Fashionably slashed datacenter opex by 75%: Chico’s & HP PODs / Converged Infrastructure

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By Jon Mormile, Global Marketing Planning Manager, Hyperscale Business Unit

Redefining your data center strategy is not top of mind when most of us think of fashion.  But in the world of retail, style is not just about the purchase – it’s about the whole buying experience – how and when you’re marketed to and how your purchase is ultimately delivered.  For Chico’s FAS, Inc., staying at the top for their game is achieved not only by their great designs that are sold at reasonable costs, but also through efficient processes and cutting edge technology,  a philosophy they carry all the way to their data center.  

HP’s Performance Optimized Data Centers (PODs)  – combined with the HP market leading Converged Infrastructure technology solutions helped Chico’s to meet their IT and business goals.  They wanted to give employees access anytime, anywhere to productivity resources, increase IT efficiency and reduce the risk for data loss. With a headquarters in Ft. Meyers, Florida -- hurricane alley – moving their data center seemed a daunting task.  But like in fashion, it was a fresh, innovative approach that the customer chose.   The HP 20c and 40c water cooled PODs, were deployed in the less risky location of Winder, Georgia, home to their distribution and company contact center.  And, deployment took just 8 weeks, making building a data center from the ground-up seem cumbersome and out of date. The PODs comprise an HP Infrastructure housing HP ProLiant BL460c G7, DL580 G7, 5820 switches and HP 3PAR Storage systems.  The HP Converged Infrastructure and PODs slashed server count from 600 to 150,   reduced opex costs by 75%, and achieved  a 60% power savings all at less than half the cost of building a typical data center.

Check out how HP PODs and Converged Infrastructure is helping Chico’s compete and win.  Watch the video. Read the story.

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