< PreviousGreen Custard Ltd Achieves AWS Immersion Day Status Green Custard Ltd has been recognised as an AWS Immersion Day Partner. Based in Cambridge UK, the company is going from strength to strength; it achieved the coveted AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner status under 12 months ago, came first in the AWS CloudFormation Hackathon 2021, holds three Service Delivery designations and is a member of the AWS Public Sector Partner Program (PSP). Qualifying to independently deliver AWS Immersion Day workshops is another string to its bow. The APN Immersion Day programme is intended to help technical personnel learn how to best leverage the AWS platform to unlock business potential and meet key objectives. As a certified Immersion Day Partner, Green Custard is authorised to offer its customers exclusive technical workshops, delivered virtually or in person. Over the course of a day, participants are walked through areas of AWS services most relevant to their organisation, given full access to curated content and assets, and updated on current best practices, security and sound architecture principles. “We are fortunate to have the right mix of tech resource, experience and know-how in AWS to address cloud needs for a diverse range of clients and markets,” says Jonathan Custance, Co-Founder of Green Custard. “We consider all our projects to be the start of a long-term partnership that will deliver successful business outcomes for our clients. Delivering Immersion Day workshops will enhance these relationships by empowering them to take full advantage of all AWS capabilities.” Green Custard’s development and engineering teams have collectively accumulated a wealth of AWS accreditations and certifications which demonstrates their in-depth understanding of AWS managed services as well as their technical aptitude, both of which are essential for designing, deploying and operating cloud applications and infrastructure. www.networkseuropemagazine.com NEWS IN BRIEF 10 Cradlepoint Cellular Intelligence Simplifies Management and Control of LTE and 5G Wireless WAN Deployments Cradlepoint has announced the launch of Cellular Intelligence, a collection of software-based features that sense, orchestrate and optimise connections, data plans and traffic of cellular networking deployments. Now, Cellular Intelligence includes SIM Management based on the integration of Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator with Cradlepoint’s NetCloud and other databases. Customers can now activate and manage cellular routers, SIMs and data plans from a single pane of glass. This new extension of Cellular Intelligence highlights Cradlepoint’s commitment to providing enterprises with the freedom to simply connect people, places and things from anywhere. IT managers will need a new set of tools to meet the unique demands of cellular networking - especially as the Wireless WAN scales. As 5G adoption rates continue to rise, IDC predicts that by 2024, “wireless first” will be mainstream for wide-area connectivity, accelerating 65% of organisations to "untether" their operations. As this demand for cellular adoption increases, Cellular Intelligence gives IT teams the necessary tools to manage the unique demands of cellular through sophisticated management and control capabilities. “Cradlepoint’s Cellular Intelligence capabilities are invaluable in helping our large retail and hospitality customers take advantage of the agility and time to service advantages of Wireless WANs. With the comprehensive insights provided by NetCloud, which now extend into the SIMs and associated data plans, we have the tools that we need to provide amazing 5G Solutions that will prevent potential overspend on data plans, and enable our retail and hospitality customers to focus on providing an outstanding experience for their in-store customers,” said John Moss, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of KFP, Europe’s leading retail and hospitality IT provider and support partner. Leveraging Cradlepoint’s decade-long history in enabling enterprise-class 4G/ LTE and 5G connectivity, Cellular Intelligence has been built into every aspect of the Cradlepoint portfolio to equip IT teams with the management, control and security capabilities they need. “We have now officially entered a 5G-driven world. IT teams are going to be faced with complexities of managing and controlling a distributed Wireless WAN,” said Donna Johnson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Cradlepoint. “Cellular Intelligence, which is embedded in everything Cradlepoint does, simplifies cellular deployments with more predictable connectivity, deeper insights, and more accurate cost containment. It goes well beyond adding an off-the-shelf modem to a router, and gives network administrators the tools they need to secure, manage and control a distributed Wireless WAN—at scale.” One of the newest Cellular Intelligence features – SIM Management – is based on an integration with Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator platform. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and other channel partners that utilise IoT Accelerator will now be able to provide customers with the ability to view, activate and adjust cellular data plans in real-time for their Cradlepoint devices. There are also plans to integrate with SIM aggregation databases to provide broader visibility across all global carrier data plans. With these integrations, Cradlepoint Cellular Intelligence now exclusively provides real-time SIM Management capability. “Cradlepoint, together with Ericsson IoT, has extended SIM Management to Cradlepoint’s portfolio of cellular-enabled routers and adapters for fixed site, mobile and IoT use cases,” stated Kyle Okamoto, General Manager of IoT at Ericsson. “Now, any ecosystem member that utilises the Ericsson IoT Accelerator platform can extend SIM Management functionality to Cradlepoint devices, providing our global partners with service differentiation and giving enterprise customers yet another powerful tool to help manage the cost and performance of their Wireless WAN deployment.” Belden Acquires