Lead infrastructure Architect Garrett Wallis sat down with Construction Magazine to discuss the benefits of HPE SimpliVity for the Construction Sector.

What is HPE SimpliVity?

HPE Simplivity is a “hyper-converged” Virtual infrastructure platform. This means that the server, storage, hypervisor and backup infrastructure are delivered as an all-in-one highly efficient, highly effective and highly available platform.  It represents the evolution of infrastructure virtualisation, and transition to a software-defined data centre.

What benefits does it have to offer construction firms?

HPE Simplivity address the challenges faced by many business sectors.  It is:

Simple:  Remove the complexity of procuring and managing many different infrastructure elements.  HPE Simplivity is a fully integrated, pre-configured platform for modern IT infrastructure.

Flexible:  Enable rapid transformation and business agility with a simple building-block approach and a single management interface.

Powerful:  High performance infrastructure in a small foot-print, with the ability to expand easily and non-disruptively as requirements change.

Efficient:  With a compact and simplified form-factor, it requires a smaller data centre infrastructure and lower services costs.

Secure:  Integrated backup brings data backup and protection and rapid recovery capabilities.

For construction companies, HPE SimpliVity adds real value.

It means having:

• The ability to fulfil new service requirements quickly.
• Cost effective and predictable cost structure.
• The power to meet fluctuating workloads. 
• The powerful yet simple management interface serves to free up IT resources to concentrate on adding real value to the service rather than focussing on day-to-day operations.

HPE SimpliVity working for construction

“As a large contractor, I run my operations from a central office and would have 5 to 20 sites in operation at one time, with people using BIM needing real time access to collaborate on files, drawings and the media. How can SimpliVity help my operations?”

HPE Simplivity is an appropriate platform for any organisation with an on-premises or hybrid IT architecture.  It is a solution for a centralised IT operation, or larger branch office environments.

As a large contractor, running multiple sites, there are a standard set of IT services required to enable management and collaboration on the job.  HPE SimpliVity enables services to be defined once and then repeated rapidly and simply in multiple locations, with services that can easily share, secure and protect each sites IT collateral (file shares, virtual servers, backups, virtual desktops – all the backend IT elements).  A discrete set of services can be instated rapidly for each job and removed/archived at the end of the job.

Used in conjunction with appropriate networking and remote access, it provides a base on which to enable the storage and sharing platform for Building Information Management collateral and processes. Management of those resources is greatly simplified, and the skills needed to gain the most of the investment easily acquired.

What scale of business is Simplicity suited to?

HPE Simplivity scales from the small business to the large enterprise.  It can add value to the operation of every business, though the economics are most compelling in a business with a requirement for 20 virtual machines or more, or in a business of any size that wants to consolidate and simplify its IT infrastructure.

HPE Simplivity is a modular platform that scales easily with requirements – start small and grow, with a predictable upgrade path, and seamless expansion without compromising business operations.

Can small external sub-contractors be added to the system?

If a small sub-contractor needs IT services but doesn’t have the capability to deliver those IT services independently for a job, the HPE Simplivity platform offers a way to provision services for the contractor, logically isolated for other services.

What savings and efficiencies does SimpliVity offer?

• Huge savings over traditional infrastructure, and significant cheaper than comparable public Cloud offerings
• Significant increase in time available for new projects
• Rapid payback through operating cost reductions and cost avoidance.

Who is using HPE SimpliVity?

Businesses and organisations across multiple sectors and industries use HPE Simplivity to run their organisations – including Construction, Healthcare, Financial Services, Education, Local Government.  No matter what your industry, HPE Simplivity brings the benefit of hyperconvergence to you your business.

How do I get a demo?

Contact Garrett Wallis at wallisg@mjf.ie or 014663500 for more information and to arrange for a specialist to provide more information or a demonstration.