When pioneering IT company Codisa decided to create a third data center at its technology park in Costa Rica, it turned to Panduit to modernize an existing building. It was necessary to have robust, comprehensive and scalable technological solutions that would enable the connection of the entire building. Héctor Rosales López, Codisa’s Infrastructure Manager, tells us: “We project that this building will exceed 20 years of operation with the infrastructure implemented.”
Codisa was founded in 1991 by visionaries Ronald Jiménez, Johnny Xatruch and Carlos Blanco as an Information Technology development start-up. Since its birth, it has been a technological benchmark in Costa Rica, Latin America and Central America, since throughout its history it has been characterized by offering innovative services and products. It was one of the pioneer companies in Costa Rica in exporting software and implementing its solutions in hundreds of clients in 14 countries in the region.
It was the first company to have a Resource Planning System (ERP) based on Oracle in Latin America, in 1993. In 2000, Codisa built the first technology park in Costa Rica and from that moment became a technological leader in the region, since it presented the first Business Continuity center, the first data center in the country and, in 2011, launched the services of the first public cloud in Costa Rica. In addition, its main characteristic is to offer its clients trustworthy solutions, through Business Continuity services, data center management and hosting.
Business challenges
In 2017, Codisa decided to create a third data center at its Costa Rica Technology Park, due to the increased demand for web hosting services and data centers in the country, for which it modified the DCII building, categorized as a Class A Essential Building (according to the Seismic Code of Costa Rica) which was intended to house the most critical call center in the country.
One of the main challenges of the project, in addition to modernizing and adapting the DCII building, was to create an efficient data center, both in energy matters and in the use of physical space, which would allow the company to have the largest possible number of cabinets and, in this way, offer services to more customers.
Another challenge was to find suppliers who would guarantee the immediate availability of the inputs and technological materials of the data center during construction and operation, since there were established times for development.
Héctor Rosales López, Codisa’s Infrastructure Manager, said: “For us it was essential to have the support of the companies involved in the project. We required access to technology in two aspects: The first, availability of supplies immediately, with the assurance that the technological solutions implemented would continue to be accessible, both economically and technologically, within the following years. And, the second, to have access to training and education for our staff.”
Additionally, it was necessary to have robust, comprehensive and scalable technological solutions that would enable the connection of the entire building. It was also important that the participating companies were aligned with sustainable national and international policies that would allow Codisa to provide an efficient service in accordance with the global reality in matters of technology and care of the environment. In addition to helping achieve LEED GOLD certification and adjusting the DCII building to maintain ISO 50001 certification.
Strategic objectives
The main objective of the project was to create a building and a data center as robust and reliable as those already existing in the Codisa Technology Park, but much more efficient. For the project, it was essential to have the latest generation technology, high-speed connectivity systems, find the best technology in copper and fiber optic cabling, as well as Power Over Ethernet (PoE) technology and functional grounding systems for the protection of people and equipment.
“We wanted to have the same robust infrastructure that the DCI and DCIII buildings had, which allows us to transmit confidence and peace of mind to our clients, that there will be no interruptions in the operation of their businesses,” said López.
“Additionally, we wanted the DCII building to have state-of-the-art technologies, with solutions that would remain in force over the next few years, so that we could continue to provide a quality technological service, with a better infrastructure, but more economically profitable at the time. to do our business. We project that this building will exceed 20 years of operation with the infrastructure implemented at this time.”
Another objective was to grow the cloud and the equipment focused on ‘dedicated solutions’, which included, in addition to the colocation service, the processing infrastructure, storage, networks and virtualization platform, while maintaining quality and improving times.
Delivery
Additionally, it was essential to comply with the times established in the work schedule, which determined the delivery dates to the different Codisa clients.
In the risk management analysis, it was concluded that the solution offered by Panduit reduced the risk in the supplies area, since it has a large stock and an agile production system that offers availability of high-quality products.
Panduit solution
The project began in 2017 with the conceptualization process. By the end of the year, the design stage was completed and the construction stage began.
“Codisa and Panduit generated a committed relationship, beyond the supply of technological inputs, as Panduit sent personnel from the engineering area to support us in the optimization proposal,” said López.
“Once the manufacturer had been selected, they assigned us an engineer and, together with UnitedTec, Panduit representative in Costa Rica, they supported us in the process of verifying compliance with the requirements in the offers of the construction companies involved, so that we all had the necessary inputs in the appropriate quantities.
“Additionally, Panduit provided us with technological solutions that are not only based on one component, but they are interested in the relationship that their products have with the other elements, regardless of whether or not these are Panduit solutions.”
For the development of this project, Panduit was a key ally; due to their immediate reaction in offering a solution tailored to the unique needs of Codisa.
Diego Cardoza Vallejo, General Director of Codisa Datacenter, said: “In the risk management analysis, we concluded that the solution offered by Panduit reduced the risk in the supplies area, since it has a large stock and an agile production system that offers availability of high-quality products, at the right time, to competitive prices, in addition to having a large number of certified integrators throughout the country, which was very important for this project.”
Panduit’s solution consisted of a Category 6A copper cabling system, capable of running 10GB applications; Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology; Field Term Plug 6A connector, for PoE lighting applications; cameras; access control and PDUs, as well as 28AWG gauge small diameter Patch Cords, which are 45% thinner than any cable on the market, ideal for optimizing spaces in data centers and telecommunications rooms.
The HD Flex System for high density fiber OM4 was also included, which allows space optimization, since it makes it possible to increase the number of fiber connectors in fewer racks, which results in the placement of more clients within a rack. PanMPO trunk cables, which make it easy to change polarity and gender in the field to migrate from 10 to 40 or 100GB, are pre-assembled, a necessary characteristic to save time in implementation.
Finally, Grounding and Identification Systems, space optimization accessories, racks, organizers and cabinets were included.
Andrés Vicente, Business Development Partner Unitedtec, Panduit Sales Representative for Central America, said: “For this project, it was essential to find a group of manufacturers with a quick response, who knew the market, the trends and understood the customer’s needs. In addition to having state-of-the-art technological solutions to create a scalable data center.”
Business benefits
Part of the benefits that were obtained by implementing Panduit solutions, to enable the DCII building and the creation of the third Codisa Data Center, are:
- Compliance with the times established in the work schedule, derived from the availability of supplies and rapid response from Panduit.
- Decrease in implementation times during construction of up to 30% and decrease in on-site personnel of up to 50%, due to Panduit’s pre-assembled solutions.
- 10% increase in customer capacity, derived from the optimization of spaces and the creation of a new data center.
- Intelligent lighting in the building.
- Scalability, since it has modular cabinets that allow the business to grow easily.
- Projection into the future. Due to the PanMPO solution, it is possible to migrate to new technology without changing the entire infrastructure, since the polarity of the connector can be modified so that it is capable of supporting speeds of 40 to 100GB.
- Advice from Panduit during construction and during operation.
- Availability of supplies immediately.
- Technological solutions that, due to their characteristics, made it possible to obtain the LEED GOLD certification for sustainable buildings, the PCI certification for data processing security, ISO 50001 for energy management, TIA-942 Rated 3, Tier III Certified Facility Certification and Tier III Sustainable Operation Gold.
- 25-year warranty on installed solutions.
Andrés Vicente, Business Development Partner Unitedtec, Panduit Sales Representative for Central America, said: “One of the benefits of having selected a group of fast response manufacturers, with extensive knowledge of the data center market and new trends, is that it understands the needs of customers in terms of availability of materials, because the centers of data are living entities where customers enter and leave quickly and it is essential to have a technological ally that supports you 365 days a year 24/7. “