macmon secure GmbH Belden has added macmon’s team and technologies to its portfolio. macmon secure GmbH’s products are complementary to Belden’s leading industrial networking portfolio and will be integrated with the company’s Hirschmann offering to expand its ability to provide complete end-to-end solutions. The addition of macmon to Belden’s portfolio will extend its Customer Innovation Center (CIC) initiatives by adding expanded consulting capabilities in network access control and increased ability to provide comprehensive solutions to meet customers’ complex industrial networking needs.www.networkseuropemagazine.com NEWS IN BRIEF 11 Decarbonising Construction Key to Ensuring Data Centre Sector Sustainability Pessimism arising from a recent survey of data centre owners and operators about the sector’s sustainability has reaffirmed the need for green practice at all phases of a facility’s lifetime, according to Aggreko. The Uptime Institute’s recent questioning of 400 global stakeholders over the data centre sector’s sustainability has shown that only 38% of respondents believe the industry’s environmental commitments had proven effective. Similarly, 45% of respondents replied that they had led to few or no reductions in energy use, water use and greenhouse gas emissions. Faced with these latest industry insights, Billy Durie, Global Sector Head for Data Centres at Aggreko, has suggested that facility construction is also a vital part of reducing the sector’s environmental impact. According to Durie, paying further consideration to this aspect of a facility’s lifetime is key to further reducing carbon emissions during operation. “The latest Uptime Institute report comes at a time when the industry is under more pressure than ever to decarbonise,” says Durie. “However, despite the right actions being taken insofar as environmental commitments are concerned, the analysis shows more can be done. “As the data centre market continues to boom, greener IT infrastructure is required to help create a better future. To achieve this, the industry must go beyond day-to- day operations and consider the impact of construction, which can be responsible for a large proportion of any facility’s overall carbon footprint.” The Institute’s report goes on to say that European respondents felt more could be done to help data centres reduce their environmental impact. According to Durie, industry suppliers in this market will be crucial in helping this sentiment become a reality, especially with the provision of more efficient equipment and greener fuels. He concludes: “The fact of the matter is that the data centre sector alone cannot achieve the decarbonisation required – the supply chain must take similar action. Aggreko, for instance, has committed to investing c.£30 million in more environmentally-friendly temporary solutions before the end of the year to achieve this aim, as part of our Greener Upgrades initiative. “Similarly, as far as we are aware we are the only equipment hire company to have carried out independent, verified testing across multiple generator nodes on the use of hydro treated vegetable oil (HVO) as a drop-in fuel, monitoring emissions and impact on efficiency. We are also committed to cutting diesel use for our customers and reducing local air quality emissions by 50% within 10 years. As all companies work towards carbon neutrality by 2050, actions such as these will be key to turning around industry sentiment from the negativity seen in this latest Uptime Institute report.” Nebulon Launches New Red Hat Ansible Collection Nebulon has announced it has developed the first Red Hat Ansible collection for smartInfrastructure, which includes a set of modules that customers can use to integrate Nebulon infrastructure management into their Ansible automation playbooks. The Nebulon Ansible Collection, combined with the Nebulon ON cloud control plane, reduces operational overhead by up to 75% compared to hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) and 3-tier infrastructure alternatives. Large IT organisations today are reducing costly downtime and delays associated with new projects by investing in automation frameworks that minimise risk by eliminating error-prone manual provisioning. Traditional infrastructure, such as 3-tier architectures and HCI, limit an enterprise’s ability to easily automate at scale, as API fragmentation, authentication and authorisation require highly skilled resources, can take days or weeks to implement and maintain, and may be difficult to monitor and secure in distributed environments. With the Nebulon Ansible Collection and a combination of Nebulon cluster (nPod), operating system and storage provisioning, IT organisations can now deploy infrastructure end to end and configure applications entirely from within their Ansible playbooks. This powerful capability accelerates their automation efforts and minimises the tools and scripts they must maintain. Nebulon customers can now rely on Ansible to quickly provision, tear down and reprovision infrastructure for their application clusters and manage data services, in addition to the regular application configuration automation tasks they achieve with Ansible today. “Enterprises and service providers are increasingly searching for solutions which match the public cloud IaaS experience on-premises,” said Camberley Bates, Managing Director and analyst at Evaluator Group. “Nebulon integrated with Ansible’s automation platform enables customers to automate the provisioning of their end-to-end hybrid deployments and make this a reality.” Architected to be endlessly scalable, the Nebulon cloud-control plane, Nebulon ON, follows an API-first design principle. Nebulon ON enables IT organisations to automate thousands of infrastructure devices from a single API in the cloud that is always up-to-date, works consistently across heterogeneous infrastructure, and easily backs automation frameworks such as Ansible. Combined with a smart data plane, IT organisations are equipped with sophisticated tooling that allows them to deliver faster time to value by centrally provisioning their entire infrastructure services