Dell powers learning, discovery facility of The Mind Museum

MANILA, Philippines - The Mind Museum, a first-of-its-kind science educational facility in the Philippines, utilizes Dell technology to deliver world-class interactive learning experience where exhibits are always available, ticketing services are quick and all of the technology operations are not noticeable to visitors.

Deploying Dell’s high-performance computing and open-standard, virtualized data center platform has enabled the museum to optimize IT operations, and achieve a scalable, interoperable IT infrastructure that is low on maintenance and energy consumption.

The Mind Museum set out to establish itself as the first world-class science museum in the Philippines and a haven for learning and discovery. Housing five galleries and over 250 interactive exhibits and installations throughout its expansive 5,000 square meter space, the museum needed a single IT solutions partner that could support its multi-vendor environment.

Bernard Beltran, IT assistant manager at The Mind Museum, said, “We wanted a single solution partner to work with in building our IT infrastructure for the museum. It was essential that the solution was based on open standards to ensure interoperability with other platforms.”

Critical, too, was the need for a platform that would reflect the building’s energy-efficient design and the goal to lead in environmentally sustainable practices.

“The Dell team in the Philippines provided me with various scenarios that would optimize what we could achieve through the use of technology, while ensuring we were highly efficient in our energy consumption,” Beltran said.

The museum deployed a data center solution consisting of Dell PowerEdge blade and rack servers, Dell EqualLogic storage, Dell PowerVault tape library, Dell PowerConnect switches, and Dell Precision and OptiPlex workstations. With the system in place, the museum is able to deliver unique visitor experiences and seamless hands-on discovery into the world of science.

“Dell is well-positioned to support environments like The Mind Museum’s with our end-to-end solutions that help customers drive business value and results,” said Christopher Papa, country manager of Dell Philippines.

“We are especially pleased to support educational institutions and are committed to working with the team at The Mind Museum to enable continuous innovation and make learning more impactful,” Papa added.

Intelligent infra backed by rapid response time

Dell’s easy-to-manage technology came as a significant benefit for the museum’s relatively small IT team. “Dell provided us with a solution that requires minimal maintenance and has intelligent technology to isolate issues so they do not impact the operations of the museum. Due to this we only need to monitor performance and our time isn’t wasted on maintaining the equipment or fixing issues,” Beltran said. “We can focus on how to improve the experience of visitors and the service we provide without downtime.”

Moreover, the entire system is protected by Dell ProSupport Mission Critical with a four-hour onsite response service. This ensures that The Mind Museum has immediate access to engineers who can provide support and resolution when required, saving valuable time for the museum’s IT team.

Beltran said, “We appreciate the support we receive as we have the assurance that any issue will be resolved within the agreed timeframe. The expertise provided ensures we get the correct diagnosis and solution. Dell has been a very supportive and accommodating solution partner.”

Supporting innovation, lifelong learning

Built to showcase the latest in science innovation and encourage continual learning, Dell’s solution is built to scale as needs grow to support new exhibits and increased storage demands and withstand high usage.

“The museum is designed as an education facility and as the first of its kind in the Philippines (and) we want it to be an important resource for the country. I’m able to concentrate on developing our interactive approach to science because I know we can support this innovation,” Beltran said.