Data Specialties, Inc.

Scope Of Work

Insurance Group Relies  DSI to Design and Build State-of-the-Art Tier 3 Data Center to Support Improved Customer Experience

CSAA Insurance Group offers automobile, homeowners and other personal lines of insurance to AAA members through partnerships with AAA clubs in 23 states and the District of Columbia. It is one of the largest personal lines insurance groups in the United States.

THE CHALLENGE

CSAA needed a new data center solution to support the growth of their applications development test lab. A colocation site, based in Tempe, Arizona, was not able to meet the needs of the IT, engineering and software development staff, which was based in Glendale, Arizona, nearly 20 miles away. Traveling between Glendale and Tempe was counterproductive, inefficient and time consuming.

CSAA’s options were to either find a new colocation site closer to their Glendale operations or build a new data center in Glendale that would meet their current needs and support future growth.

THE SOLUTION

After determining that a new Tier 3 data center at their Glendale facility was the best option, CSAA worked closely with Data Specialties Inc. (DSI) to design and build a state-of-the-art complex. The new data center included:

Two new transformers, each fed from a separate utility switch

Redundant 500kW UPS systems, each with Redundant Battery Strings

Redundant 2250kW Diesel Generators

Redundant Power Distribution to the IT load

Redundant Air Cooled Chillers

Redundant InRow Cooling Units

Hot Aisle Containment System

Fire and Life Safety including Pre-Action sprinklers, NOVEC-1230 Gas and VESDA air sampling systems

Integrated infrastructure Controls and Monitoring System

Video Surveillance and Access Control