via a self-service approach.Airedale by Modine has announced the launch of its new precision cooling range, SmartCool ONE, designed specifically to answer the efficiency and scale challenges faced by colocation and hyperscale data centres. With capacities of up to a huge 1MW, SmartCool ONE is a true representation of Airedale’s global ambitions. The range will be manufactured in the UK, Spain and the US, standardised to match the needs of a global market and designed to deliver increased efficiencies, reduced operational costs and reduced energy consumption while maximising cooling kW per sqm. Elevating the design principles of Airedale’s existing SmartCool range, SmartCool ONE has been redeveloped from the ground-up, with cost, efficiency and the needs of colocation & hyperscale facilities at the heart of the design process. It is rooted in simplicity and efficiency, with a simplified case construction and air path to deliver powerful cooling, using cutting-edge intelligent control. Design features include a deep chilled water coil that delivers a large surface area for maximum cooling capacity, with low and high flow coil geometries to optimise pressure drop. Backward curved 630mmEC fans ensure that, unlike other large capacity coolers, the coil capacity is matched with powerful airflow to deliver on that potential, with a modified fan plenum to improve operational efficiency. Filtration options include both ISO-C-80 and ISO-C-90 (MERV 8 & 11 for 60Hz units) and are positioned on the coil face to minimise pressure drop. There is also an option to have zero filtration, for increased fan efficiency and air volume. Each SmartCool ONE unit is delivered with the in-built helix control system, the new c.pCO controls platform and an intuitive touch screen user interface. Using a PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller to manage supply/return air temperatures and regulate airflow, it also features an in-built ATS (automatic transfer switch) to ensure a prompt switchover in the event of a mains power supply crisis. SmartCool ONE has the intelligence to operate either as a standalone unit, a networked precision cooling circuit or with chillers as a complete HVAC system. With capacity from 35kw to 1MW, 104 downflow models across 36 case sizes, left or right-hand side pipework connections, multiple valve and filtration options and three power supplies (400V/50Hz, 460V/60Hz, 380V/50Hz), SmartCool ONE offers the flexibility and efficiency to meet the demands of worldwide colocation and hyperscale data centres, looking to meet sustainability and performance targets. Optimised for operation with lower approach temperatures and higher water-side Delta Ts, with return air temperature range of 28°C to 45°C (82°F to 113°F) SmartCool ONE delivers extremely high system efficiencies, gaining significantly more capacity out of its footprint than other units, leading to best-in-class PUEs. Stuart Kay, Sales & Marketing Director for Airedale in the US said, “The growing trend for not only large cooling loads, but also varying loads - sometimes across the same data hall – means we have to respond to the marketplace with scalable, powerful and efficient solutions that deliver the required cooling while meeting sustainable targets.” Airedale Launch Precision Cooling Range NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 12 Zizo and Intellegens Partner to Combine Data and Advanced Machine Learning Capabilities Zizo and Intellegens have announced the news of their partnership to help businesses extract more value from their data through advanced data management and analytics. The two companies recognised the potential to provide enhanced support to customers on their data journey, after working together on a successful project with British American Tobacco R&D, spear-headed by Allen Griffiths, Head of MRTP sciences and the Cambridge Wireless Accelerator programme. Originating from the University of Cambridge, Intellegens applies advanced deep learning technologies to accelerate innovation across a wide range of sectors, from materials and chemicals, to manufacturing and beyond. Through its Alchemite software, Intellegens enables businesses to extract value from real-world, sparse, noisy experimental and process data, where conventional machine learning methods often fail. With Zizo’s edge database and data engineering capabilities, organisations can easily access and identify their most valuable data and become truly data-driven by getting the data in the right shape for complex analysis to be conducted – such as the application of Intellegens’ ML capabilities. In addition, Zizo’s new entry in the edge analytics space paves the way for a collaboration to deliver both data management and applied machine learning, even in low bandwidth or ‘air gapped’ environments, such as manufacturing and aerospace. Both companies have been recognised by the UK’s Digital Catapult, with Zizo taking part in the Made Smarter Technology Accelerator programme in 2021 and Intellegens selected as one of the ones to watch in Cleantech in 2022 and participating in the current Build UK- India programme. The combination of the two collaborative technologies will enable customers to overcome the common hurdles faced when identifying value from masses of information. Zizo supports data wrangling, collection and accessibility, improving the curation and collation of any data set, while Intellegens’ technology can then find and apply subtle relationships within this data. With both companies on an upwards trajectory and establishing themselves as leaders in their respective fields, they are taking a consultative approach to integrate their software capabilities and combine key aspects of digital transformation, data management and applied machine learning – enabling faster, better and quicker business outcomes, whatever the sector or data applied.Logpoint Unleashes SaaS-delivered Converged SIEM Logpoint has now made its Converged SIEM, combining SIEM, SOAR, UEBA and security for business-critical applications generally available. Engineered from the bottom up as a cloud-based native, SaaS-delivered cybersecurity operations