Bridge Point strengthens virtualisation offering through Cisco and NetApp FlexPod® for VMware capabilities

Brisbane, Australia, 29 February, 2012 – Bridge Point Communications has announced that it has strengthened its virtualisation offering and enhanced its Cisco and NetApp FlexPod for VMware capabilities as a result of its merger with data centre specialist Server Central.

FlexPod, a collaboration between Cisco and NetApp, is a pre-validated data centre design architecture with combined networking, computing and storage infrastructure. The flexible, scalable shared infrastructure is pre-tested to help lower deployment risk, increase data centre efficiencies and create a flexible IT environment to build a private cloud.

Bridge Point Communications’ Managing Director, Rob Siganto, said, “Bridge Point is one of the few companies in Queensland that has the resources, complementary skills and expertise to effectively deliver the FlexPod solution. We are a Cisco Gold Partner with the Advanced Unified Computing Technology Specialisation, and Server Central is a NetApp Gold Partner with VCP5 certified staff – VMware’s highest level of certification.

“Server Central has been a VMware partner since 2007 and Bridge Point also enjoys a strong relationship with VMware as one of its Enterprise partners. Combined, we are even more focused and capable of delivering design architectures that help customers evolve virtualised data centres to be more efficient, dynamic and secure.”

Server Central’s Managing Director, Andrew George, said, “Virtualisation is changing the way applications are provisioned and managed, and is dramatically improving server utilisation. The benefits of a unified infrastructure strategy are lower costs, reduced complexity without compromising performance, and increased operational efficiency.

“Organisations are now looking for ways to extend virtualisation across computing, network and storage layers to further improve cost efficiencies and move toward a service-enabled cloud infrastructure. FlexPod’s flexibility enables our customers to scale the solution according to their changing needs.”

GHD, one of the world’s leading engineering, architecture and environmental consulting companies with more than 6,500 people, is an example of one of Bridge Point’s customers that has realised the benefits of a FlexPod environment.

Elizabeth Harper, GHD’s Chief Information Officer, said, “We are in an exciting growth phase and our recent acquisition of a US-based consulting engineering firm follows four other company integrations for GHD in the past six months.

“We have relied on Bridge Point’s expertise and advice for many years now. As a preferred supplier, they have a good understanding of our requirements and their close relationship with Cisco means that

Bridge Point found a solution that was a good fit for our organisation and leveraged our existing setup. We are now leveraging Server Central’s close relationship with NetApp and VMware to provide us with storage and server virtualisation solutions.

“The FlexPod solution is a highly adaptable and scalable infrastructure stack that allows us to rapidly integrate different technology from acquisitions using a lower-cost operating model. It has enabled us to create a standard and open architecture for the entire company that aligns with our evolving business requirements.” (Download the GHD case study video at www.bridgepoint.com.au/ghd-video.)

Sara Adams, Managing Director, Partner Business Group, Cisco Australia and New Zealand said, “As a Cisco Gold Partner with the Advanced Unified Computing Technology Specialisation, Bridge Point has already invested significantly in the training required to deliver customers a Unified Computing platform that can reduce the time to deploy new applications and business agility. Now with its added NetApp and VMware expertise, Bridge Point has further enhanced its capability to help customers simplify their data centre transformations.”

”As a NetApp Gold Partner, Server Central has acted as an extension of our business and worked with customers to demonstrate the real value they can gain by implementing flexible and efficient IT strategies and solutions. We congratulate Bridge Point and Server Central on their merger. We look forward to working with the new, larger team to continue to show customers how they can gain long-term business benefit by building their businesses on the best technological foundation,” said Peter O’Connor, Vice President, NetApp Australia and New Zealand.

“Bridge Point has been a long standing and valued VMware partner in Queensland. This merger extends their virtualisation expertise, allowing local organisations to benefit from greater efficiencies and scalability that the Flexpod architecture enables,” said John Donovan, Channel Director, VMware ANZ.