Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, together with local partner Encapsulated East Africa Limited, and the Kenyan National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), recently deployed a new integrated modular data centre infrastructure solution to boost data centre performance and service delivery. As part of its digital transformation strategy, the NTSA embarked on the modernisation of its Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS) to allow citizens to experience maximum service efficiencies when registering their motor vehicles, and to promote a positive economic impact within the country. 

Kenya established the NTSA in 2012 to manage vehicle growth within the country as well as the safety of drivers and pedestrians. The NTSA was later boosted with the addition of the TIMS electronic data platform, which allowed citizens to more easily register their vehicles, transfer ownership, and obtain licence plates, amongst other services. This year, when the time came to deploy a revamped TIMS solution in response to the population’s growing demands, the agency realised that it was also the right time to upgrade its data centre equipment to provide the most reliable service for customers.

Following the request for proposal process, the NTSA selected the Vertiv™ SmartRow™ infrastructure solution submitted by Vertiv and its local partner Encapsulated East Africa Limited, a systems integrator and Vertiv diamond elite partner.

The Vertiv™ SmartRow™ is a self-contained data centre that simplifies IT deployments in indoor spaces. This solution allows customisation and scalability for capacity of up to 10 racks, integrated cooling, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), power distribution, fire suppression, and backup ventilation. The Vertiv™ SmartRow™ is factory integrated and tested, maximising installation speed while minimising installation cost.

The deployment of the Vertiv™ SmartRow™ solution, with itsbuilt-in redundant design, close unit control and monitoring of the operating environment, has resulted increased uptime and lower energy consumption for the NTSA compared to the previous solution, while gaining full visibility of operations and better serving the citizens of Kenya. The modular, scalable nature of the solution allowed the ICT department to right-size data centre equipment for lower energy utilisation, and manage cooling and power distribution more efficiently.

The NTSA data centre modernisation project also led to improved customer service, with Kenyan citizens receiving a much faster and more accurate response to their inquiries, and with users now able to track service application status online, 24 hours a day. The TIMS system went from attempting to manage a queue of 60,000 drivers waiting for their applications to process, to zero now waiting in the queue as applications are now processed upon submission. 

"Modernising our systems was crucial to meet vehicle owners' expectations and improve service delivery to citizens. Our ICT department faced continuous challenges maintaining the previous system, we had to transform the way business is done," said Nashon Kondiwa, deputy director of ICT and innovation at NTSA. "The Vertiv solution eliminates the need to deal with multiple suppliers and integration challenges, and its compactness makes it an ideal fit in our current facility. With access control, CCTV, environmental monitoring, sensors, power, and cooling pre-integrated, installation and management became much easier and quicker." 

Kondiwa added, “The Vertiv SmartRow simplifies processes, enhances system security, and broadens access to our online services, while also reducing stress on our staff by providing them with a highly reliable and more predictable system. Since the installation of the data centre, Kenya’s licence renewal compliance has increased eightfold, with more than 80,000 licences being processed per month, compared to 10,000 previously.”

Rohan Patil, Vertiv's regional manager for East Africa, concluded: “We were very pleased that the initial estimated 10-month rollout timeline was reduced to just six months. Our comprehensive integrated solutions portfolio not only significantly reduces deployment time but also streamlines the installation process, playing a key role in enhancing system reliability. This is particularly crucial in keeping pace with the rapid advancements in digitalisation our customers are facing.”