platform, Logpoint redefines the SIEM category. “The Logpoint Converged SIEM eliminates the complexity of operating SIEM, SOAR, UEBA and security for business-critical applications in siloed platforms. We’re the only vendor to seamlessly integrate advanced security analytics, automated investigation and response based on a unified, high-quality data foundation. Logpoint Converged SIEM reduces time- to-value and increases cybersecurity efficiency,” says Logpoint CTO, Christian Have. Delivered as a SaaS all-in-one solution, Logpoint Converged SIEM is always optimally configured by Logpoint experts, eliminating the need to invest excessive resources in implementation and creating a seamless onboarding process. Logpoint security researchers continuously update product capabilities, detection and response options, increasing the ability to handle emerging threats efficiently and allowing customers to focus on essential cybersecurity tasks. “Acquiring SIEM, SOAR, and UEBA capabilities can be complex and costly. Logpoint Converged SIEM simplifies the onboarding and implementation process, making cybersecurity available to customers in days. It’s delivered at a fair, transparent and predictable price,” says Logpoint CEO, Jesper Zerlang. Logpoint Converged SIEM unifies threat detection and response across infrastructure, assets and endpoints, cloud platforms, and business-critical applications such as SAP. Customer data in the Converged SIEM platform is hosted inside the EU or in the US according to customer specification and is protected in compliance with the strictest data privacy regulations, including GDPR, CCPA and Schrems II. The Uptime Institute Approves Range of Innovative Tier III Ready Data Centre Designs A range of innovative Tier III Ready Datacentre designs have now been fully approved by the Uptime Institute. The team at Cannon Technologies working in conjunction with several OEM manufacturers, including Centiel UK, have spent more than three years developing a pre-certified set of solutions available in ratings of: 100kW, 250kW, 500kW and 1MW. Mark Awdas, Engineering Director, Cannon Technologies, confirms: “The first 100kW data centre solution, using a 2N design configuration was completed and approved in 2019, and since then we have worked closely with our industry partners to make various Tier III datacentre designs available for facilities requiring different sized systems. This award now provides our customers with fact-based evidence that their final build will more easily obtain their final Tier Certification. “We now have four Tier III ready Modular DC designs described as ‘concurrently maintainable’ which ensures that any component can be taken out of service without affecting production. It’s been a long and detailed process, but now clients can purchase a Tier III ready data centre solution to match their needs, dramatically speeding up their time to market, as well as reducing the associated design and engineering costs and also removing the risk and cost associated with alternative options.” Centiel's leading three-phase, true modular UPS CumulusPower and technical support was chosen to be incorporated into the designs. The technology offers the highest levels of resilience, is flexible, robust and has been tried and tested in many scenarios. Louis McGarry, Sales and Marketing Director, Centiel UK, confirms: “We have worked closely with Cannon Technologies to help with the design and implementation of our industry-leading true modular UPS technology CumulusPower for the Tier III ready data centre design. CumulusPower offers the highest level of uptime available, and the extensive range of frame sizes means that modules can easily scale to ensure capacity in each system. “It’s been great working with the Cannon Technologies’ team and harnessing our combined technical expertise to overcome the various challenges to create a certified Tier III data centre, which now offers a rapid and convenient answer to implementing a fully inclusive, certified solution.” The UPS is only one element of the whole approved set of Tier III data centre solutions that have been developed. Cannon Technologies has also collaborated with other partners to provide a complete solution that includes generators, switch gear, cooling and cabling so the entire design can be offered as an approved product. Awdas continues: “The result is that any organisation now looking to implement a Tier III data centre can purchase a pre-approved design and all the equipment for what is essentially a fixed price. We just need to re-assess the figures for the environmental element depending on the location of the installation. Customers can push forwards with confidence, safe in the knowledge the configuration is already certified.” Fluke Networks expands testing for LinkIQ Cable+Network Tester Fluke Networks has announced an upgrade to its LinkIQ Cable+Network Tester that expands the tester’s ability to test and troubleshoot IP networks, and support users in 12 languages. This new software is shipping in all new LinkIQ units and is available as a free upgrade to existing customers. “While systems integrators and network administrators need to verify cabling performance to ensure network performance, they also need to ensure that the user’s traffic can reach its destination,” stated Robert Luijten, Field Marketing Director, Fluke Networks. NEWS IN BRIEF 13Panduit Launch WrapID Automated Labeling System for Wired Identification Panduit has launched the compact semi-automatic, PLA-100/E WrapID automatic labelling system. The new labelling machine offers significant increases in productivity for medium to high-volume label applications. Users can benefit from faster turnaround times of up to three times faster than traditional manual installation and two times faster than leading competing systems. The winding head of the compact system is easy to reach so that labels can be attached to the line or cable within 12.7mm of the connectors or terminals. In addition, the label head has a modular design and can be replaced easily and inexpensively during maintenance. The label position can be realigned at the push