalls

Avocent partner Out-of-band & secure remote management

Systimax Infrastructure Cabling partner

In addition to the above industry leading vendors NDS also partners with a number of other key vendors, please see our partners page for a comprehensive list http://www.nds-it.com/index.php/partners