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Microsoft & IBM Venture In European Cloud Data Markets

Microsoft & IBM Venture in European Cloud Data Markets

IBM and Microsoft have penetrated into European markets by establishing cloud centers in some of the cities in Norway and Germany. Microsoft has opened a cloud region in Germany, making use of servers in Magdeburg and Frankfurt data centers. In order to prevent a legal battle with the American law enforcement agencies whose responsibility is to control access to customers’ private data stored abroad, the company has partnered with Deutsche Telekom. The agreement has given Deutsche Telekom T-Systems full control of the stored data in the region belonging to Microsoft cloud customers. This partnership has provided stability to Microsoft’s new cloud market in Germany.

IBM has opened a new data center in Norway. This is the first cloud infrastructure in the Nordic owned by IBM. By launching a cloud data center in this country, IBM makes a total of 48 cloud data infrastructures globally. Since 2014, the company has made tremendous growth most of which have been fueled by its acquisition of SoftLayer.

When examining the servers in IBM SoftLayer data center in Dallas year 2014, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Lance Crosby said that the company was planning to spend about 1.2 billion dollars to expand its cloud services. Indeed, by launching a data center in Norway, the company expands beyond its strategic plan set in 2014 to establish 40 data centers globally targeting a total of 15 countries. During that time, the company was aiming at building additional data centers in China, Washington DC, Japan, Mexico, London, Canada and India. In addition, the company was planning to extend its cloud services in the Middle East and Africa as well by the end of 2015. This shows that IBM has had a history of successful expansion in the global cloud data market.

Currently, IBM and Microsoft are leading in the cloud data services market as they have many data centers compared to other major competitors in the market such as Amazon. Though they do not have the as much revenue as other players, the two companies provide cloud data customers with numerous options for their data storage by ensuring that there are adequate data centers to cater for the increasing demand for the services.

The move by IBM and Microsoft to expand their cloud data services in the European market may be seen as a strategy to counter the stiff competition existing in the cloud industry. In the recent past, Google made a move in allocating additional resources to capture Oracle and enterprise cloud users. In fact, Google has moved further in the last one month to claim a bigger space in the cloud data industry.

It should be remembered that bare metal cloud data services are core to IBM’s growth strategy as it distinguishes the company among other top players such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon. The data sovereignty rule in Germany prompted Microsoft to set up a cloud data center within the country to cater for cloud users who cannot store their data overseas.

Google Cloud To Serve Blockchain Clients

Google Cloud to Serve Blockchain Clients

Banking clients making use of Google servers

Google is venturing in the blockchain services provision to banks, a field previously dominated by Microsoft, Amazon and IBM. In a statement released recently by GFT Germany consulting firm confirmed that Google’s cloud services have been used by Royal Bank of Scotland Group in their test blockchain clearing and settlement application with significant success. GFT further stated that Stuttgart and other bank clients will make use of the Google servers for enhanced service delivery. It is important to note that GFT is a member of Google Cloud Platform’s partner program.

This means that Google will be sharing a platform with leading cloud service providers who have been working with blockchain startups for many years such as Amazon.com.Inc. Other players in the field such as Microsoft and International Business Machines Corporation are known for their active role in launching developer tools and new data base that have been successfully tested by banks and start-ups in their huge data centers.

Importance of Blockchain for Banks and other Service Providers

Blockchain services offered by cloud and data centers create a platform for huge companies and corporations to file their transactions securely. Google being one of the leading cloud service providers qualifies to offer the blockchain services that will take financial, health care and other institutions as well as internet businesses requiring complex data management to the next digital level.

The financial institutions for instance, only settle for a data center provider with a history of trusted service delivery. In this case, the cloud service provider for blockchain must have measures in place to secure the data such that the recorded transactions cannot be reversed, changed or interfered with. Google’s cloud will be offering an opportunity for the banks to efficiently and safely engage in international money transfers and internet business hubs to make and receive payments worldwide.

Transactions and blockchain

Transactions done through blockchain are cost effective hence boosting the sustainability of the company. This is because through blockchain disintermediation power, middle-men required in complex transactions will be eliminated leading to reduced costs of service delivery. Interest and investment in blockchain have increased in the recent past due to its use of immutable and complex cryptography that keeps the data secure.