of a button. Today, valid cable labelling is an essential part of the documentation in switch cabinet construction, network technology or in the data centre for easier commissioning and maintenance. The new WrapID system, together with Panduit’s high-quality labels and label printers, is designed for large-scale cable harness production. Whether for cable assembly, switch cabinet or machine builders or network technicians, the WrapID labelling machine, delivers labels that are precisely positioned, and optimally attached ensuring increased quality in reduced timeframes. Bespoke to double workforce by end 2022 Analytics and automation data company, Bespoke, is set to double its workforce in the next 12 months, following a surge in demand as more companies move to the cloud. Manchester-based Bespoke, which was established in 2013 by managing director Sam Bright and business development director Jordan Brookes, specialises in designing and implementing analytics and automation platforms for clients. Since being appointed a Microsoft Gold Power Platform Partner in early 2020, the highest accolade in the partnership programme, demand for its data solutions, training and support, has grown exponentially. After winning a host of new contracts, Bespoke, which counts British Council, Airbus, Savills and DLA Piper amongst its retained clients, is aiming to take on a further 20 staff including a chief technology officer in 2022, and move to bigger office premises in the centre of Manchester. Sam Bright, managing director, Bespoke said: “It’s an exciting time for Bespoke as we look ahead to the next stage of growing the business, not only investing in clients in terms of providing the appropriate software but by investing in our team of experts and through highly skilled talent acquisition. “With so many businesses moving to the cloud and more and more people embracing data, demand for our services has soared. To ensure we can continue to support businesses with the adoption of technologies such as Power BI, Power Apps and Power Automate, which help them simplify and further interrogate their data to gain a competitive edge, we need to ensure we diversify our talented team's skillset further and recruit new additions, doubling our workforce by the end of the year.” Bespoke’s team of experienced developers, project managers and account managers, work closely with clients to understand their unique challenges and offer tailored solutions that ensure better use of data to support their business strategy. Sam and co-founder Jordan started Bespoke in 2013 after seeing an opportunity to help businesses who were reliant on Microsoft Excel, to build spreadsheets more productively. Following their initial success, they saw the value in adding analytics and automation capabilities to their armoury to further strengthen their client offering. Bespoke works across a variety of sectors including retail, real estate, aerospace, hospitality, pharmaceuticals, finance, education, manufacturing and logistics. Surrey’s New Flexible and Stretchy Supercapacitors Could Boost “battery” Life for Internet of Things Smartwatches, fitness trackers and other Internet of Things devices could get a significant boost to their “battery” life thanks to new, environmentally friendly energy research from the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil. In a paper published by the journal Nanoscale, the research team show how a supercapacitor can be efficiently manufactured into a high-performance and low- cost power storage device that can be easily integrated into footwear, clothing and accessories. Professor Ravi Silva, Director of the ATI and Head of the Nano-Electronics Centre at the University of Surrey, said: “Supercapacitors are key to ensuring that 5G and 6G technologies reach their full potential. While supercapacitors can certainly boost the lifespan of wearable consumer technologies, they have the potential to be revolutionary when you think about their role in autonomous vehicles and AI-assisted smart sensors that could help us all conserve energy. This is why it’s important that we create a low cost and environmentally friendly way to produce this incredibly promising energy storage technology. The future is certainly bright for supercapacitors.” In the paper, the research team describe a new procedure for the development of flexible supercapacitors based on carbon nanomaterials. This method, which is cheaper and less time-consuming to fabricate, involves transferring aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays from a silicon wafer to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. This is then coated in a material called polyaniline (PANI), which stores energy through a mechanism known as “pseudocapacitance,” offering outstanding energy storage properties with exceptional mechanical integrity. The team’s enhanced, wafer-thin supercapacitor retains most of its capacitance (the amount of separate electric charge that can be stored) after numerous cycles at different bending conditions, demonstrating its robustness, longevity and efficiency. Raphael Balboni, Ph.D. student at UFPel, said: “Working at the ATI on a project that could have a positive impact on industry and our environment has been incredibly fulfilling. My supervisor, Professor Silva, and the entire team at Surrey made me feel like a valuable member of the team and I was lucky enough to learn from outstanding colleagues. This is an experience that I will never forget.” NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 14Custodian Data Centres Supports Sustainable Digital Transformation at Crossways Business Park Custodian Data Centres has become the lead technology partner for Crossways Business Park, in Dartford, Kent. As the business park’s only data centre operator, Custodian’s 10MW, DA2 facility will provide low-latency connectivity, resilient power, and foundational critical infrastructure for local businesses. As such, the technology partnership will directly enable local digital transformation efforts and create opportunities for organisations based within the Bluewater, Crossways, Dartford, Lakeside and Swanscombe