Novosco virtualise servers using VMware technology to cut costs and implement disaster recovery plan
Ken Kennedy, Sisk Group IT Manager & Eddie O'Rourke, Novosco Sales Director
Dublin, 16th April 09 - Novosco, Ireland’s leading provider of virtual IT infrastructure and services is to implement the second phase of John Sisk & Sons IT virtualisation project. Part of a strategic phased virtualisation project to centralise John Sisk & Sons IT network, Novosco will implement VMware technology on all servers, with the benefits of consolidating hardware and reducing core infrastructure costs.
The largest general contracting company in Ireland with turnover in excess of €1.2 billion, John Sisk & Sons’ IT infrastructure serves approximately 700 IT users and a vast number of remote construction sites. Landmark construction projects include Croke Park and more recently, Lansdowne Road.
“Over the past year we have been working with our preferred supplier Novosco, to centralise our IT infrastructure using VMware virtualisation technology, as well as to risk manage the move of our IT infrastructure to a 3rd party data centre,” said Ken Kennedy, IT Manager, Sisk Group. “Our VMware environment has grown significantly and has become the lynchpin of our IT systems. Within the last 4-6 months we have removed 15 of our physical servers and virtualised them onto two hosts. We feel virtualisation is the way forward for us to further centralise IT and to reduce both ongoing support and capital costs.”
With virtualisation phase two, Sisk will consolidate all servers into the external data centre. This decentralised platform is particularly beneficial given the low level of bandwidth in Ireland and has provided Sisk with a solid disaster recovery plan. From a return on investment perspective, the second phase of virtualisation will create ‘significant’ cost savings, which is particularly important given the current economic climate.
“With 60 to 70 construction sites throughout the country, reducing servers has greatly improved the Sisk Group’s ability to setup new remote sites. Virtualisation creates the ability to rapidly provision servers and applications to meet the needs of the business,” said Eddie O’Rourke, Sales Director, Novosco. “We brought virtualisation to the table and advised Sisk Group on a staged virtualisation approach.”
“We have a very close relationship with Novosco. We chose Novosco as a preferred partner not just because of their virtualisation experience, but because they added value with their wide range of knowledge of other technologies such as thin client and core infrastructure,” said Daragh Doohan, Network Infrastructure Manager, Sisk Group.
With virtualisation phase two, Sisk & Sons will endeavour to make IT a business enabler, as opposed to being just a cost centre within business operations. Virtualisation will free up more resources and will add value to projects, rather than be a cost contributor. Over the next couple of years, Sisk & Sons will also focus on the whole area of desktop virtualisation in order to provide an even better experience for all IT users.
About Novosco
Novosco is one of Ireland’s leading providers of virtual IT infrastructure and services and is committed to assisting customers in the evaluation and optimisation of their IT systems. With established hardware/software vendor partnerships with Citrix, EMC, Microsoft and VMware, Novosco offers the highest level of accreditation in Ireland for Virtualisation solutions. This approach enables Novosco to develop and deliver cost-effective IT solutions that enhance client operations and enable them to get the most out of their IT infrastructure.
Novosco have provided solutions to a range of clients including government establishments and private sector organisations of all sizes including Lagan Holdings, John Sisk & Sons and many more.
Posted in: Press Releases Tags: business continuity, datacentre, virtualisation, VMware
Serco did! 
