Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has directed all departments to migrate to the recently completed shared IT Infrastructure i.e, the state data centre and the state wide area network that provides bandwidth and connectivity in all sandals. The IT infrastructure has been created at a cost of Rs165 crore and will enable video conferencing up to mandal level.

Professional Data Solutions, a Pennsylvania-based information technology firm that provides systems management to corporations, has awarded a contract to Companion Data Services of Columbia, S.C., for data centre hosting services.

Under terms of the three-year contract, CDS will host applications to support an inter-plan teleprocessing system that PDS manages for major health insurance plans nationwide. The system supports national programs that enable members of one insurance plan to obtain health care service benefits while travelling or living in another plan's service area.

Connectivity provider Hibernia Atlantic has announced that it is now connected to colocation firm UK Grid's Manchester One data centre. UK Grid added 6,000 sq ft of colocation space to Manchester One at the end of June.

IT has become an integral part of many, if not most, businesses. For larger companies, much of the operation is gathered together in a purpose-built data centre. (But as IT has become central to nearly all business, so it has to adapt as a company's focus changes and economic cycles come and go. This year a company may buy out a rival; next year it drops a core product or service to focus on other areas.

KBC Banking & Insurance has just opened two entirely new data centres in Hungary, built in partnership with data centre supplier Minkels and system integrator Simac. The data centres have floor areas of 2,000 m² per building, with the option of expansion to 3,000 m2 each, and a planned Power Usage Effectiveness of 1.3.

UK data centre and managed hosting provider ControlCircle has announced it has attained International Organization for Standardization certification for its UK operations centre demonstrating its leadership in IT service management.

This certification reinforces the company's commitment to deliver the highest levels of service quality to our customers, partners and employees, said ControlCircle.

Source: The WHI

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Digital Realty Trust, a global provider of data centre solutions, has announced that it has entered the Australian data centre market with the acquisition of a 3.48 hectare development site in Sydney, Australia for a purchase price of approximately $10.7 million. This represents the first acquisition in Australia for Digital Realty Trust.

DVL Group, a provider of data centre infrastructure solutions, announced the completion of a state-of-the-art data centre at the Microsoft Technology Center in Philadelphia, among Microsoft’s newest and largest.

Microsoft Technology Centers provide access to innovative technologies and world-class expertise, enabling companies to envision, design, and deploy solutions that meet the existing and projected needs of their customers. The Philadelphia MTC, located in the nearby suburb of Malvern, PA is one of 24 such facilities worldwide.

Source: EON

CyrusOne, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cincinnati Bell and enterprise data centre colocation solutions provider, has announced the commissioning of an additional 65,000 square feet of premium data centre space in its North Dallas facility (pictured).

The Communication and Information Technology Ministry has announced that it would not be necessary for US-based Internet giant Google to set up a data centre here if it were to expand to Indonesia. Google is currently mulling plans to invest at least US$100 million in Indonesia.

The Australian Department of Defence has selected US-based IP services provider, Verizon, for a US$50 million five-year internet gateway contract to improve secure internet services to its 110,000 employees, as well as agencies and the public.

The contract was first penned in April following the department’s decision to upgrade its communications offerings. Under the agreement, Verizon will provide managed services for the secure internet connection with each gateway housed in separate data centres located in countries such as the United States, Sweden and Singapore.

Axis Security has been awarded the contract to provide a manned guarding service for the newly developed Spring Park data centre campus (pictured) , part of which is now functional, for the next three years. The campus, is being developed by Ark Continuity, a company that specialises in the design, build and operation of high integrity data centres

Logicalis, has been awarded a six-year services and managed service contract with high-street retailer, Marks & Spencer, aimed at improving the efficiency and agility of their network infrastructure, as well as supporting the cost-effective deployment of innovative ICT services. Logicalis' on-site and Managed Service Centre teams will provide professional services and 24/7 management of the wired and wireless network infrastructure across M&S's 700 UK stores, Head Office, regional offices, distribution centres and depots.

At tonight’s (july 26th)  Prineville City Council meeting, Facebook Data Center Manager Ken Patchett announced that, due to business needs, construction will begin in October 2011 on a second building on the company’s property, mirroring phases A & B of its Building 1. Patchett said the company now calls its location the “Facebook Prineville Campus.”

National data centre service provider, CoreLink Data Centers has  announced an agreement to support Redmond, Wash.-based Ivycorp's suite of business messaging services and technology from its nearby Seattle data centre and a geographically diverse Las Vegas data centre for resiliency.

Through its private messaging network, Ivycorp provides web-, email- and wireless-based communication tools and services to businesses with a handful of employees to large multinational corporations with thousands of employees.

Internap, a provider of intelligent IT Infrastructure services, has announced the expansion of its Atlanta data centre to meet growing demand. 

Phase one of the expansion will include approximately 12,000 net-sellable sq ft and is expected to be online by the third quarter of 2012, bringing Internap’s total Atlanta data centre footprint to 23,000 net-sellable sq ft. When fully deployed, the expansion space will include 31,000 net-sellable sq ft, increasing the company’s total Atlanta footprint to 42,000 net-sellable sq ft.

Echo360, the global leader in campus-wide blended learning and lecture capture solutions, has announced an agreement with the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC) to provide hosted services for Echo360 clients in the United Kingdom.

The arrangement enables institutions to securely manage, store and publish content created with Echo360 in the cloud. Higher education and further education institutions can quickly start and scale lecture capture without worrying about backend infrastructure or on-premise technology integration.

Source: Market Wire

Equinix, a  provider of global data centre services with operations in 38 strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, has announced plans to build a tenth International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centre in Washington, D.C.

The DC10 facility will provide approximately 77,000 sq ft of customer floor space, built out in multiple phases. Targeted to open in early 2012, the first phase is expected to cost US$34 million in expansion capital, which is already reflected in the company’s guidance.

Ramsey Dellinger, CEO of Business Continuity Solutions has announced Q.2 2011 revenue results that more than double Q.1 results. "With a reported 42% increase Q.1 over Q.4 2010 and now a 224% increase in Q.2 over Q.1, we have set an aggressive pace to exceed our 2011 topline growth revenue goal," Dellinger stated.

Federal agencies rushed to meet Office of Management and Budget data centre consolidation reporting and plan deadlines, the Government Accountability Office says, setting up the initiative for the possibility of delay and reduced cost savings. In a report GAO auditors say that agency plans for data centre consolidation due to OMB by August 30, 2010, often lacked some elements, or only partially satisfied them.

BT Global Services has reported a 5% reduction in revenues for the first quarter to 30 June, despite increases in order intake. The telecommunication company’s professional services business reported revenues of £1.9 billion in the period, down from £2 billion the same time last year. However, BT Global Services managed to continue to reduce its operating loss, by 31 percent, from £54 million in Q1 2010 to £37 million this year.

Downer EDI has announced it had signed an IT Managed Services Agreement with Hewlett Packard to provide Downer with all its IT infrastructure needs over the next six years. The Chief Executive Officer of Downer, Grant Fenn, said the agreement was signed after a rigorous tender process and would transform Downer’s IT infrastructure.