Montgomery General Hospital

Logicalis re-wrote the meaning of the word "support" when it teamed up with Montgomery General Hospital to develop a new data center environment to serve the hospital's ever increasing computing needs.

Logicalis re-wrote the meaning of the word "support" when it teamed up with Montgomery General Hospital in Olney, MD last summer to develop a new data center environment to serve the hospital's ever increasing computing needs. The old data center was in a second-floor room in a building designed for doctors' offices and was crammed to the ceiling with air conditioners and racks of servers. There was neither room nor electrical capacity left to grow. There was room available for the new data center across the hall in the same building, but some serious thought had to be given to the structural capacity of the floor on which the new equipment would reside. This was more than just a floor to ceiling upgrade. In this case, even the floor had to be upgraded.

MGH manager of information technology and telecommunications Chris Brown remembers deliberating with her team and scratching their collective heads for the best way to proceed when, as often happens under those circumstances Brown says, one of her team suggested: "Let's call Al."

Working Together
Al is Al Lepeau, Logicalis Director of Business Development, Mid-Atlantic. A trusted advisor who has worked with Brown and her team for several years, Lepeau didn't have all the answers, but he did have a tried and true approach that would ensure that all the technical and structural considerations would be addressed: they would work together.

In short order Al brought in Logicalis technologist Joe Long-who just happened to have studied civil engineering before switching to computer science in college-and, working as a member of Brown's team they developed a data center design that was modular, scalable, reliable, and affordable.

A Total Solution
Al and Joe not only brought in design and installation teams from APC-for whom Logicalis is a Gold partner-to address all the technical issues, but they also sat in with Brown on meetings with the hospital construction committee and the facilities group to make sure that every consideration was addressed from every appropriate point of view.

Some things Logicalis didn't know how to do: Equipment for the new MGH data center had to be surgically installed by construction crane through a second-floor window, for example. Logicalis didn't do that. The floor of the data center had to be drilled and reinforced. Logicalis didn't do that either. Working as an extended member of the MGH team, Logicalis did ensure that everything went just where it was intended, including the redundant air conditioning and UPS units.

"We worked elbow to elbow with architects, construction engineers, accountants, contractors, even the CFO," Lepeau recalls. "There is always more than technology involved in every technology solution," he adds. Lepeau's understanding of the comprehensive scope of an investment in technology is what has earned him the loyalty of Brown and others like her in his territory.

"Logicalis is great," Brown says simply. "They helped us help ourselves. They understand the technology requirements, and they have contacts throughout the industry. We couldn't have done this without them. They've been a great partner. They always are."

Now that there is more room in the data center, Logicalis is helping MGH develop a Storage Area Network (SAN) for a new Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) for the radiology department.