SHI International, one of the largest IT solutions providers in the world, on Tuesday announced the opening of its Nexus Integration Center in the UK.
Beginning January 2023, Nexus will be fully operational to better support the UK and EMEA operations of both local and global organizations with faster deployment, predictability, and scale of advanced data center hardware configuration and end-user computing needs. Pilot projects are already underway with select customers.
Strategically located along the M1 motorway in central England, Nexus will be within a half-day’s shipment of 90% of SHI’s UK-based customers.
The facility is SHI’s second Integration Center in Europe, complementing a similar facility already online in the Netherlands, and will be SHI UK’s Center of Excellence for datacenter and end-user compute solutions.
The Integration Center’s 38,000 square feet will feature active configuration workstations where solutions such as data center sever rack builds, device imaging, and asset tagging are completed before the assembled and kitted hardware is deployed to customers in the UK and beyond.
A warehouse section capable of housing more than 800 pallets of dedicated equipment will allow customers to undertake proactive supply chain planning to optimize acquisition costs and secure product availability to ensure operational resilience.
“The opening of the Nexus Integration Center is another key milestone in SHI’s continuing UK, European, and international expansion plans,” Celeste Lee, Sr. Vice President of SHI’s International Division said. “The customized client and data center hardware solutions configured and shipped from Nexus will provide our customers greater efficiency and availability with reduced cost and shipping times. By bringing these operations in-country, any UK-based customer looking for direct oversight of complex integrated solutions can visit the Integration Center where the actual work is performed.”
Nexus also has an additional 8,000 square feet of office space for SHI’s technical, operations, and sales staff, as well as visiting OEM partners and customers.
Additional enhancements expected for 2023 include the addition of an Executive Briefing Center and Customer Experience Center where organizations can test the latest technologies from SHI’s partners, conducting proof-of-concept exercises to evaluate how different technology will perform within their own unique IT environments.
“To be a true partner, our commitment to providing value-added services to customers must include agile, capable offerings that also meet the sustainability goals that benefit everyone,” Donavan Hutchinson, SHI Managing Director, UK said. “The operational efficiencies gained from the Nexus Integration Center will not only immediately reduce SHI’s own carbon footprint but provide UK customers with viable solutions to help reduce theirs.”
Nexus is to be certified under ISO 9001, 27001, 14001, and 45001 standards and features security measures that include isolated key card access, advanced facial recognition, 24-hour central station monitoring, and separate networks to ensure security and disaster recovery.