Institutions with huge clientele and heavy data transfers prefer testing blockchain on provider’s cloud as it is swift and secure compared to testing it on a company’s internal computer. Blockchain services offered by a trusted cloud provider will bring numerous positive changes in the internet market because the cloud can easily and effectively manage a single database shared by several companies.

Cloud data infrastructure is about to grow to 204 billions

Cloud data infrastructure is a steadily growing field. According to a renowned researcher Gartner Inc., public cloud services recorded 175 billion dollars in 2015 globally. This figure is expected to go up to approximately 204 billion dollars by the end of this year. This shows that blockchain concept is being adopted by many companies as there is a massive shift from manual and insecure transactions and data storage, especially by the financial institutions.

Renewable Energy Projects Unveiled By Internet And Cloud Giants

Renewable Energy Projects Unveiled by Internet and Cloud Giants

In the past, Amazon and Apple, the world’s internet and cloud giants have been concentrating on the construction of data centers in different parts of the United States of America due to increased demand for internet services. However, data centers consume a large amount of energy and this has prompted the two companies to think outside the box and come up with a solution for an alternative source of energy to be consumed by their centers in future. Both Apple and Amazon have come up with huge projects for renewable energy worth millions of dollars in various states within the US.

Currently, Apple is constructing a data center in Mesa, Arizona which is yet to be completed. The company has already put in place measures to curb a possible energy issue by constructing a solar energy plant in Arizona. Recently, the company announced the completion of the plant which has a capacity of producing 50MW of renewable energy, adequate to power the new data center in the region.

In addition, Apple has plans to set up other renewable energy projects as it has contracted for another project in Central California with a capacity to produce 130MW solar energy. Similarly, Amazon has launched the construction of a wind energy plant in Texas, aimed at producing 253MW to power the company’s enormous cloud projects within the region.

These solar energy plants will go a long way in offsetting the energy consumption by the company’s existing and new data centers. According to latest sustainability report released by the company, a total of 54 million kWh was consumed by the data center in Oregon, 46 million kWh in Reno Nevada, 218 million kWh in Maiden North Carolina and 137 million kWh in Newark California in the year 2015. This depicts the need for an additional source of energy that will help the company to expand its internet and cloud business in different States.

The decision by Apple and Amazon to go for renewable energy as an alternative source of energy will not only offset the huge electric energy consumption by boosting the cloud business while making service delivery efficient. First and foremost, renewable energy will attract customers who depend on data centers for their daily business operations.

Such customers are likely to settle for a provider offering renewable energy that will aid them in achieving their individual sustainability goals. According to a recent survey, 70 percent of wholesale data centers customers are interested in doing business with data centers using renewable energy and the demand may increase significantly within the next 5 years.

Secondly, renewable energy plants will offer an alternative source of energy that will be cost effective for cloud and wholesale data infrastructure providers. The solar and wind plants will provide opportunities for wholesale data providers to have contracts for energy supply that will protect them from fuel and power price volatility that happens regularly in the market.

Renewable energy projects make Apple and Amazon major players to compete for customers with the leading data center providers such as Digital Realty Trust, Switch and Equinix who have made huge investments in renewable energy.

Working With A Data Center Partner

Working with a Data Center Partner

What to consider before choosing the right datacenter

When searching for a data center partner to work with, it is important to select a provider who can meet your business needs based on the demands of your specific industry.

First, you need to understand your business and its future growth path. Projecting into the future of your business helps in selecting a data service provider who can keep up with the pace at which your business is growing and current digital demands in the global market.  Choosing an efficient data center partner can help evolve your business by keeping your data to the edge.

Top considerations to make when selecting a data center partner

Working with data center partner enables you to make swift international business transactions while keeping your data secure. Identifying an efficient data center service provider is vital especially if you are planning to expand your business in numerous locations. The internet market has opened up opportunities for businesses to operate online meaning that if you have to be on top of the game, you need to digitalize your business. In the digital world, transactions such as placing orders, payments and banking are carried out through the internet. This translates to only one fact, that you need a data service provider who can facilitate transfer of massive data volume and secure it such that it cannot be erased or interfered with. Here are some considerations to make:

Good data center and cloud interconnects

A data center providing efficient services should be an open field that provides interconnects. Similarly, the provider should offer a platform to integrate with other cloud providers for hustle free data transfers and transactions.

