(Virtual Showrrom) The launch of Rittal’s FR IT flat-pack enclosure earlier this year marked a milestone for the company, introducing the local market to a high-capacity, top-tier IT enclosure in a convenient (and cost-effective) flat-pack format for the first time.

“When we initially launched the FR-IT, there was a lot of interest, but customers weren’t sure if they should believe the great pricing,” explains Joleen Maritz, IT Infrastructure Sales Specialist: Sub-Saharan Africa, Rittal. “The market was accustomed to finding lower quality cabinets available at that price point and didn’t expect to be able to purchase a premium Rittal cabinet at such a cost-effective price point. Now, after having been more exposed to the FR IT value proposition, the local market is really loving it".

The FR IT is designed for rapid deployment, offering tool-free, single-person installation and expansion. It’s also a robust solution, with a load capacity of up to 1,500 kg, making it ideal for a range of applications – including server room projects.

Fast, flexible and robust

A local omni-channel retailer recently built a state-of-the-art robotic warehouse facility, and required a server room to house all the IT equipment needed to manage all the robotics.

“This customer needed a seamless and complete server room solution  – including cabinets, colocation racks, cooling solutions and containment,” explains Maritz.

Rittal responded with a turnkey solution that covered infrastructure as well as monitoring, cooling and power distribution, with the FR IT as the backbone of the installation. “The Rittal quality which this customer has come to expect, was once again displayed in the FR IT installation. This is a flat-packed solution, enabling Rittal South Africa to hold large stock volumes of this product. We were able to supply the customer’s full cabinet requirement in a third of the time it would usually take,” says Maritz.

In addition to the FR IT enclosures, Rittal also supplied 20kW liquid cooling packages and a containment unit that was specially modified in the Rittal MOD Centre to meet the customer’s unique requirements. “We equipped the whole server room and accounted for additional space should the customer need to expand this facility in the future,” adds Maritz. “The customer is really satisfied with the end result and is looking to roll-out a similar solution at its other locations.”

Elaborating on Rittal’s holistic service offering, she comments: “Our in-house service teams were on hand at every step of this project, ensuring that the product installation, service and commissioning ran smoothly”.

Looking ahead, Maritz anticipates that the popularity of the FR IT will continue to grow, especially as a growing number of organisations look to colocation, edge computing and more complex data centre or server room setups to realise their business goals.

“The FR IT resolves some of the biggest IT infrastructure pain points thanks to its modular, user-friendly and flexible design, as well as its pricing and availability. It has proved extremely effective in a number of local customer projects, and will no doubt continue to gain favour in the local market in the coming months”.