AKCP Simplifies Data Center Operation and Grows Business with Southco’s Engineered Access Solutions

AKCess Pro, one of the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of networked environmental, power, security and access control monitoring equipment, has integrated Southco’s Electronic Access Solutions (EAS) into its data center infrastructure management to offer customers secured and convenient experience.

Growing markets drive greater demand and higher standard
As businesses are realizing the benefits of cloud computing and increasingly adopting cloud in their organizations, the demand for data centers is greater than ever before. According to TechNavio, the global datacenter market is increasing at a rate of 10.7 percent CAGR through 20161. Although the market opportunity of datacenter is promising, there are lots of competitors entering the game. In order to stand out from the competitors, ones need to equip themselves with a comprehensive and up-to-date datacenter infrastructure management (DCIM) solution to manage the whole logistics process. According to 451 Research, DCIM market generated about US$321 million in revenue in 2011 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44 percent to reach US$1.8 billion in aggregate revenue in 20162.

AKCess Pro (AKCP) created the market for networked environmental, power and security monitoring solutions back in 1981. Today, it has over 100,000 systems monitoring infrastructure in more than 150 countries, and its products are used in hundreds of applications around the world. Some of its customers include Verizon, T-Mobile, Alcatel Lucent, Bell Canada, Microsoft, Sprint USA and more.

With more and more information including sensitive data being put on servers, AKCP’s customers were increasingly concerned about cabinet security. The demand for access control with an audit trail was also increasing. “Datacenter security is in high demand. Not only did they want to implement remote access control and monitoring with simplified key management integrated with CCTV video playback capability for a more secured service, customers were also looking for cabinet level access in addition to the existing door level access control,” said David Reid, Vice President of Operations at AKCP.

“Highly reliable DCIM solutions is a must to stay ahead of the competition as our customers are expecting the most secured datacenter management service,” said Reid. “We were always seeking ways to effectively ensure security within our premises. Previously , we need to spend a lot of resources on manpower to keep track of the CCTVs.”

Before, AKCP had to manually monitor the CCTVs which created pressure on the manpower resources and reporting processes. To maximize operational effiency, AKCP looked at different ways to improve its security offerings within its DCIM solution.

Compatibility, industry standard and product quality are key for vendor selection
AKCP is always looking for ways to improve on its existing line of products and is regularly designing and manufacturing new solutions. “When we integrate third party hardware we take many things into consideration, including their reputation for quality and market share. Over the past 30 years, our commitment to quality has eliminated a number of hardware providers,” said Reid. “Southco has excellent market penetration – its locks are one of the most commonly used solutions in the data center industry today, the company has industry standard accreditations and a solid reputation for reliable products. Hence, it is a perfect match for us.”

In addition to reputation and product quality, the compatibility of Southco’s products was also a major reason contributing to this cooperation. Southco locks are easy to install - almost all of the units are plug and play and they fit many of the cabinets that are popular in data centers today.

In April 2013, AKCP integrated Southco’s Electronic Access Solutions (EAS) swing handle server cabinet locks and latches into its existing DCIM solutions. The whole deployment process only took two to three weeks to complete. Furthermore, several AKCP customers were already using Southco’s locks. As a result, when the technology firm integrated Southco’s products into its DCIM solution, customers need not purchase new lock hardware.

“Southco’s solution was met our rigorous standard tests and performed well in all of our onsite trials with multiple cabinets and with our software. With a large selection of hardware and a commitment to quality that AKCP requires of its partners and the fact that the server cabinet lock and handle from Southco worked so well, working with Southco gave us more hardware options for server cabinets which allow us to better serve our clients,” added Nicholas Barrowclough, Vice President of Production at AKCP.

New monitoring and security system simplify operation and save resources
After the integration of Southco’s EAS and AKCP’s DCIM solutions, the datacenter service provider can now easily manage the security system centrally. When customers or visitors want access to certain locations or servers within the infrastructure, AKCP’s facility manager can remotely unlock the door rather than physically walking to the area, which increase work efficiency.

Moreover, the integrated solutions enable real-time monitoring within the premises. When there is alert, staff will immediately be notified by the alarm system to ensure the data stored in the servers are highly secured.

AKCP can also benefit from the simple reporting system that the integrated solutions can quickly generate a report of access and summary of activities which saves a lot of resources from manually doing the report and streamline the process.

“We like Southco’s large product line as our clients wants us to integrate a wide variety of locks, sensors and software,” said Charles Meyer, Senior Hardware Engineer at AKCP. “Being able to accommodate requests for traditional style locks and hinges, as well as electronic server cabinet locks with one company makes ordering more convenient. In addition, it provides increased security, as well as helping us to comply with company and regulatory requirements.”

AKCP has since continued to expand its market share with the integration of Southco’s EAS into their DCIM solutions. “Our door control unit and cabinet control unit allow our clients to expand their security measures within their budgets,” said Reid. “Southco’s security offering gives us the required level of security a datacenter service provider needs, and we are able tomake better use of our resources to deliver higher-value service to its customers rather than keeping the light on.”

Strong momentum in the coming years
AKCP recorded a strong performance in 2013 with some big projects including national cable companies and several multinational telecom datacenters. AKCP foresees further expansion in 2014 as the company already has a number of large deals underway. The company is looking to establishing an even closer relationship with Southco to further grow its business.

“Southco’s global footprint enables AKCP to freely expand our businesses into other markets based on our customers’ needs. With the benefits we experience and the positive feedback from our customers, we look forward to further collaborating in the coming datacenter projects,” David concluded.

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