In order to benefit from good interconnects and cloud integration, it is advisable to select a data service provider with technologies that offer CDN services. For instance, some of the major data service providers such as Amazon, Rackspace and Azure among others have CDN services that can benefit your business. However, if you plan to create your own CDN platform normally done by leveraging systems such as OnApp or CloudFlare among others, you still need to engage a data center for cost effective data distribution.

Heavy data distribution

A good data center service provider should have the capacity to handle heavily distributed data effectively. If you are dealing with heavy data distribution, a provider with few locations such as one or two may not help much. Therefore, you need to settle for a data service partner with numerous locations and offering powerful CDN services. Besides offering a platform for effective data delivery, the charges should be economical.

Data type to be delivered

In order to select the right data center partner for your business, it is advisable to consider the type of contents to be delivered. In this case, you may need to know the category of your business whether it is an international organization, financial institution dealing with complex transactions or a small organization. For example, if you have an international organization or a financial institution, it is important to select a data center partner who can handle enormous data distribution. On the other hand, providers such as Yottaa are ideal for small organizations dealing with web and mobile data distribution.

Europe Seeking EU-Wide 5G Rollout

Europe Seeking EU-Wide 5G Rollout

2020 would see the launch of 5G, and the European commission wants the entire European Union to get the highly expected 5th Generation wireless internet service at the same time after the trials commences in 2018.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker spoke about the goals he has set out for the telecoms industry in a speech issued recently at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Jean-Claude Juncker who has been president of the European Commission for about 2 years now said, “We need to be connected. Our economy needs it. People need it. And we have to invest in that connectivity now”.

President Juncker noted that all urban cities which encompass railroads and major roads alike should be having full access to uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025, while at least one major city within the EU would have 5G services commercially available by 2020.

The Juncker led commission also wants all households within the European Union fixed with access to internet connectivity capable of a whooping 100Mbps and upgradeable to an even more powerful 1Gbps.

A new European Electronic Communications Code was also proposed by the commission. The new proposal has some attractive rules which are aimed at seeing more companies invest in having new infrastructures spread across the EU, inclusive of borders.

President Juncker continued his speech saying, “We want to create a new legal framework that attracts and enables investments in connectivity”, adding that “Businesses should be able to plan their investments in Europe for the next 20 years. Because if we invest in new networks and services, that is at least 1.3 million new jobs over the next decade.”

Juncker also initiated a project codenamed “WiFi4EU” which he believes would help send across free wireless internet access to villages, cities within the EU’s public centers by the year 2020.

It would be a gradual process with the first stop being to create a public voucher scheme. According to the commission, this scheme would have a starting budget of €120 million, and vouchers would be used for Wi-Fi offering in public areas, health centers, schools, parks etc.

According to the commission, this new voucher scheme could potentially skyrocket connectivity within public areas, with a estimates putting connections established daily on the WiFi platform as 40 – 50 million. The commission added that once the scheme has been adopted by the European Parliament and its member states, the financing would follow quickly. The commission hopes that at least 6,000 – 8,000 local communities would be beneficiaries of the WiFi4U project come 2020.

The Vice-President of the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, commended the move saying “Without first-class communication networks, there will be no digital single market. We need connectivity that people can afford and use while on the move. To achieve that, spectrum policies must be better coordinated across the EU. More competition and further integration of the European market will allow us to reach these goals, helped by the right environment created by the new communications code.”

EU’s commissioner for the digital economy and society, Günther Oettinger was quick to add that Europe has always wanted to have the 5G deployed before the rest of the continents. Insisting that this is the right time to establish a gigabyte society which would see all Europeans  both those at the country sides and those in cities all be provided with quality internet connectivity to improve their daily lives.

Leading telecom provider Vodafone responded to Juncker’s speech through its public policy director Mark Reinisch and its international policy director, Grégoire Verdeaux. The duo bared Vodafone’s agreement with President Juncker’s line of thought, saying “Vodafone welcomes the review of the EU telecoms framework resulting in today’s proposal for a new European electronic communications code and the Commission’s communication on its vision for the European gigabit society”. They also put out words on the agreement to roll-out the much needed high capacity fibres and 5G broadband equipments needed for global competitiveness.

The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) also did well to throw in some input via its Chairman Gijs Phoelich, who said, “We believe that co-investment can also be a means to ensure efficient investment in non-replicable parts of the networks.”

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