LanDynamix recently completed a multi-faceted project to separate Efekto’s entire ICT environment from its previous holding company. A major part of the project was the design of a network and private cloud solution that would support the company’s long-term strategy, says Ethan Searle, Technology Advisor at LanDynamix.
Efekto and Wonder are market leading, household names, in South Africa, with a highly successful range of over 200 products for application in garden and home pest control and plant nutrition.
“In order to create an ICT environment that would support Efekto properly, getting the network structure right was crucial. The company has several branches and it did not want a solution that required much of their management time—they want to retain their focus on core business,” Mr Searle says.
Moving to a cloud solution seemed to be an obvious option but on investigation turned out to be too expensive to justify. The better route was for Efekto to purchase its own servers and then co-locate them in a third-party data centre, under the management of LanDynamix. The professionally run data centre provides always-on power, redundant cooling and a secure environment, while LanDynamix ensures that backups are reliable and that there are multiple Internet links to ensure redundancy.
“Based on the price of cloud, Efekto will be able to pay back its capital outlay on servers in just over four months, and can then sweat those assets for several years. In effect, they now have all the advantages of cloud at a much-reduced cost,” he adds.
In designing the network, it was important to ensure that each office had the appropriate level of redundancy. For example, the warehouse and logistics hub are mission-critical because if they go offline, the whole business is compromised. Consequently, it was worth investing in multiple links using different connection media.
“This was just one of several simultaneous projects that LanDynamix was able to deliver smoothly and with minimal disruption. The end result is an ICT architecture that supports our business cost-effectively, and doesn’t require excessive management input from our team,” says Dominic Bigara, Director, Efekto.
“Thanks to the solution-driven approach we have come to expect from LanDynamix, we have achieved just that. I trust that their ongoing involvement will ensure that our team is able to focus on driving our strategy forward.”