Boosting productivity by accelerating 3D modeling with Hitachi Vantara data storage

Overview

Challenge

• To help customers visualize its solutions with accurate 3D models, AWILA® realized it had to transform its approach to data management.

Solution

• Together with partner on/off IT-services GmbH, AWILA® deployed a fast, cost-efficient and fully redundant Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) solution.

Outcome

• Accelerates loading of large, complex 3D plant models by 30% and improves customer service with faster access to key project information.

Challenge

AWILA® Anlagenbau GmbH specializes in high-quality turnkey plant solutions and components for the animal feed, food and plastics industries. From planning to design and construction, AWILA® handles all aspects of complex plant and process engineering projects for customers in 57 countries worldwide. The company’s solutions include large-scale grain handling systems and individual components such as dosing, mixing, handling and conveying systems for mechanical and thermal production processes.

In recent years, customers have been seeking innovative ways to make their plants more efficient through the adoption of more advanced technologies. As technology partner, AWILA® supports its customers through every stage of a project to deliver a cost-efficient solution that is closely tailored to precisely meet the customer requirements.

Dirk Büter, Head of IT at AWILA® Anlagenbau GmbH, explains: “We have to quickly understand and respond to changing market needs, so we’re constantly adapting to new trends. Right now, customers are asking for more advanced visualizations of our plants and components. We need to be able to ingest large amounts of data, such as point clouds from 3D scanners, so that we can build realistic building models of existing customer environments and show them what the final result will look like when our solution is installed.”

To meet strategic requirements such as these and increase overall efficiency, AWILA® launched a broader digital transformation initiative. This included the implementation of a new ERP system with built-in warehouse management and integrations with the company’s CAD solution and CNC machining equipment. The new ERP platform required a more powerful, scalable and reliable on-site data storage solution to ensure smooth business operations and high levels of data protection.

Solution

Together with its trusted long-term partner on/off IT-services GmbH, AWILA® evaluated various options to upgrade and expand its mission-critical data storage. To boost performance and save costs, the company decided to move from a purely software-defined solution to a highly redundant and cost-efficient consolidated solution.

The new architecture would be based on two Hitachi Vantara Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) G350 hybrid flash arrays, covered by a five-year support and maintenance agreement. The Hitachi Vantara solution delivers high reliability and long-term stability for the company.

“IT costs are always a challenge,” says Dirk Büter. “By working closely with our virtualization and storage specialist on/off IT-services and the distributor TD Synnex, we created a new data storage platform to drive our business and support our digital transformation. The flexibility, knowledge and expertise of everyone involved built up trust and confidence in the new solution.”

To further optimize its IT costs, AWILA® and on/off IT-services moved the company’s 12 virtual machines from VMware vSphere to Proxmox Virtual Environment (Proxmox VE), a leading open-source platform for enterprise virtualization. The new Hitachi Vantara solution powers a wide range of applications and processes at AWILA® including the fully integrated ERP, CRM and production management solution Myfactory by Forterro, the 3D CAD solution HiCAD and the product lifecycle management solution HELiOS by ISD Group.

Outcome

By moving to Hitachi Vantara storage and Proxmox VE, AWILA® benefits from a more cost-efficient solution that improves redundancy and works reliably, requiring minimal day-to-day supervision from system administrators. This is a key advantage for any small or medium-sized business that operates with a lean IT team.

“With Hitachi Vantara storage and Proxmox VE, we can load large, complex CAD models 30% faster, saving several minutes per model,” adds Dirk Büter. “This improves our productivity every time we work on one of our bigger projects.”

Additionally, staff at AWILA® can serve customers more effectively by quickly and seamlessly accessing modeling data and other information during project meetings. In the past, slow performance meant that staff had to check information offline, requiring an additional meeting to discuss the next steps.

Thanks to the comprehensive assistance provided by on/off IT-services, AWILA® migrated even very dated legacy applications smoothly to the new, cutting-edge platform without any issues.

“Data storage is extremely important,” concludes Dirk Büter. “Without fast, reliable access to our business data, everything grinds to a halt. With the Hitachi Vantara solution and flexible support from on/off IT-services, we have the solid foundation we need to strengthen our business and deliver high-quality solutions made in Germany.”