Minkels offers comtrance GmbH complete and modular solution

comtrance GmbH, a privately held German company, is a locally managed IT services provider in Düsseldorf with experience in the internet and hosting technology since 2001. comtrance has been maintaining their own data centre with around 400sqm of active data centre space in the Connecta Parc in Düsseldorf since 2008. comtrance is hosting customer projects fully under their own control. Minkels Magazine spoke to Thomas Czarnetzki (Owner comtrance) and Patrick Kambach (Senior Engineer IT Infrastructure at comtrance) about the challenges in the data centre market.

SECURITY, SECURITY, SECURITYComtrance offers the customer anything from colocation to managed hosting, from high secure connectivity to premium support. Kambach: “Our customers get real added value since we are not only focusing on the colocation demand. We give them what they really need; a customer-specific total solution. Great support also sets us apart; we offer a 24/7 hotline with a real technician on the other end, we did not opt for a call centre. We are competing with quite big players in the market, that is why we – as a smaller player – can act more flexible and faster. Having our own, fully Germany-based data centre, is also a big plus for our German customers. These are mostly small and mid-sized B2B companies that have a real need for a very secure environment in a local data centre. Right now, the privacy regulation is becoming stricter and companies tend to choose us over companies that are based abroad. Especially since every company has to officially deal with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) now. It’s all about security, security, security. We have a strong vision on how to deal with the GDPR and we gladly share this vision with our customers.”

MORE RACK SPACE
comtrance has a data centre of about 400sqm, 0,5 MW and a PUE of 1.5. “We have three main colocation rooms. We built the first one in 2008. So you can imagine that it was ready to be renewed. The second room was first used for low cost housing but is now set up with the colocation racks of Minkels. During the quotation process Minkels was competing with our earlier supplier. Minkels provided us with a clear quotation that we received very fast. It took them only a couple of days while it took the competition several weeks. The Minkels quotation focused on our wishes, offering a complete solution. We could actually see what the price was for all the different elements. This modular way of working really appealed to us. In the end, we chose Minkels since we got more rack space (higher and deeper racks) and more options within our budget. The set-up also matched the same standards as the first colocation room.”

STRONG AND SECURE RACKS
The customers also benefit from using Minkels racks. “We really have a competitive edge since we can offer our customers more space with our higher and deeper racks. The colocation racks, cold corridor and Raritan PDU’s also have a great look and feel. We chose the colour black and have our own logos custom made on the racks; it looks very professional and serves our customer binding. This totally matched with our own experience from the beginning on. We went to the Netherlands early in the sales process to check out the racks in the showroom and the factory . It was nice to see the production process and the outcome; strong, secure racks. No paper-thin doors but real solid doors. The implementation of the cold corridor also resulted in a lower air-conditioning consumption. We are very pleased with Minkels and hope to set up the third colocation room with Minkels products too.”

FACTSData centre in Düsseldorf
German data centre location following BDSG
DIN ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and DIN EN 27001:2013 (security) certified
Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS and Diesel Generator)
Redundant HVAC
100% eco power from water plant
Early fire detection apparatus
24 hours / 7 days video surveillance
Access control with RFID-Chip and biometric hand scanner
Antistatic raised floor
Monitored by security service

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