Data Center News from France: Colt, Level 3, Verizon

Here’s our review of some of this week’s noteworthy links for the global data center industry:

Colt deploys modular data center in Paris.  Colt announced it is making a thousand square meters of modular data center space available in its flagship Paris carrier neutral facility in France. The modules were constructed in the UK and then shipped across the English channel to its location south of Paris. The Paris facility went live in May 2012 and has recorded a 1.21 PUE.  "We are seeing increased demand for data storage in France and have been able to address this quickly and cost effectively with our modular solution," said Bernard Geoghegan, Executive Vice President at Colt. "More importantly, we can deliver even more capacity on demand, as required in the future. Busineess is changing at an ever increasing rate, data volumes are soaring and applications are changing and growing by the hour. Together with our ability to deliver a data centre to a customer site within 4 months and with financial flexibility, we are creating a platform for businesses to remain competitive even as the rate of change is accelerating."

Level3 expands resources in France.  Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced it is expanding its resources, infrastructure and service portfolio for enterprise customers in France. Level 3 is adding local sales and customer support teams in the region to focus on delivering support for enterprise services. Deployments of points-of-presence will increase in Paris, core network capabilities will be extended, and Enterprise customers will be able to connect to the Level 3 network locally for instant connectivity to global markets. Level 3 will offer an extensive portfolio of enterprise services, including, converged voice, VPN, high-performing websites, content distribution network (CDN) and managed DDoS mitigation, as well as collaboration services to customers throughout the country. "Today marks the launch of Level 3's new customer initiative in France, designed to support the needs of enterprise customers with an expanded service offering, extended network, more focused customer experience and a highly skilled and expert workforce," said James Heard, Level 3 regional president of EMEA. "We aim to show our commitment to customers in France by providing them with the market's leading IP-communications support that will help them compete more effectively in the global market."

Verizon and SFR Partner in France. SFR Business Team, a leading French provider of enterprise communications services, and Verizon announced an agreement under which the companies will provide global telecommunications solutions and support to multinational companies based or operating in France. The agreement calls for Verizon to provide global communication services, with SFR delivering the in-country network and information and communications technology elements of these services.  SFR and Verizon together will deliver MPLS-based virtual private network services. “France is the home of a high proportion of well-known global brands, many of which are reliant on communications technologies to support their regional and global business success," said Rich Montgomery, Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ EMEA area vice president for strategy and business development. "To ensure operational integrity across dispersed global sites, these corporations have exceptionally high expectations of both their in-country and global communications infrastructure. This alliance is all about helping our joint customers ensure operational integrity and, with dispersed global sites, to more effectively serve their own customers. We will be able to combine Verizon’s and SFR’s operational strengths to better serve customers’ needs.”