Finding smarter ways to break new ground
How Lenovo helped LCR Group, a Qube Company, bring cloud computing underground with hyperconvergence powered by Intel® Xeon® Platinum processor to make mining safer and more efficient.
Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions
for The Data-Centered
Finding smarter ways to break new ground
How Lenovo helped LCR Group, a Qube Company, bring cloud computing underground with hyperconvergence powered by Intel® Xeon® Platinum processor to make mining safer and more efficient.
Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions
for The Data-Centered
Background
LCR Group, a Qube Company, is a broad-spectrum mining and industrial services company headquartered in Brisbane, Australia and is known for two things: providing lift-and-shift materials handling solutions, and getting the job done safely and efficiently.
They use automation to reduce the risk of human error, improve ease of equipment use, and increase efficiency. They even build their own solutions to increase safety and accountability.
Their innovations include sophisticated in-vehicle monitoring systems (IVMS) and in-cabin technology that collects data on their machinery and drivers, as well as a complete fleet control management and monitoring center to track and analyze that data in real time.
Challenge
LCR Group, a Qube Company, needed an IT infrastructure that could keep up with all the data coming in — solutions that would give them better control, and that could help them keep up in the future, too.
They had previously been outsourcing their IT hosting and management. But because their servers and storage systems were approaching end-of-life, they decided it was time to modernize, build momentum, and take back control.
We made the decision to move our infrastructure in-house because we wanted the freedom and flexibility to be able to react fast to the evolving demands andmexpectations from the business. We’re an action-first company, so agility is very important to us.
Thinking ahead
Eager to increase IT flexibility, Ashlen decided against refreshing their existing three-tier architecture. Instead, they wanted to be one of the first to try hyperconvergence.
With a hyperconverged infrastructure, they’d be able to run all of their software and applications from one single platform. Their infrastructure solutions would all work together and would set them up for future work success.
…If we wanted to keep innovating and keep moving forward, it was necessary to take a fresh look at our technology platforms…We found the hyperconverged infrastructure concept to be extremely compelling: it is a truly future-facing architecture that offers easy management and scalability.
Creating a strong foundation
Lenovo teamed up with local IT partner Techible to implement a three-node Lenovo ThinkAgile HX3320 cluster, pre-integrated with Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS software and equipped with powerful Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors. We also added a Lenovo ThinkSystem SR550 server at their disaster recovery site to protect their data in case something were to happen.
The new hyperconverged infrastructure underpins everything Qube Bulk does. It powers all of their operations, while running real-time analytics on massive amounts of data — digging up actionable insights to help them continue innovating, speed things up, and ensure safety for employees and citizens alike.
The performance, reliability and flexibility of the ThinkAgile HX Series platform is outstanding, and it comes in at a fraction of the cost of a traditional three-tier set-up. We achieved ROI with the infrastructure in a short period of time, and now have a solid foundation on which to build cutting-edge services.
Results
Today, LCR Group, a Qube company, runs everything from their mission-critical back-office software suites and line-of-business applications, to their data warehouse and business intelligence tools on their ThinkAgile HX Series platform.
And they’ve continued to innovate, too. They now run predictive analytics to continuously monitor the performance and condition of their equipment and estimate when maintenance is needed.
The IVMS systems in their trucks monitor drivers’ faces, eye movements, and blink rates in real time to determine if drivers are drowsy or distracted — sending alerts and logging information to keep everyone safe. They even plan to introduce AI, VR, and robotics technologies to their operations, too.
So, we think it’s safe to say their hyperconverged, cloud-based infrastructure has paid off.
ROI achieved in a short period of time
Hundreds of thousands of dollars saved in parts and production loss
New innovations enabled with real-time analytics
Safer employees and citizens all across Australia
…We’re already renowned as a technology leader in the mining and industrial services sector. Supported by Lenovo, we’re continuing to push boundaries and break new ground.
Where will future‑ready infrastructure take you?
Take your business from data center, to Data-Centered with a cloud strategy and smarter infrastructure solutions built for you. Where you go from there is up to you.
