Matexi employees have easy access to all kinds of data and applications. And in the years ahead, the importance of digital cooperation at the project developer will only intensify. The company relies on a fully renewed core infrastructure, designed and implemented by Inetum-Realdolmen.

Matexi is Belgium's largest neighborhood developer. The company creates attractive places to live and work. It does so by means of densified development in the cores of towns and cities, in close proximity to daily facilities and public transport. Matexi develops houses and apartments – some 1,500 residential units a year – that are both affordable and sustainable. The family business has over 75 years' experience in this field. Matexi operates from 10 offices in Belgium, one in Luxembourg and one in Poland.

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Digital core

Matexi's data center represents the IT heart of the company. It is the nerve center: the place where all critical systems are housed. "It is essential that we have a strong digital core," explains Micha Albertijn. "We work on long-term projects: an average of seven to eight years passes between the purchase of a plot and the delivery of the residential units. Throughout that process we collect an enormous amount of data and documents. There are also peak times. Our IT environment must be able to handle the growth and dynamics of each project – and of the company as a whole – with perfection. What's more, with IT we help the company achieve its ambitions."

In revamping the data center, Matexi had a dual goal in mind. "First of all, the existing infrastructure was approaching the end of its life cycle," says Micha Albertijn. "At the same time, we also wanted to drive up efficiencies and position ourselves for the future with the new set-up." In doing so, Matexi was looking for a new environment that would in no way inhibit the business. "We were looking for performance and availability within a secure environment. After all, the employee journey starts with ensuring our employees have good and available platforms."
 

Best-fit solution

Matexi initially studied a few potential solutions itself. In a second phase, the company approached Inetum-Realdolmen. "That sped up the design study considerably," says Micha Albertijn. "Together we then set up a thorough RFP process." Analysis of the proposals led to the final choice: HPE ProLiant servers for 75 virtual machines on VMware, HPE Nimble storage, HPE ServiceGuard for Linux for monitoring, HPE Aruba top of rack switches with AOS-CS and Veeam backup software.

"Together with Inetum-Realdolmen, we set out to find the most suitable solution," continues Micha Albertijn. "This primarily involved a number of objective criteria. The new environment had to be made to fit us: fit for purpose, today and in the future." Nevertheless, subjective elements also played a role. "People work with people. Our good relationship with the experts at Inetum-Realdolmen was one of the factors that determined our choice." An interesting detail: the project took place at the start of the first coronavirus lockdown. "Everyone was forced to work remotely, which at first glance seemed to be an extra challenge, but in practice ensured more involvement and focus. The importance of the project was raised to an even higher level by the pandemic!"

Ready for growth

The implementation was completed within three months by Inetum-Realdolmen. "The stakes were high, but at the same time we remained realistic – as is actually always the case at Matexi," laughs Micha Albertijn. "The fact that we were going through such a heavy migration went completely unnoticed by the business itself. Everyone was able to continue doing their job." But that things were changing was becoming quite clear anyway. "With the new infrastructure, we are providing a solid basis for the further growth of our business," concludes Micha Albertijn. "The infrastructure is there to allow Matexi's employees to work together more efficiently in the years that lie ahead. Likewise, a high-performance, available and secure IT environment contributes to the realization of every next neighborhood development..."