NetShelter CX gets Alaska’s New Memorial Hospital up and running quicker

Located in Barrow, Alaska, Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital is the primary healthcare facility for the North Slope region—an area larger than Washington State and the largest municipality in the United States.

As the oldest healthcare facility in Alaska, the history of Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital is enriched with the culture and legacy of the Inupiat people for whom they care. Here, delivering on their promise of improving the health of the community also means delivering on their promise of keeping the history and memory of their ancestors alive.

Discovering the NetShelter CX

“I was given the task of finding a data center solution for our new hospital. Cooling, power, and control were our major concerns when looking for a solution,” states Adam Y. Smith, Information Systems Administrator for Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital.

“I attended the HIMSS event in Las Vegas and saw the NetShelter® CX, ‘Server-Room-in-a-Box’ an APC by Schneider-Electric product. The sound-proof, fan-cooled, secure mini data center met my needs and then some. “I was convinced that the CX fit our needs so I purchased 9 more for our data center in the new hospital, which opened the summer of 2014,” says Mr. Smith.

Great for Ergonomics

One of the pluses the hospital found was that the cabinet of the NetShelter® CX is ergonomically pleasing. Often, IT techs have to lie or sit on the ground to hook up the servers. A cold, noisy data center room usually does not have a workspace for the techs. With the CX, they are able to actually set up work stations on the top of the cabinet. And since the CX is so quiet, they can have phone conversations right there, if need be.

Significant Cost Savings

The decision to purchase the NetShelter CX saved Samuel Simmonds medical center roughly $150,000 for not having to put in dedicated cooling for the 4 data centers. The power savings from this solution has been approximately $1,500 to $3,000 per month.

“We strive to do the right things, for the right reasons at the right time. Being proactive versus reactive in our day-to-day operations goes a long way to ensure our corporate IT culture. In doing so, our IT department has a year to year savings of $350,000 for grants, $150,000 for spam filtering, $150,000 for internet proxy and filters, and a $100,000 power and cooling savings for server and VDI virtualization,” Smith adds.

With the potential for annual savings of up to $36,000, the reduction in operating costs will help to improve the financial health for the Hospital. “The NetShelter CX has helped us in our goal to be more proactive so that we can maintain our priority of providing the best care to our patients,” states Smith.

Achieving long-lasting sustainability

“I found the NetShelter CX to be a unique Schneider-Electric product with its furniture-like appearance, flexibility, and security, as well as being fan-cooled, and quiet. Once I saw the CX I had no other interest in another solution,” concludes Smith.

Learn more about the Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital data center project by accessing the full customer story

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