Phones4U Cuts Energy With Fujitsu Primergy

Mobile phone retailer Phones4U has announced a new data centre server migration project to drive cost out of its IT operations and support new growth plans.

As part of a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Fujitsu Technology Solutions (FTS) will deliver a PRIMERGY BladeFrame-based dynamic infrastructure, alongside NetApp V-Series storage across the retailer’s dual data centres.

As costs for the incumbent infrastructure rose, Phones4U looked for an infrastructure solution that would deliver better value without sacrificing headroom to grow.

The project is as a result of a joint TCS bid with Fujitsu to deliver the new, dynamic infrastructure, which will continue to be managed by TCS, but where Phones4U would retain ownership of IT assets.

“The nature of this deal has allowed Phones4U to test our multi-party sourcing model in action,” commented Steve Taylor, Phones4U IT managed services director. “We see this as a model example of how our sourcing model will work in the future. FTS played a central role in the process and we expect the project to deliver significant benefits to our business.”

The new data centre model will be initially applied to the two Phones4U data centres housing the firm’s mission-critical Siebel retail trading platform for transactions both in-store and online.

Steve Johnson, director of IT strategy at Phones4U stated: “Fujitsu BladeFrame delivers a cost-effective hardware solution that supports open systems and delivers significantly reduced operating costs. Crucially the technology means we can dynamically reuse capability for development and testing of new services and gives us scalability for long-term growth.”

Two BladeFrame BF400 units from Fujitsu’s energy efficient PRIMERGY brand will form the heart of the new platform. These will offer a total of 40 two- and four-socket pBlades, alongside two 8TB NetApp V-series appliances.

TCS will have the primary responsibility for the overall transformation and migration programme as Phones4U’s IT outsourcing partner, with Fujitsu Professional Services handling the installation, hardware integration and storage migration.

“Fujitsu’s approach and the consequent costs have been consistent throughout the process,” added Johnson. “It has been flexible enough to deliver what we want without sacrificing quality and the engagement with other parties has meant a joined-up, integrated solution.”