EPAY

epay is Europe's leading full-service provider for prepaid and voucher solutions as well as payment processing. According to its own figures, epay processed 1.2 billion transactions in 2017. Founded in 1996 in Martinsried, Germany, epay now has a network of 687,000 point-of-sale terminals in 45 countries, connecting the largest brands with consumers around the world.

The service company has a comprehensive portfolio of gift cards, business incentives and payment solutions for the omnichannel trade and is currently one of the TOP 100 most innovative German medium-sized companies. epay is part of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. a Kansas-based company with 6,600 employees serving customers in around 160 countries. 

"We are a forward-thinking company and are constantly growing. That's why we attach great importance to a functioning IT infrastructure," reports Sebastian Ochsenkühn (Director of Infrastructure and Production). In the course of an impending building renovation and the associated necessary relocation of the old data center, it was decided to build a new, more modern data center at the Martinsried site. However, a sustainable and functioning IT infrastructure is indispensable for the company, which is a DK-licensed electronic cash network operator with its own PCI-certified data centers and self-programmed host software as well as a BaFin-certified payment institution. Sustainability and efficiency as the basis for planning were therefore top priorities for epay. 

The ECB-S tested room-in-room system DC IT Room GranITe with 9 racks (43 HU) forms the basis of the new data center solution and ensures extensive security. The modular IT security room system with the highest available level of physical protection consisting of modular wall, ceiling and floor elements contains an early fire detection system for complete room monitoring by means of a highly sensitive laser smoke aspiration system. A NOVEC 1230 fire extinguishing system with fire alarm system completes the concept. A warm aisle enclosure ensures the most effective and temperature-homogeneous warm air removal from the rack systems. 

The contact with the Data Center Group had already been established a few years earlier. "The feeling with DCG was right from the start. And in addition to the planning perfectly tailored to our needs, we were also convinced by the price. We had great confidence in the DCG experts right from the start and were not disappointed." The detailed planning convinced the customer and led to the order. A glance at the construction schedule gives an insight into the tight timeframe within which action had to be taken. Only three months (May to August) passed from coordination to completion and handover to the customer. 
A particular challenge in the project was the extremely tight timeframe in which consulting, planning and construction had to be carried out. The move out of the former computer center building was fixed and the move had to be carried out during ongoing operations.

The Data Center Group team mastered this to the complete satisfaction of the customer, as IT manager Ochsenkühn reports. "The tight deadlines set the course right from the start and adjustments had to be made again and again during the course of the project, but everything went smoothly. The cooperation with the experts of the Data Center Group was very professional and impressed us", he emphasizes. 
 

A separate technical room adjoins the server room. To protect this sensitive area as well, the modular security panels of the DC IT Room QuartzITe were used. In addition to the cooling system, it also houses the fire alarm extinguishing system and a UPS system (2 x 40 kVA) as well as an emergency power supply system.  
The DC IT Extension, the "multi-collector" in the monitoring portfolio of Data Center Products, as an integrated monitoring solution with redundant transmission units via Ethernet and GPRS, ensures continuous monitoring of fault and status messages. A comprehensive video surveillance system provides additional security. 

"The new data center with a power capacity of 30KW was realized exactly according to our ideas and contains special racks with double authentication, which is indispensable for our visa certification in particular. Everyone involved pulled together and worked together competently. With our new data center, we are ready for the future and can look forward calmly to the advancing digitalization and the growing volume of digital payment transactions", Ochsenkühn sums up. 

"We are a forward-thinking company and are constantly growing. That's why we attach great importance to a functioning IT infrastructure," reports Sebastian Ochsenkühn (Director of Infrastructure and Production). 

Facts and figures

Project management: Dennis Spies
Epay data centre:
Room-in-Room system DC IT Room Granite, 38.5 sqm
Room-in-Room system DC IT Room Quartzite (F90 protection), 14.8 sqm 
Monitoring solution DC IT Monitoring Agent / DC IT Extension 
Duration of construction: May until August 2018

Picture: © tippapatt / #380971451 / stock.adobe.com (Standard licence)