Senwes ups the storage performance ante

From left: Soon Broodryk, Datacentrix Sales Manager; Stephan Burger, Senwes Group Executive: Information Technology; Alexander Steyn, Senwes Head: IT Infrastructure Services; Henry Minnaar, Datacentrix Senior Account Manager.

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Leading South African agri-business Senwes has once again partnered with Datacentrix, hybrid IT systems integrator and managed services provider, this time to replace the organisation’s enterprise data storage array. 

With a rich and proud history extending over 113 years, Senwes serves the agri and food sector from farm gate to mill door, with a strategic focus that rests on six pillars – agricultural services, resources, investments, logistical services, financial services and corporate support services. The organisation’s goal is to be an integrated agri-business and a significant role player in the food value chain.

According to Alexander Steyn, Head of IT Infrastructure Services at Senwes, the agricultural company had rolled out a new data storage solution several years ago, which delivered well on performance, price, scalability and reliability. “When we started to investigate a potential upgrade with Datacentrix, we realised that it was more cost-effective to do a new hardware build than to continue with maintenance on the older system, even though the maintenance could be extended for another two years. This meant that we would have access to newer technology and the performance benefits this brings.”

Senwes has enjoyed a lengthy relationship with Datacentrix, explains Henry Minnaar, Senior Account Manager at Datacentrix. “Our partnership with Senwes spans more than a decade, with Datacentrix playing a role in the company’s unified communications journey, which involved the implementation of a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solution. We’ve also assisted Senwes in other projects over the years, including the provision of a fully electronic supply chain capability to the company’s suppliers.

Says Steyn: “Senwes issued a storage RFQ, and Datacentrix responded with the best proposal. The company actually listened to our specific requirements and took into account influencing factors like exchange rate fluctuations.

“Our working relationship with Datacentrix is a good one. Some vendors have their own agenda and try to persuade you into something that might not necessarily be the best fit for you. Datacentrix takes your specific requirements into consideration and has an excellent understanding of Senwes’ technology environment,” he adds.

“Datacentrix operates in the top tiers of some of the world’s technology partners, including providers of multi-petabyte data storage solutions, allowing us to deliver and support high availability, high performance solutions to the local market. Our partner strategy put us in the ideal position to assist our long-term client, Senwes, when their storage requirement arose earlier this year.”