Data Center Efficiency Reimagined 

With the explosive growth of Big Data and Big Analytics, efficient, solid, reliable storage is golden. 2CRSI uses state-of-the-art technology with enough stamina to keep up with changing trends. In an exclusive chat with Ravi Sudarshan, Regional Manager – Middle East at 2CRSI on the company’s vision to rethink data center efficiency and energy conservation.

When was 2CRSI established and what were the core founding principles of the company?

2CRSI is a 15 year old company. We are a France-based company that was founded in Strasburg.

The founding principle or vision of the company was to bring uniqueness to server storage solution market and reimagine the hardware and solution designing approach. Our motive has always been to keep customer requirement at the heart of everything that we do and design products and solutions in tandem with that. This becomes a very niche area of work as the market is saturated with multiple products with multiple functionalities but very few that is customized as per the customer requirement. So, we devise a game changer in that area.

We provide products suitable for industries which require robust and/or embedded solutions and for datacenters looking for high-performance systems combined with energy efficiency. We design unique IT Solutions with a ‘pay-as-you-get’ model. This allows our customers to pay for only those solutions/features that they require. This not only enables them to lower their cost by opting green IT Solutions, but also get resources scaled as per the project. Our servers are designed and manufactured in France and assembled in both France and the US. With the explosive growth of Big Data and Big Analytics, efficient, solid, reliable storage is golden. 2CRSI uses state-of-the-art technology with enough stamina to keep up with changing trends. Our solutions provide customers with smarter storage, optimized through integration with existing systems and user-friendly accessibility, so your data is not merely warehoused, but also quickly and easily retrievable.

2CRSI also has another array of services that specializes in high-performance computing, immersion cooling and rugged systems. Our growth has been organic and in 2018 we acquired a company named Tranquil PC that specializes in designing and manufacturing rugged products, thus expanding our portfolio further.

What makes you a niche player in the server or data center space?

We craft systems of up to 480TB in 4U, using state-of-the-art, helium-based disks for tasks such as backup, video archiving, data archiving, databases, cloud storage, and more. With the knowledge of our experienced server experts, we work with you to design the optimal system for the unique needs of your industry and your company. When 2CRSI builds your hardware, you can focus on your business instead of wondering whether your hardware can keep pace with your company’s changing needs.

So what does 2CRSI stand for? I am sure our readers would want to know. 

It stands for Conception, Consulting, Research Services for IT. But we call ourselves 2Crazy (laughs).

We are crazy because we have been able to hit up high on the expectations of our customers on various projects. One of the best examples to cite here would be ShadowPC, which is one of the leading cloud gaming solution provider company. We designed servers for ShadowPC with a particular emphasis on energy conservation. Our servers were able to save twenty percent of the overall electricity bill. This is a very crucial factor in European countries as the cost of energy is really high and companies are increasingly focusing on green IT solutions.

So this was made possible by our R&D team and server experts on board who conceptualize, consult and research services that are apt for a customer’s environment and workload.

We read about your Immersion technology in brief on your website. Would you like to tell us more about this technology and its benefits?

Certainly. 2SRSI specializes in Immersion technology which is a very rare and unique technology that conserves energy and lowers your cooling costs down to negligible levels whilst providing highest level of data center efficiency.

As a server manufacturer, 2CRSi designs specific servers for immersion cooling in 17’’ / 19’’ / 21’’ form factor. Submerged server enhances cooling efficiency and reduces power consumption, leading the way to a new age of green datacenters. When servers are immersed it develops higher capacity to absorb the heat.

The liquid that is used is a biodegradable one which is normally used for edible products and has the volume of a typical baby oil.

What amount of maintenance would this need?

There is literally no maintenance needed. The lifecycle of this liquid is fifteen years and it is fully biodegradable. Like the saying goes ‘Pictures speak a thousand words’, customers wanted to see the product themselves before buying the concept. When we brought the physical product to the market, the demand sore immediately and I could see myself speaking to multiple customers on this. We also give a three years warranty on the immersion solution and our rugged servers.

What kind of implementations have been done with this technology and what results could you see?

We have some major customers in UK and US who are using this solution. Certainly, there are some restrictions and hardships that you face when you bring a new product or solution to the market. There are some resistance to acceptance that can only be resolved by educating the customers. We are right now at that stage where we are educating our customers. The reception for this technology in this market has been exception for obvious weather conditions. I also had some interesting conversations with some major enterprises in Saudi and I was very exuberant to see the kind of knowledge and appetite that the market had for such a niche solution.

So, can visitors expect to see this solution in real time at your stands in GITEX?

Yes, and I would like to take this platform to invite customers and visitors to come and visit us at our booth and have a real-time experience of Immersion Technology.

How does your customer acquisition model work? Direct or Indirect?

It is a mixed approach. Our channel partners drive our solutions in the market and our team drives it internally as well. We educate and keep our channel partners up to date on the solutions that we offer but also keep a direct touch model with the customers as well. Currently we are working with two partners in the region— SNB Middle East and Sariya IT— and are certainly open to new partnerships in future.