vicinities to drive growth and future business developments. Crossways Business Park is situated in the heart of Kent Thameside. With high-speed domestic travel links to Central London and immediate access to the M25, it is a premier destination for enterprise, logistical and retail businesses. Custodian’s DA2 data centre will provide resilient power, dedicated dark fibre connectivity and dynamic technical expertise, offering key benefits to the residents of Crossways Business Park. The partnership, for example, will enable businesses in Crossways to future-proof their operations and capitalise on new technological developments, such as advanced robotics and automation within retail and logistics. By providing access to dedicated, on-site and agile mission-critical infrastructure, Custodian’s presence on the park will not only support current business owners’ digital transformation ambitions, but will provide a key point of differentiation for Crossways, allowing room for further technological expansion and the arrival of new customers. A Spokesperson from Crossways Management Company states, “Having a sustainable data centre partner in Crossways will provide key ecological, operational and technological benefits to the owners and occupiers based in the Crossways business park. By partnering with Custodian we can offer unparalleled technical support and access to cloud connectivity as customers embrace new technologies to drive growth. Further, by partnering with a brand that’s equally as eco-conscious, we can work together to transform the business park sustainably and raise awareness of Crossways as a premier location for today’s businesses.” Sustainability is a key attribute of Crossways Business Park, whose owners have made several commitments to biodiversity and sustainable, ethical business practices. Its existing commitments include rewilding of key locations around the park, the installation of bird, bat and bee boxes to encourage greater biodiversity, and zero waste from green materials. Custodian, therefore, stood out as the perfect business partner, aligning with its sustainability goals, providing a low power usage effectiveness (PUE) data centre, powered by renewable energy. The collaboration between the two organisations will pave the way for both existing and new occupants to take steps towards becoming greener and more ecologically forward-thinking. Vantage Data Centers Continues Expansion in Frankfurt, Germany, with Planned 16MW Data Centre Vantage Data Centers has announced that it will build the second of three facilities on its flagship 55MW EU campus (FRA1) located in Offenbach, Germany, just one kilometre from the main data centres and peering points in Frankfurt. This facility will include 16MW of critical IT capacity and 13,000sqm (140,000sqft) once fully developed and will open to customers in the first half of 2024. In addition, Vantage has acquired full ownership of the first data centre on this campus, buying out its joint venture partners Energieversorgung Offenbach (EVO) and DataCenter-Group (DCG). Vantage will continue in a new partnership with EVO as the energy provider and landowner of the campus. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. “Vantage continues to accelerate our growth in Frankfurt and Offenbach, the most sought-after data centre markets in Europe, to meet demand from our hyperscale and cloud customers,” said Antoine Boniface, president of EMEA for Vantage Data Centers. “Our partnership with EVO and DCG was instrumental in opening this campus quickly to customers, and we thank them for their support to reach such a critical milestone.” “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Vantage in this new capacity. Individually, we will focus on our core competencies, yet together, we are enabling the technology of today and tomorrow. This also includes sustainable and ecological solutions for the future,” said Dr Christoph Meier, Chief Executive Officer of EVO. Furthering its commitment to be a responsible corporate citizen, Vantage, alongside EVO, will repurpose the waste heat from the new data centre and make it available to the local community for heating purposes. This unique initiative supports Vantage’s sustainable construction goals and enables the company to make a positive impact in the region. NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 15VIPRE Announces Launch of Email Link Isolation VIPRE has announced the launch of its latest product to its innovative security portfolio – Email Link Isolation. All businesses regardless of size run their day-to-day operations using email, and cybercriminals understand this all too well, leveraging our reliance on it to put both email users and organisations at risk. This is why email – including malicious links and attachments – is the leading attack vector, and the prime delivery mechanism for ransomware, malware and phishing attacks. And these types of attacks are continuing to rise at an alarming rate, more than doubling in the last year, and increasing more than 1110% since 2016. And with the cybersecurity landscape constantly evolving, with the latest exploit tactics becoming more innovative, it is challenging for businesses to stay ahead and keep their networks, workforces and data secure. While traditional scanning and email protection tools can help secure emails from many threats and establish a baseline for protection, today’s sophisticated attacks require a far more rigorous defence. Blocking of known bad senders is a critical first step, but with email being highly prone to human error, businesses need to invest in a more powerful tool to deliver an elevated level of email security against these targeted attacks, while simultaneously educating the email user on the threats they face – and more importantly, how these can be prevented. VIPRE’s new Email Link Isolation service helps increase email security by neutralising possible attacks in email URLs. By rescanning and sandboxing the links every time the user clicks on them, zero-day email threats are removed. A critical level of protection is delivered through click-time interception that then initiates