Brookfield Properties

Brookfield Properties Taps CDI For Data Center Relocation Computer Design & Integration LLC combines innovation and speed in architecting interstate relocation and consolidation With more than $1.6 billion in premier office real estate holdings from New York to Los Angeles to Houston to Washington, DC, Brookfield Properties is one of Corporate America’s biggest landlords. So, when the company acquired another 40 million square feet of prime metropolitan area rental space through its 2006 purchase of Trizec Properties, Brookfield Properties turned to Computer Design & Integration LLC for their datacenter relocation and build out that would consolidate and simplify the company’s complex web of information.

A year before, CDI’s Director of Business Development, Tony Ferrante, had met representatives of Brookfield Properties at an IT event, and he facilitated the introduction between Brookfield’s technology executives and CDI. According to John McCormick, Vice President of Information & Technology at Brookfield Properties, CDI was selected from a field of IT firms to handle the multifaceted project for several key reasons. “We looked at CDI’s reputation for quality, its partner selection, and a host of unique resources we knew we would need for this relocation,” McCormick explains. “CDI was the only provider that could handle all phases of the project, and the cost was a good fit with our business objectives,” he adds.

Moving Time
After its acquisition of Trizec in 2006, Brookfield Properties had one data center in Chicago which housed Trizec’s information, and one in New York that was not spacious enough to accommodate the consolidation of both companies. Brookfield decided to consolidate both centers into a separate co-location facility in New York, and to completely redesign and reconfigure the data center.

“Vinny Tomasello, our Account Manager from CDI, and the entire CDI team worked tirelessly with us through the four-month process, which included several trips to Chicago to plan and diagram the new system,” McCormick recalls. CDI implemented a comprehensive Cisco network and structured cabling solution, which would incorporate the challenging configuration and consolidation of new hardware with Brookfield’s existing servers, that met Brookfield’s various business objectives.

But, when it came to physically moving the Trizec business equipment from Chicago to New York, CDI surprised Brookfield with the kind of innovation and flexibility that has become the hallmark of the company’s client relationships. “We were having difficulty finding a suitable and timely transport method for some very fragile and sensitive equipment,” recalls Mark Musser, Director of Technology Operations at Brookfield Properties. “To complicate matters, our deadline was unavoidably shortened by a month very late in the project.”

The team was left with one weekend to complete the move from Chicago to New York. Musser continues, “That’s when CDI’s John O’Malley and Alan Metzler volunteered to go to Chicago and coordinate and manage the entire move!” CDI contracted with specialized movers, ensured the equipment was properly dismantled and packed, and supervised the process.  The equipment was delivered to the new data center within 24 hours, and the CDI team was able to complete the entire buildout and installation within the next 24 hours. As a result of the CDI team’s diligence, expertise and creativitiy, Brookfield’s new data center was fully operational one full day ahead of schedule.

“CDI was able to not only recover from a shortened deadline, but to beat it by one day,” Musser notes. John McCormick adds, “Even more significantly, we accomplished the relocation with minimal impact on business operations, and the end result has been increased manageability of the technology infrastructure since the center went live,” he adds. In addition, the systems that CDI put in place will make it easy for Brookfield to grow the environment as the company expands.

“Working with Brookfield Properties has given everyone here at CDI – from our business development team to our client sales and service team, from our solutions architects to our technical experts – the opportunity to demonstrate what our company is all about,” notes Eric Bakker, Co-founder and president of CDI. “Customizing a forward-thinking solution to fit the unique and specific needs of every client, responding quickly and effectively to emerging challenges, and being willing to go the extra mile…or eight hundred!”

Brookfield’s John McCormick agrees. “CDI brings so much to the table, and they definitely exceeded our expectations during this project,” he says. The companies are engaged in several other projects as well. Currently, CDI is augmenting several staff positions for Brookfield’s IT Department, and the solutions architects are working on proposals for a new storage/backup system for Brookfield.  “We expect that, as our North American business continues to grow, so will our relationship with CDI,” McCormick concludes.

Computer Design and Integration LLC is a privately-held firm that combines innovative and comprehensive business solutions and service with experienced professionals to simplify the complexity of emerging technologies. Founded in 1995, the company is one of the fastest-growing IT consulting firms in the Northeast, offering complete solutions in Architectural Design, Business Continuance, Backup & Recovery, Managed Support, Operating Systems, Enterprise Management, Networking & Security, and Application Development. CDI is the 2003 winner of two top CISCO DVAR Awards for customer satisfaction and vendor loyalty. The firm was recently ranked #287 on the annual VARBusiness 500 list, and was also included in the magazine’s “50 Fastest Growing Companies” for 2003. For more information, visit CDI’s home on the web at www.cdillc.com.

Brookfield Properties is an office property corporation that owns, develops, and operates premier assets in the downtown core of high-growth North American cities. Brookfield Properties' premier properties define the skylines in many major metropolises including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Toronto, and Calgary. Brookfield Properties trades under the ticker symbol BPO on both the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges.

From the World Financial Center in New York to Brookfield Place in Toronto, from Bankers Hall in Calgary to the Bank of America Plaza in downtown Los Angeles, Brookfield Properties' distinguished portfolio attracts major financial, energy and professional services corporations which have high credit ratings and maintain long-term leases. The company’s performance through the years is distinguished by strong, consistent financial results and track record of steady growth.

Brookfield Properties has strong and dedicated management teams in each of its markets. The company’s commitment to excellence is reflected not only in the quality of its properties but among its well-respected staff. Visit www.brookfieldproperties.com

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