Buildmat houses IT infrastructure in two private data centers

Photo credits: All images are property of Buildmat

Buildmat, specializing in the distribution and production of a wide range of construction products and the distribution of tools, implemented a new IT infrastructure in 2023. This optimizes its performance and guarantees smooth operations and robust security.

IT Infrastructure Renewal and Consolidation of Different Environments

IT is a crucial component in any organization, and Buildmat understands this better than anyone. The company is therefore strongly committed to this. "The previous server infrastructure consisted of a mix of different systems, spread across four locations, each with its own IT partner," explains Christian Degroote, ICT Manager at Buildmat.

"In our pursuit of continuous growth, further innovation, and digitization of our business, we decided to centralize our IT services. The server infrastructure at our headquarters in Oostakker was due for renewal, making it an ideal time to take a closer look at everything." Ultimately, we decided to consolidate to two private data centers, supplemented with an off-site backup to a public cloud provider,” Christian testifies.

Dell Live Optics provides insight into current workloads

"A proper analysis of the customer's existing IT infrastructure is the foundation of every infrastructure renewal project," says Frederik Willems, Account Manager at AXI. "To gain insight into this information, we used Dell Live Optics analysis software. This software tool allowed us to automatically collect and visualize data from an environment and its workloads."

"With Dell Live Optics, the entire IT infrastructure can be mapped: from servers to storage and backup systems to virtual machines and hypervisors, including processor performance, available RAM, and operating systems. The collected information is therefore the perfect starting point for sizing the future setup."

Meeting Future Server & Storage Needs

Based on the analysis results, it was decided to implement a new setup at Buildmat's headquarters in Oostakker, consisting of a Dell PowerVault storage unit and three new Dell R650 servers as ESX hosts. A Dell R7515 server equipped with ample SAS disk capacity was provided as an immutable backup repository.

Additional Memory and Capacity for the Servers in Grace-Hollogne

Since the server and storage infrastructure at the Grace-Hollogne office was still relatively new, it was decided to retain it. The available servers were expanded with additional memory, and the PowerVault storage was provided with additional capacity.

Backup: hybrid setup

Veeam was chosen as the backup and replication mechanism. Veeam is one of the leading vendors of user-friendly, flexible, and reliable backup and replication solutions. Veeam Backup & Replication offers availability for all workloads: physical, virtual, or cloud-based.

For the most important business applications and workloads, replications are set up between both sites. An offsite backup to a public cloud provider was also provided. The Wasabi cloud was chosen for this. What had previously been two separate environments were consolidated into a single Veeam Backup and Replication setup for both sites. Management is also now handled from a single VCenter, where previously these were separate environments.

Centralization of IT services

The project was completed with a total lead time of approximately 7 weeks or 23 person-days. Buildmat has been reaping the benefits of this project since its go-live at the end of April 2023. Centralization allows IT resources to be managed more efficiently. The availability, capacity, and performance of systems and networks can be better monitored and managed, helping to reduce downtime, improve overall performance, and optimize resource utilization. It also allows Buildmat to implement a coordinated and consistent security approach and benefit from economies of scale. They can utilize shared infrastructure, resources, and expertise, resulting in lower operational costs and more efficient resource utilization.

Tier 2 SLA for unlimited support

Through a Tier 2 service level agreement (SLA), Buildmat can rely on AXI for unlimited incidents. Under the Tier 2 contract, AXI provides an annual remote audit to ensure the continuity and proper functioning of the supported systems. VMware and Veeam updates are checked twice a year. Buildmat can also rely on AXI for implementing updates to the VMware and Veeam environments.

About Buildmat

Buildmat, a Belgian group headquartered in Oostakker, currently has eight companies in its portfolio active in construction and industry. The company also distributes tools. It has a workforce of 360 and generated a consolidated turnover of €211 million in 2022. The company specializes in the distribution and production of a wide range of construction products, such as packaging materials and films, sewer and drainage materials, utility pipes, roofing, facade and insulation materials, system solutions for flooring, fences, gates, and palisades. Companies within the group include Deschacht (Oostakker), Technicel (Westerlo), Folyo (Antwerp), Domspro (Merchtem), and ODM (Grâce-Hollogne).