a deep interactive scan and multi-point check on the URL for potential issues, protecting from both emerging and changing threats. Additionally, VIPRE Email Link Isolation will sandbox the destination web page from any link included in the email - including content loaded by the target page - shielding the business from any potentially malicious remote payloads. Once the threat has been mitigated, the technology then goes one step further to engage end-user education by providing a detailed block page with a sanitised live preview to educate staff about the threats they can face via email. By explaining the potentially malicious content and delivering educational phishing videos, Link Isolation offers user education, developed through insights and learnings from VIPRE’s comprehensive security awareness training experience – right at the point of potential user failure, clicking on malicious links in emails. Andrea Babbs from VIPRE, comments: “Often, businesses believe that because they have some form of email security in place, their business is safe from email-based threats. But this is not the case, especially within the modern threat landscape. VIPRE’s Email Link Isolation is a powerful addition to our Email Security Advanced Threat Protection service, positioning VIPRE once again at the forefront of business email security.” “VIPRE Email Link Isolation is continually scanning and learning, building more refined threat responses. Because it scans every link in real-time, ahead of user interaction, there is far greater protection from zero-day and real-time attacks compared to other services on the market. The first day that new threats arise, VIPRE Link Isolation is already prepared to detect and block them, protecting your business’ vital communication tool – email.” Wi-SUN Alliance Sees Record Growth of Wi-SUN FAN Certified Products and Global Membership Wi-SUN Alliance has announced a record year for Wi-SUN FAN (Field Area Networks) product certification driven by a growing and active ecosystem of 300+ members in 46 countries. Driving the proliferation of interoperable wireless solutions for use in smart cities, smart utilities and IoT applications, Wi-SUN now includes a growing number of leading silicon vendors among its top tier of membership. Texas Instruments (TI) is the latest chip vendor to become a Promoter member, with a TI representative joining the Wi-SUN Alliance Board of Directors. Members of Wi-SUN Alliance have been actively integrating and deploying Wi-SUN technology in the field with a growing number of deployments across Asia, Europe, the US and Latin America. In the last 12 months, the number of Wi-SUN FAN certified products has also grown with more than 60 products now available worldwide, an increase of 40% in the last year. With record numbers of products being tested and certified, Wi- SUN FAN is to helping to meet demand for open standards-based interoperable solutions for smart city and utility applications, including gas, water and electricity metering, smart lighting and environmental monitoring. President and CEO of Wi-SUN Alliance, Phil Beecher, comments: “It has been a hugely important 12 months at Wi-SUN Alliance as our members step up to accelerate the development of Wi-SUN FAN compliant products. With the support of some of the world’s leading device manufacturers and biggest silicon vendors, we are seeing real growth in the number of products submitted for testing and certification. This reflects ever-increasing market demand for interoperability of IoT products and solutions based on open standards.” Wi-SUN Alliance is also announcing a series of new partnerships with members to ensure the testing and certification of products is as fast and straightforward as possible, and also cost-effective. In Brazil, ELDORADO Institute is opening the first laboratory in the Americas for testing and certification of products designed for Wi-SUN FAN, as adoption of the technology grows in the region. The facility in Campinas (recognised as the Brazilian capital of science, technology and innovation) near São Paulo will ensure that products are tested to meet the rigorous requirements for energy companies and services providers – to deliver open standards-based interoperable solutions, including mission-critical applications, such as energy, water and gas services. ELDORADO, which has been at the heart of R&D and innovation in Brazil for over two decades, and Wi-SUN have collaborated for more than two years to develop the laboratory. ELDORADO will become an approved test facility for Wi-SUN Alliance, making its service available to companies in Brazil and Latin America, but will be open to testing products from other countries. QualityLogic has developed the official Wi-SUN FAN v1.0 Test Bed Controller (TBC), a conformance and interoperability testing environment making it straightforward for companies to test and verify their Wi-SUN FAN compliant products. QualityLogic will provide the TBC, as well technical support, maintenance, training and turnkey Wi-SUN FAN v1.0 Test Bed services. NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 16Telehouse opens fifth data centre at London Docklands campus Telehouse International Corporation of Europe has announced the official opening of its fifth data centre in London, Telehouse South. Located in Europe’s iconic and most connected data centre campus in London Docklands, Blackwall Yard, Telehouse South is the provider’s largest facility. The first floor of colocation space at Telehouse South, which has come online today, provides the capacity for up to 668 racks and 2MW of power, with a further upgrade to 2.7MW for an additional data hall scheduled for the end of 2023. At full buildout, the 31,000sqm facility will provide 12,000sqm of colocation space and a total power capacity of 18MW. The ten-story data centre is Telehouse’s most ambitious infrastructural and aesthetic refurbishment to date, with the first phase of the project completed in less than 12 months from acquisition. At full capacity, Telehouse will have invested £223 million into its development. Commenting on the Telehouse South opening, Seigo