• Price intelligence firm is among first customers for Claranet’s Virtual Data Centre service

Market intelligence firm Cogenta has migrated key elements of its IT infrastructure into a virtual data centre that it provisioned itself – with only a few clicks of a mouse.

Cogenta is among the first customers for Claranet’s Virtual Data Centre (VDC) service, which launched last month. The new service has enabled Cogenta to build its own virtual data centre through a self-service portal where it can add compute, storage and networking resources within seconds via a simple drag-and-drop.

The 24 month contract with Claranet is billed on a monthly basis, but provides a “burst” option for periods of high demand, ensuring that Cogenta only pays for the resources that it is currently using. Claranet fully manages the delivery and availability of all resources on the platform, including integration with their own MPLS network.

Cogenta’s Chief Technical Officer, Yann Cluchey, said:

We supply real-time pricing data to the UKs biggest retail brands and our reputation depends entirely on our ability to provide the most up-to-date information to our customers. Reliability and uptime is therefore absolutely critical, and any downtime could be disastrous. But while our previous hosting service was robust, it was time-consuming and expensive to add new resources; we also spent considerable time and resources on managing the servers.

With Claranet’s Virtual Data Centre, we can provision new resources quickly on an as-needed basis, with a couple of clicks of a mouse.

This enables us to expand our server infrastructure without capital expenditure, ensuring that we have optimum availability for the services on which our customers rely. What’s more, because Claranet fully manages our resources and hardware, we don’t lose time and productivity from having to diagnose and fix any problems that may occur.

Claranet launched its VDC service in December 2011 after exhaustive market research into users’ concerns surrounding Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings, as the company’s UK managing director, Michel Robert, explains. “Our research found that customers were most concerned about data security, and in particular where data resides; ease of migration; and reliability. These findings greatly influenced the design of the service: to ensure reliability, VDC is based on best-of-breed technologies and integrated with Claranet’s own network; all data is held in local data centres; and the platform is hypervisor-agnostic to facilitate migration.

“Because the Virtual Data Centre brings together computing and network provisioning, customers like Cogenta benefit from a single-point-of-contact for all enquiries; a single provider with responsibility for the end-to-end service; and service level agreements (SLAs) based on overall availability,” concluded Robert.

• Managed services provider offers live demo of its self-service hypervisor-agnostic cloud service
• Market intelligence firm Cogenta named among first paying customers for Claranet VDC

Visitors to Cloud Expo Europe will get a public look at Claranet’s new Virtual Data Centre, an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that enables users to self-provision their own virtual data centre at the click of a mouse, and is designed to meet the demands of the modern enterprise and mid-sized businesses.

The service gives IT managers total control of their computing resources through a self-service portal that enables full visibility and management of their cloud compute, storage and networking resources. Claranet’s Virtual Data Centre also features fully integrated private networking to deliver high performance computing resources directly into a business’s wide area network.

Claranet will be giving live demonstrations of the new service at Stand 431, where customers can set up their own virtual data centre in just a couple of minutes, and discover how VDC can simplify their IT infrastructure.

The service is the result of Claranet’s exhaustive research into users’ business needs and concerns about migrating to the cloud, with the company having surveyed 300 senior IT decision-makers across a range of industries.

Michel Robert, Claranet’s UK Managing Director said:

Our research has highlighted that users have three major concerns: about data security, especially where data resides; about reliability; and finally, ease of migration and vendor lock-in. Claranet’s Virtual Data Centre meets these concerns head on.

The VDC physical infrastructure is built on best-of-breed, enterprise-grade technology, and hosted in tier-3 equivalent data centres to ensure the highest possible availability. All users, applications and data always reside in the customer’s chosen country, to reflect data ownership and sovereignty concerns, while the entire platform is hypervisor-agnostic, to facilitate migration and eliminate the threat of vendor lock-in. Finally, VDC is fully integrated with Claranet’s network so users can connect to their cloud with their own private wide area network, without having to rely on the public internet – or a third party – for connectivity.

Since the service launched last month, Claranet has seen very enthusiastic feedback, with numerous customers requesting to trial the service, and launch customers already on board including market intelligence firm Cogenta, providers of real-time pricing data to the UK’s biggest retailers.

Three year relationship signed with the charity’s Internet and Media Leadership Group

Claranet, the managed services provider, has joined The Prince’s Trust Internet and Media Leadership Group (IMLG) which brings together broadcasting, publishing, internet and media firms who want to give disadvantaged young people a new start in life.

Claranet has joined firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook in the IMLG to help tackle record youth unemployment levels in the UK.

The fundraising and networking forum has raised more than £730,000 for The Prince’s Trust in just over a year, helping young people into jobs across the UK.

Michel Robert, managing director, Claranet UK, stated:

We are delighted to be able to support The Prince’s Trust by actively participating in its Internet and Media Leadership Group. Claranet has a strong history of supporting charities, which have included Childline and more recently SOS Children’s Villages. The Prince’s Trust therefore was an ideal partner for Claranet, given our historic support for young people as they rebuild their lives,”

“With one in five young people in the UK not in work, education or training, youth unemployment costs the UK economy an estimated £155 million a week in Jobseeker’s Allowance and lost productivity.

