Panama City’s Riba Smith Group Contracts IT Creations, Inc., to Update Their New Disaster Recovery Site

(Panama City, Panama – February 2, 2017) Panama’s Riba Smith Group, a leader of retail supermarkets and food processing in Panama City, Panama recently contracted Unites States-based IT hardware supplier, IT Creations, Inc. to scale up and modernize their existing IT infrastructure. The food giant employs more than 4,000 people who work out of eight different locations in and around Panama City. Their facilities are not only limited to retail stores, but also include a 5,000 square foot warehouse and a fully automated plant among others. Understandably, updating their infrastructure was a top priority for the beloved grocer. IT Creations, Inc. has proven to be instrumental in Riba Smith’s plan to outfit their brand-new disaster recovery site in a value-conscious and strategic manner. The line-up, which was supplied at a substantial discount, consisted of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) servers, DELL networking gear and PowerVault storage appliances.To support their continued growth in Panama City and beyond, the Riba Smith Group consulted with IT Creations, Inc. to supply the needed equipment at a considerable discount. By purchasing from IT Creations they didn’t have to compromise on the quality of the products or on post-sale services and support. In fact, the 5-year warranty they ended up with was 40% longer than the 3-year warranty offered by the manufacturer.

Riba Smith’s technology expansion has been carefully planned over the last year. During that time, they interviewed several potential suppliers and laid out their new infrastructure blueprint with their team of IT engineers and systems architects. Riba Smith ultimately chose IT Creations, Inc., a well-known strategic source for enterprise-level IT equipment in the Tier 1 OEM category (Dell, HPE, Lenovo, IBM).

The project called for an intricate array of equipment and software designed to optimize efficiency and performance. IT Creations, Inc. worked together with their partner VMware to satisfy the virtualization software requirements. By leveraging their partner discounts with the manufacturer, IT Creations, Inc. was able to drive down the cost of Riba Smith’s new roster of virtualized HP DL380 G9 hypervisors running VMware vShpere with VMware Site Recovery Manager. The new configuration also included DELL S-Series Networking S4048-ON open networking switches and Dell’s PowerVault MD3060E storage appliance. Their infrastructure upgrade came at a 60% cost savings, compared to purchasing the same equipment from conventional distribution channels, and will enable them to continue to expand their business while reducing operational costs.

IT Creations, Inc. provides IT Equipment to Panama City and the rest of the world

IT Creations, Inc. employs an international sales staff to facilitate transactions in Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, and Russian. Andrea Cansirro, IT Creations, Inc. Central and South American sales representative, worked closely with Riba Smith’s COO and IT department to carefully narrow down their specific needs. Once a selection was made, IT Creations, Inc.’ engineering team helped them implement a new network configuration and infrastructure for their Disaster Recovery Site in Panama City.

Riba Smith is currently expanding their operation into the community of Davis, located an hour drive outside of Panama City, with a new high-end supermarket. IT Creations, Inc. hopes to continue to partner with them as they grow their business.

IT Creations, Inc. CEO, Alex Gorban said, “I applaud their team, and their immense effort to maximize their budget by partnering with us. We’re very pleased with the result and will be there to help our Central American friends complete their objectives for as long as our assistance is needed. The logistics of an international transaction of this scale are quite complex, and potentially beyond the abilities for most US-based organizations. Luckily, our experience providing IT equipment and consulting services worldwide, confirmed that our value doesn’t just translate to savings but permeates through every level of the transaction.”

About the Riba Smith Group:

Mr. Jose Riba Robira started the Riba Smith Group in the late 1920’s selling groceries and rapidly expanded throughout the old city of Panama and the surrounding areas. The services offered reflect on the quality of the business, and are based on the foundations of sustainable social and equitable economic development, and providing services and products that improve the quality of life for those who use them. The Riba Group is currently the market leader in Panama City and supports over four thousand employees in several high-end supermarkets and an automated food processing plant located in Panama City and the outlying communities.

About IT Creations, Inc., Inc.:

IT Creations, Inc. is an industry-leading wholesale distributor of high-end IT equipment located in Chatsworth, California and provides custom-configured enterprise solutions to businesses around the world. The company’s 35,000 sq. ft. state of the art facility houses thousands of servers, professional workstations, and components from HPE, Dell, Lenovo, IBM, Fujitsu, and many other major manufacturers. By featuring a selection of both new, recertified, and legacy equipment IT Creations, Inc. gives customers options for both performance and budget. Their professional sales staff is fluent in six languages to facilitate international transactions, and can help with choosing the best systems to support your unique business needs.

To learn more, visit the IT Creations website here or connect with IT Creations, Inc. on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.