Fukuhara, European Bloc Chief and Managing Director, KDDI Europe and Telehouse Europe says: “London Docklands remains an important strategic location for us and one of the most critical interconnection points in the world. As businesses continue to accelerate their digital transformation post-pandemic and demand for digital services grows, Telehouse South offers enterprises greater efficiency through scalable hybrid cloud infrastructure, with faster access to data and applications and the flexibility to grow.” Located close to the centre of London the new carrier-neutral facility is ideally positioned to serve businesses looking for low latency connectivity to London’s financial district. A network of 7,000 dark fibres, across two diverse routes, interconnects Telehouse South with the existing four data centres, offering unrivalled connectivity to a diverse ecosystem of over 900 partners, including leading Internet Exchanges, Cloud Service Providers, Internet Service Providers and Content Service Providers. Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business adds: “Even in the face of Brexit and the global pandemic, our capital has proven itself to be one of the best global cities for tech. This exciting investment will enhance the connectivity capabilities of London businesses and sends a clear message that London is, and always will be, open to business and innovation." The opening of Telehouse South is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to grow within the existing campus and support the increasing customer demand for secure and resilient colocation services. Telehouse continues to invest heavily in both upgrading facilities and expanding its campus, with total investment in the Docklands campus set to reach £1billion by 2025. NEWS IN BRIEF www.networkseuropemagazine.com 17 Wyld Launches Sensor-to-satellite Technology for Global IoT Connectivity Wyld Networks has announced the availability of its new range of low-power, sensor-to-satellite LoRaWAN terminals and modules for IoT applications across areas where there is little or no alternative connectivity. The Wyld Connect hybrid devices can transfer data directly to terrestrial networks or through a network of Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites through a partnership with Eutelsat. With 100% global coverage, the new Wyld Connect solutions are ideal for applications in remote areas for agriculture, environmental monitoring, energy, supply chain and utilities. The full sensor-to-satellite service will be available in the second half of 2022. The Wyld Connect hybrid terminal can connect directly to existing sensors, while the small modules can be fully integrated into IoT sensors as an embedded solution. Data is delivered from the satellite ground station or terrestrial LoRaWAN gateway through Wyld’s cloud- based Fusion platform, which also allows IoT sensors to be registered, configured, authenticated and managed remotely. “The huge demand for IoT connected sensors and devices is being held back by the lack of ubiquitous global connectivity,” said Alastair Williamson, CEO at Cambridge-based Wyld Networks. “It is estimated that only around 15% of the earth’s surface is covered by cellular networks and it is simply not practical or cost-effective to install costly, high maintenance network infrastructure over tens of thousands of square kilometres. Only satellites can provide this coverage and in contrast to expensive, power-hungry VSAT systems, LEO satellites provide the low-cost solution needed to catapult IoT growth around the world.” The prospect of global IoT connectivity is already attracting international attention and Wyld is working on trials with companies such as Bayer, Chevron, Treevia, Agrology, KWS, Agrocognitive, Wezen Group and others. Wyld is also partnering with TrakAssure on the design and production of a new sensor-enabled device for global supply chains and asset tracking ecosystems. By making satellite IoT competitive with terrestrial solutions but with the benefit of global connectivity, Wyld is opening up a wide range of new IoT applications, from measuring soil conditions and maintaining biodiversity to monitoring assets in the energy sector and utilities infrastructure. “Existing LPWA networks such as LoRaWAN are ideal to connect low power assets and sensors that don’t need to send much data, but they currently rely on a limited terrestrial infrastructure,” said Luc Perard, Senior Vice President, IoT Business at Eutelsat. “Wyld’s new sensor- to-satellite LoRaWAN terminals and modules now make it possible to harness our network of LEO satellites to deliver low-cost, hybrid terrestrial and satellite connectivity over 100% of the earth’s surface.”R&M shares some insights from its annual research into developments in Data Centre and Local Area Networks. Andreas Rüsseler, CMO R&M Selected Trends in Data Centre, LAN and Public Networks data centre trends www.networkseuropemagazine.com 18Data Centres Uptake of 400G and 800G in data centres is being driven by demand from consumers and professional users alike. Working and learning at home, initially accelerated as a result of Covid-19, are here to stay and will keep growing, as will HD streaming and gaming, professional media file sharing, fintech, AI, online retail, IoT and IIoT, data analytics and machine learning. At the same time, data centres need to control costs. This may lead to reduction or aggregation of switches, cooling and power utilisation, especially in Cloud DCs. 400G and 800G make this aggregation relatively easy and cost-effective. Migration to 400G requires higher density and more cabling in racks. Where 40 and 100G require eight fibres in parallel pairs, new higher speeds require 16 or 32 pairs, boosting cable density. Data centre providers have to prepare themselves for drastic changes in FO infrastructure. High-density patch cables with reduced diameter and patch panels are needed to save rack space, reduce the overall footprint of installations, and reduce downtime risk due to improper handling – without compromising on performance. As in and data centre trends www.networkseuropemagazine.com 19Next >