Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, together with local partner Encapsulated East Africa and the Kenyan National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), recently deployed a new integrated modular data centre infrastructure solution to boost data centre performance and service delivery. As part of its digital transformation strategy, the NTSA embarked on the modernisation of its Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS) to allow citizens to experience maximum service efficiencies when registering their motor vehicles, and to promote a positive economic impact within the country.
Kenya established the NTSA in 2012 to manage vehicle growth within the country as well as the safety of drivers and pedestrians. The NTSA was later boosted with the addition of the TIMS electronic data platform, which allowed citizens to more easily register their vehicles, transfer ownership and obtain licence plates, among other services. This year, when the time came to deploy a revamped TIMS solution in response to the population’s growing demands, the agency realised that it was also the right time to upgrade its data centre equipment to provide the most reliable service for customers.
Following the request for proposal process, the NTSA selected the Vertiv SmartRow infrastructure solution submitted by Vertiv and its local partner Encapsulated East Africa, a systems integrator and Vertiv diamond elite partner.
The Vertiv SmartRow is a self-contained data centre that simplifies IT deployments in indoor spaces. This solution allows customisation and scalability for capacity of up to 10 racks, integrated cooling, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), power distribution, fire suppression and backup ventilation. The Vertiv SmartRow is factory integrated and tested, maximising installation speed while minimising installation cost.
The deployment of the Vertiv SmartRow solution, with its built-in redundant design, close unit control and monitoring of the operating environment, has resulted increased uptime and lower energy consumption for the NTSA compared to the previous solution, while gaining full visibility of operations and better serving the citizens of Kenya. The modular, scalable nature of the solution allowed the ICT department to right-size data centre equipment for lower energy utilisation, and manage cooling and power distribution more efficiently.
The NTSA data centre modernisation project also led to improved customer service, with Kenyan citizens receiving a much faster and more accurate response to their inquiries, and with users now able to track service application status online, 24 hours a day. The TIMS system went from attempting to manage a queue of 60 000 drivers waiting for their applications to process, to zero now waiting in the queue as applications are now processed on submission.
"Modernising our systems was crucial to meet vehicle owners' expectations and improve service delivery to citizens. Our ICT department faced continuous challenges maintaining the previous system; we had to transform the way business is done," said Nashon Kondiwa, deputy director of ICT and innovation at NTSA. "The Vertiv solution eliminates the need to deal with multiple suppliers and integration challenges, and its compactness makes it an ideal fit in our current facility. With access control, CCTV, environmental monitoring, sensors, power and cooling pre-integrated, installation and management became much easier and quicker."
Kondiwa added: “The Vertiv SmartRow simplifies processes, enhances system security and broadens access to our online services, while also reducing stress on our staff by providing them with a highly reliable and more predictable system. Since the installation of the data centre, Kenya’s licence renewal compliance has increased eightfold, with more than 80 000 licences being processed per month, compared to 10 000 previously.”
Rohan Patil, Vertiv's regional manager for East Africa, concluded: “We were very pleased that the initial estimated 10-month roll-out timeline was reduced to just six months. Our comprehensive integrated solutions portfolio not only significantly reduces deployment time, but also streamlines the installation process, playing a key role in enhancing system reliability. This is particularly crucial in keeping pace with the rapid advancements in digitalisation our customers are facing.”
For more information about the NTSA data centre project, read the case study at this link. To learn more about Vertiv’s integrated modular solutions, visit Vertiv.com/africa.
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Vertiv (NYSE: VRT) brings together hardware, software, analytics and ongoing services to enable its customers’ vital applications to run continuously, perform optimally and grow with their business needs. Vertiv solves the most important challenges facing today’s data centers, communication networks and commercial and industrial facilities with a portfolio of power, cooling and IT infrastructure solutions and services that extends from the cloud to the edge of the network. Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, USA, Vertiv does business in more than 130 countries. For more information, and for the latest news and content from Vertiv, visit .