Dell Modernizes Amerijet Data Center

Amerijet International, Inc., a Florida-based cargo shipping company, can better support organic business growth with a Dell, Inc.‘s data center solution comprised of infrastructure, software and services.

The company’s new modern data center has helped cut facility costs by 60% through energy efficiency and reduced the time to print a manifest and close flights by 96%, expediting freight transportation, meeting more customs cut-off times and improving customer satisfaction.

Taking the company to the next level and expediting shipment services required a shift that turned IT into a business enabler. A three-year plan for change included moving to a new data center facility and replacing the company’s mixed-vendor environment with an end-to-end Dell infrastructure that includes hardware, software and services. The new data center provides availability and performance for Amerijet’s applications and cargo systems.

Working with Dell as a strategic end-to-end IT provider enabled Amerijet to build a reliable, scalable and flexible enterprise datacenter. The company built its new virtualized data center based on Dell blade servers, storage, switches, desktops, printers, firewalls and backup software, as well as services.

With assistance from Dell Services, Amerijet’s IT team migrated its entire data center in ten hours. The modern virtualized IT infrastructure enables the company to run cargo inventory reports in s instead of the previous 40mn and avoid unplanned downtime. The IT team is able to shift their focus from tactical execution to strategic thinking.

Amerijet carries more than 200 million pounds of freight annually to more than 550 destinations worldwide. With a presence in its primary service regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, it is experiencing global growth – but the company’s existing systems were not able to support that growth.

"Our worldwide cargo transportation services depend on a reliable IT infrastructure," says Jennifer S. Torlone, senior director, technology and information services at Amerijet Holdings, Inc., Amerijet’s parent company. "We can get planes in the air faster and meet more customs cutoff times for freight clearance with our new Dell infrastructure. That means people don’t have to wait an extra day to receive their shipments. For us, it means more customer service successes."

Dell technologies are working together to help deliver business results for Amerijet. The new data center is 100% virtual, reducing server footprint by over 66%. More than 120 virtual servers are running on 14 Dell blades.

"With more efficient data center equipment, we get more for our money," says Torlone. "Based on power consumption and footprint, I was able to negotiate a much better deal on our new data center-a 60% reduction in data center facilities costs. And we still have space to grow."

A scalable, high-performance storage and networking infrastructure was necessary to support the virtual server environment. Amerijet chose to deploy Dell Compellent storage with Dell AppAssure backup software and upgraded its 1GbE network to 10GbE with Dell Networking to enable an infrastructure that can scale into the future. To secure its network and improve visibility into application-based threats, it replaced its existing VPN solution with Dell SonicWALL firewalls at its HQs and each of its 84 sites around the world. The company’s IT team leveraged migration and education services from Dell to help make this infrastructure shift a smooth one.

"All the Dell equipment installed quickly and works seamlessly together. This gives us simplicity, reliability and speed to keep up with rapidly expanding business requirements," says Torlone.

Looking for additional ways to bring value to the business and the bottom line, Amerijet implemented a new IP telephony solution based on Power-over-Ethernet with VLAN voice, video and other network traffic supported by Dell networking switches.

Additionally, to help ease the burden of end-user support, the company contracts with Dell Simplified Service Desk, a managed service offering. In help desk outsourcing, Dell currently supports over 3.5 million users and handles more than 12 million calls a year. Rounding out its end-to-end Dell IT infrastructure are Dell Optiplex desktops and printers.