State-of-the-art in outsourcing: Siemens opens hybrid cloud data center in Belgium
On 1 April 2010, Siemens IT Solutions and Services officially opens its new state-of-the-art data center in Huizingen near Brussels. A hybrid cloud combines the advantages of private and public cloud infrastructures. The hybrid approach of this new data center enables enterprises on the one hand to manage their data and services as exclusive private clouds.
On the other hand, they are additionally able to utilize cost-efficient
computing and storage capacities as shared or public cloud services in a common
area together with other users. Apart from providing flexible IT resources, the
new hybrid cloud also brings comprehensive availability and redundancy solutions
for disaster recovery services. Alongside the state-of-the-art IT technology,
the energy efficiency of the new data center is another significant plus.
Besides hosting services for traditional outsourcing activities, the data center
of Siemens IT Solutions and Services will primarily be used for the provisioning
of hybrid cloud infrastructures.
Besides hosting services for traditional outsourcing activities, the data center
of Siemens IT Solutions and Services will primarily be used for the provisioning
of hybrid cloud infrastructures. The cloud combines all infrastructure
components such as servers, systems and networks in order to deliver
infrastructure “as a service” in a flexible way. What’s more, there is no single
point of failure, and all maintenance activities can be performed without any
interruption to the services delivered.
Four different classes of shared storage, each with different parameters, allow
the users to store their data in a cost-efficient way in relation to their
requirements. Behind the primary storage there are also different backup tiers
that provide optimum support for customers’ restore and recovery demands.
Secondary, tertiary and archiving storage are also available, depending on the
business needs.
In addition to the storage layer, the data center’s ICT infrastructure provides
a flexible range of operating modes. The customer can choose between entirely
virtualized private and shared computing capacity, supporting Windows-based,
Unix-based and Linux-based systems.
Sustainability is a key feature of the new data center: The intelligent cooling
system dynamically enhances the conventional cooling with outside air cooling,
resulting in an extremely low energy consumption. This means that for most of
the year the data center is able to operate without any compressors or energy-consuming
cooling devices.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services is one of the largest outsourcing providers
with around 21,000 servers worldwide. It provides reliable and secure computing
services from Global Production Centers in America, Europe and Asia and from
local data centers in 20 countries. Eco-friendly IT concepts range from system
consolidation and standardization to virtualization of between 60 and 80 percent
of the computer landscape, and continue right through to cloud computing.
Further information at:
www.siemens.com/it-solutions
20100409021.4.2010VariousSiemens