We hope our support will address this by playing an active role in fundraising. The Prince’s Trust itself gives practical and financial support to the young people who need it most by developing key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training,” he added.

Sarah Hertzog, Head of Business Development at The Prince’s Trust, added: “The Internet and Media Leadership Group (IMLG) has seen its membership rapidly grow since its inception in 2010, and now welcomes one of the most dynamic brands in the UK market.”

Having Claranet’s support is a fantastic coup for the IMLG and it is hoped that a dynamic and innovative relationship can be formed so that we can help even more young people into jobs across the country.”

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps change young lives. It helps 50,000 vulnerable young people each year, giving them the skills and confidence to find a job. The Prince’s Trust needs to raise almost £1 a week to continue its vital work. Last year, more than three in four young people on Prince’s Trust schemes moved into work, education or training.

Key appointment for the company as it extends its product portfolio

Claranet, the managed services provider, has appointed a new Operations Director for its UK business. With over 20 years’ experience in Telecommunications and IT services, Wiebe Nauta has joined the UK management team, following an eight-year period at BT.

Claranet’s Operations Director plays a critical role in managing the entire customer lifecycle experience – from design through implementation and ongoing support for the company’s networking and hosting customers.

His previous role as Service Operations Director for BT Business encompassed networking and IT and services provisioning for UK businesses. Prior to this, he was based in his native Netherlands, acting as BT Global Services’ Head of Service Assurance for Benelux and Nordics, a role that put him in direct and regular contact with the company’s customers across a range of industries.

Michel Robert, Managing Director, Claranet UK, stated:

The importance of this role for Claranet cannot be underestimated as we pride ourselves on our service delivery for our customers. We needed an individual with an impeccable background in the industry, someone with an acute understanding of the requirements our customers throughout the life-cycle of their service. With a background in the telecoms, networking and hosting sectors, Wiebe’s experience in working to deliver against customers’ expectations is a huge asset to the company, particularly at this time as we roll out a suite of new solutions.”

Wiebe Nauta added:

I have joined Claranet UK at a tremendously exciting time, as it is preparing to launch a host of new service offerings – one of the key reasons I was drawn to the company. I believe that I can make a real and lasting impact on the way Claranet interacts with its customers, so I am naturally delighted to have joined such a fast moving and agile organisation.”

Wiebe has over 20 years’ experience in working with not only BT, but also Colt and Dutch carrier KPN. He has a degree in Computer Sciences and an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

• Industry survey details mid-market adoption of cloud prevails in the UK

The mid-market is leading the charge towards the adoption of cloud computing, according to the latest research from managed services provider Claranet.

According to the research, there appears to be more use of cloud services amongst medium-sized businesses, where 60 percent of those organisations reported using cloud services. This compared to fewer small-sized (44 percent) and enterprise-sized (48 per cent) organisations.

The research, conducted in November 2011, into cloud adoption rates amongst businesses in the UK, polled three hundred senior IT decision-makers to build a comprehensive profile on the UK cloud computing market.

The research also found that 55 per cent of respondents confirmed that they are using cloud in some capacity today. Of this 55 per cent, 27 per cent have been using cloud-based services in one form or another over the last 12 months, while 28 per cent started using cloud in the previous year.

Michel Robert, managing director at Claranet UK stated: The reasons for the lower uptake amongst smaller and larger enterprises could perhaps be explained in two ways. Smaller companies may lack in-house IT expertise to manage the services themselves, for large enterprises there are issues around risk assessment, compliance and purchasing, increasing the length of the procurement process.

For many businesses, there is also an issue over internal culture, where technology is viewed in more traditional terms, to which cloud services do not conform. In comparison, medium-sized organisations tend to have some in-house knowledge and skills; they also tend to have less bureaucracy to slow them down than larger organisations. It is these factors that I see as accounting for their faster rates of adoption.

Claranet’s research also identified the type of ‘cloud’ that organisations are procuring to deliver their cloud services. It found that 79 percent of cloud models used are either hybrid or private, with only 15 percent of those polled using public cloud and just 2 percent using a community cloud model.

Michel continues: There is a strong preference for either hybrid or private cloud models in the majority of infrastructure or application areas. This is primarily because IT decision-makers view these models as lower-risk than other forms of cloud services and means that they can keep greater control over their applications and data. We have found that this offers a greater ability to control the perceived risks in using cloud services, making it a more attractive proposition.

The results also indicated a high-level of understanding amongst respondents about the importance of the network in delivering cloud services. 81 percent believe that it is crucial to ensure robustness of the network infrastructure to guarantee availability and performance. There is also agreement (61 percent) that without optimising the network for delivery of cloud services, the performance of applications will be reduced.

Clearly for those that are adopting a cloud service, there is a good knowledge of why the network capability is central in the delivery of an effective cloud package. Interestingly, 33 per cent of IT decision-makers view end-to-end accountability in combining both service and delivery of a cloud and network as the greatest benefit. This highlights the need for integrated cloud/network services as the market matures its cloud-based offering. Michel concludes.