Digital Realty establishes distributed Cloud data centre connectivity platform

Digital Realty has signed a network partnering agreement with Epsilon, a privately owned communications service provider, to offer a dynamic bandwidth solution to cloud and content providers for seamless backbone connectivity. The solution leverages Epsilon’s extensive experience in operating high-density metro connectivity platforms. The new platform facilitates enhanced connectivity for cloud and content providers from Digital Realty’s London-area data centres with seamless interconnectivity to over 65 data centres globally. The establishment of points of presence in two of Digital Realty’s data centre locations in the UK represents the initial phase of the deployment plan, which the company expects to extend across Europe.

“Our goal is to provide flexible solutions that accommodate the evolving needs of our customers’ businesses, now and in the future,” said Bernard Geoghegan, Managing Director, EMEA, for Digital Realty. “Our London-area customers require on-demand and rapidly scalable automation of their bandwidth as part of their data centre solutions. We are pleased to offer this platform as we continue to build the Digital Realty Ecosystem across our portfolio in Europe and globally.”

This enhanced connectivity platform will operate on a major dark fibre ring, commissioned by Digital Realty, the initial deployment of which connected Digital Realty’s data centres in Chessington and Woking with 22 key London-area Internet and metro gateway centres. This partnership facilitates the creation of an intelligent, application-aware network fabric. Customers will benefit from connectivity to 25 additional London metro gateways, as well as interconnectivity to more than 500 carrier, service, Internet exchange, OTT, cloud, content and local access providers currently connected on Epsilon’s exchange.

“Epsilon’s global network exchange, powered by BTI’s Cloud Networking Solution, provides the platform that we believe will help us achieve our distributed cloud data centre vision,” said Robert Bath, Vice President, Engineering, at Digital Realty. “We expect the solution to attract a new class of global cloud and content provider customers to our data centres.”

Epsilon operates the largest global network exchange, powered by BTI’s intelligent networking software and systems, to enable the delivery of on-demand metro connectivity services in days rather than weeks. Supported by BTI’s Cloud Networking Solutions, including its industry-first Intelligent Cloud Connect platform, Epsilon has created an application-aware network to rapidly scale capacity to support 100G connectivity and facilitate on-demand switching of cloud-based application workloads between data centres.

“We see growing demand from data centre customers for our outsourced connectivity model and this agreement with Digital Realty reaffirms our commitment to supporting cloud and content connectivity development,” said Andreas Hipp, Chief Executive Officer at Epsilon. “As a global provider, we are driven by service excellence and agile operational objectives. Working with BTI helps us achieve our dual mission by simplifying network operations and increasing service velocity, while enabling the introduction of new cloud connectivity services.”

“Today’s data centre and cloud ecosystem is driven by service innovation and partnership,” said Steven Waszak, President and CEO at BTI Systems. “Digital Realty, Epsilon and BTI represent an exciting cloud-centric collaboration that leverages leading technologies, strategies and solutions. Together we have established an application-aware, distributed cloud data centre connectivity solution to serve Digital Realty’s global cloud and content providers.”