Roundup: Equinix, Hexagrid, CoreLink, Online Tech

Here's our review of noteworthy links for the data center industry for March 28th:

Equinix and Tier 3 Partner to Accelerate Cloud Adoption - Equinix, Inc. and Tier 3 today announced a partnership to create an enterprise-ready gateway to the cloud by offering Tier 3’s Enterprise Cloud Platform via Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers. The partnership enables enterprise customers to take advantage of the business agility and cost efficiency cloud technologies offer by using Tier 3’s enterprise-grade Infrastructure as a Service across Platform Equinix. Initially, Tier 3’s solution will be available in Equinix’s Chicago and New York data centers with plans to expand globally, first into Europe and later to Asia. Tier 3 serves the enterprise market with a public cloud solution known for its high-availability and built-in business continuity, as well as security features that enable isolated environments for each customer. Through a secure, cross connect, customers inside Equinix data centers will be able to quickly deploy a Virtual Private Cloud solution from Tier 3.

Hexagrid and Cobalt Engineer DR Solution - Cobalt Solutions, a Las Vegas-based IT solutions provider, has utilized Hexagrid’s cloud computing platform to launch a cloud-based Disaster Recovery (DR) solution. Hexagrid and Cobalt developed this solution to augment Cobalt’s already extensive DR portfolio of solutions. “Cobalt proposed an exciting opportunity for Hexagrid to engineer another unique DR application of our Infrastructure as a Service cloud computing platform,” said Suresh Mandava, chief executive officer of Hexagrid Computing.

CoreLink Completes HIPAA Review - CoreLink Data Centers has completed its review of controls and procedures to meet the requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule. The HIPAA security review was part of the SSAE 16 audit performed on all of CoreLink's colocation facilities. The Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16 addresses a service organization's internal controls. During the SSAE 16 audit, a cross walk was performed to the the security portion of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). All of CoreLink's data center personnel receive periodic HIPAA security training to ensure the safeguarding of customer ePHI."The push for electronic health records and increased enforcement of HIPAA is creating data management challenges for healthcare IT executives," noted Nav Ranajee, Director of CoreLink's Healthcare Vertical. "CoreLink offers cost effective solutions in data hosting, managed services, and disaster recovery while providing our clients with the confidence that our facilities meet the requirements of the HIPAA security rule to protect their data."

Online Tech Earns ENERGY STAR Certification - Online Tech is the first Michigan data center operator to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies that the facility performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. “Online Tech prioritized an investment in energy efficient improvements last year. The benefits affect our company, our clients, and the environment – a win-win-win situation,” said Jason Yaeger, Online Tech Director of Operations. "We’re excited to accept EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification in recognition of better energy efficiency.”