THE STATISTICS
31
USERS TO OFFICE 365
1
MONTHS TO COMPLETE
5
UNIQUE TECHNICAL SKILLS
200
200 TERMINATION POINTS
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Lakeside Surfaces is the largest fabricator and installer of countertop materials in the Midwest. For over two decades they have supported an elite network of kitchen and bath retailers, designers, and architects – resulting in the finest countertops in the world.
THE CHALLENGE
After more than 20 years at their location, the time had come to expand and move primary operations to a new, larger location. The location would require extensive classical renovation and IT modernization as the facility previously used legacy cabling and equipment. As a part of this expansion, Lakeside Surfaces made significant investments in state of the art machinery that would require network integration. This machinery is integral to their round the clock production cycles and, as such, requires a robust environment to reduce possible downtime.
Planning would be crucial as production, engineering, and programming schedules must be maintained regardless of the move.
OUR SOLUTION
THE APPROACH & RESULTS
After initial site survey and expectations were set, a tight timeline for the move had been established with all contractors. ICS Data gave recommendations from the ground up including cabling, termination, rack storage, servers, workstations, internet service providers, wireless mesh, disaster planning, security cameras, and VoIP telephone. Our recommendations were a result of operational, financial and strategic evaluations with a focus on continued growth.
ICS Data’s first step was to establish fiber and Ethernet connectivity throughout the facility. ICS Data provided termination and testing of over 10 miles of ethernet cable, and over 200 unique termination points. Additionally, we coordinated multiple internet service providers for redundancy and provided all network routing and switch programming.
Once the hardwire network had been established and tested, we configured a wireless mesh network encompassing over 60,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. Additionally, cell phone boosters were installed to improve cell coverage for all major providers.
ICS Data installed a state of the art surveillance system to provide security as well as information on production floor activities.
VoIP Telephone equipment and service was provided by ICS Voice, an ICS Data subsidiary, with hosting in our Tier 3 redundant datacenters.
At the time of the move, all network, wireless, internet and VoIP phone services were in place and ready. ICS Data moved all existing servers, and workstations for Lakeside Surfaces as well as performing network reconfiguration of their previous location, all while maintaining a schedule set forth by Lakeside Inc.
After the move ICS Data enacted a disaster recovery and business continuity plan to enable always available services to Lakeside employees.