Stadler scales performance 10x and enables all things digital for faster train customization

Consolidating IT infrastructure to power faster train manufacturing

Stadler, a global manufacturer of customized trains, consolidated various distributed corporate data centers across Europe in two Equinix data centers in Zurich, where it houses all of its IT infrastructure and applications for greater and more reliable performance, scalability, security and sustainability.

Seeking predictability and flexibility 

Stadler needed to make its corporate data centers more resilient in the face of climate issues and unreliable infrastructure. Its distributed local data center model made it difficult for the company to efficiently share business-critical applications (e.g., SAP®, Microsoft® Exchange, manufacturing life cycle processing, scale-out filers) among global users and quickly expand its production of customized trains. 

In addition, Stadler hoped to gain access to a wider ecosystem of network and cloud service providers. It needed interconnection capabilities to connect with those providers quickly and securely, thus increasing flexibility to scale network bandwidth and accelerate its digital transformation. 

“At Stadler, we are going through a digital transformation. The aim of this completely renewed environment is to increase the efficiency of the entire value chain,” explains Michael Hutab, Chief Information Officer, Stadler. 

Consolidating with Equinix 

With seven production, five component and more than 70 service locations distributed around Europe and the U.S., Stadler needed a more reliable and secure data center IT infrastructure, where it could deliver consolidated and orchestrated access to all its systems and applications for its global users. 

Two centrally located Equinix facilities in Zurich gave Stadler the robust data center infrastructure it required. The data centers were connected together for active/active high availability using a high-speed, redundant dark fiber ring. Stadler leverages a virtualization cluster to mirror data in real time between the data centers, one of which houses a separate file backup room to guard against any loss of valuable information.

Stadler required greater scalability and flexibility to grow not only its IT infrastructure footprint but also its network connectivity between users, partners and applications, such as its centralized SAP hub. Equinix gave Stadler the space and power to double its hardware infrastructure and a choice of network providers to quickly scale its bandwidth speed from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps. Also, the company leveraged Equinix Smart Hands® for round-the-clock, on-site operational support service to scale and supplement its data center staff as needed. 

Future-proof infrastructure designed with sustainability in mind 

Partnering with Equinix also gave Stadler a path toward future-proofing its IT infrastructure and rapidly scaling its global digitalization, as it considers leveraging innovative, cloud-based manufacturing technologies such as AI, IoT and digital twins. Looking forward, Stadler sees Equinix as a way to gain a fast and secure on-ramp to cloud providers (e.g., Microsoft Azure and AWS) via Equinix Fabric® software-defined interconnection. The company envisions Equinix providing the same robust data center infrastructure reliability and security around the world, particularly in regions where Stadler would like to expand, such as in the Americas and Asia-Pacific. 

In addition, Stadler is conscious of its social responsibility for sustainable mobility and therefore stands for innovative, sustainable and durable trains. Equinix designs, builds and operates its data centers with high energy-efficiency standards and a long-term goal of addressing power usage across its global footprint with 100% clean and renewable energy. Equinix has maintained 96% renewable energy coverage for eight consecutive years (2018–2025) for its global data center energy consumption, with 241 sites covered by 100% renewable energy. Companies around the world can drive their business advantage and grow their digital infrastructure sustainably with Equinix.

Benefits

Greater resiliency and security

With Equinix, Stadler went from 99% to 99.99% average systems uptime with no outages and increased its application and data security.

Expanded scalability and sustainability

Equinix gave Stadler the room to expand its power capacity to 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh)—10 times its former capacity—enabling the company to double its hardware infrastructure and leverage clean and renewable energy.

Faster digital adoption and time-to-market

Equinix’s global digital infrastructure gave Stadler the flexibility to better plan for the future in terms of adopting innovative digital technologies and quickly bringing to market new tailor-made manufacturing services and locations.

Greater user satisfaction

Stadler’s consolidated data center strategy with Equinix has greatly enhanced the IT experience for its employees, partners and customers, as it can more quickly respond to new business opportunities and effectively deliver its custom train manufacturing services with greater performance, scale and sustainability. 

Instant geographic reach

As Stadler expands its presence to new regions, such as North America and Asia-Pacific, it can quickly deploy digital services without new hardware purchases while supporting its sustainability goals across Equinix’s global digital infrastructure footprint.