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Posts Tagged ‘Center’

Photobucket Renews Data Center Colocation Contract with Latisys

February 22nd, 2012

Latisys today announced that Photobucket Corporation, the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service, has renewed its contract for data center colocation services – including access to high density data center space, power and cooling.

Denver, Colorado-based Photobucket has 100 million users and hosts more than 9 billion images and videos (approximately four million images and videos are uploaded every day). As a result of these demanding, bandwidth-intensive requirements, Photobucket has for the past five years relied upon Latisys’ data center colocation services to ensure it has the scalability, reliability and flexibility to support user and business growth. Photobucket will benefit from enhanced disaster recovery and redundancy through Latisys’ national footprint that spans all U.S. time zones, and will also leverage an expanded Denver presence that includes the existing Latisys 30,000 square foot data center and its newest 82,000 square foot, Tier III data center currently under construction.

“It has been critical during the past five years to work with a data center provider that understands the evolving and often unpredictable business requirements for an emerging, fast growing firm such as ours,” James Goss, Vice President of Operations, Photobucket Corporation. “No matter how challenging or unique the request, Latisys has, time and time again, remained flexible and fully responsive to our specific needs.”

While traditional data center colocation providers lock customers into long-term contracts with required minimums for space, power, cooling and other services, Latisys employs a highly flexible approach for pricing, support and IT infrastructure that enables enterprise customers to scale up and down quickly depending on changing business and market conditions.

By leveraging Latisys’ data center colocation services, Photobucket will also continue to benefit from:

Reduced data center footprint – Latisys’ flexibility in adapting to technology advancements within the data center has enabled Photobucket to refresh some hardware and consolidate its footprint.
Strategically located facility – Located near the tech center in Denver, Colorado, the Denver 2 data center provides easy reach from Denver International Airport, Centennial Airport, and major Interstates.
Carrier Choice – The Latisys facility offers carrier neutral connectivity or its own redundant multi-homed IP access point, providing Photobucket with access to the best high performance bandwidth in the region, with over 23 Gigabits of Internet bandwidth currently active over multiple Tier 1 providers.
State-of-the-art security – Each Latisys data center facility features multi-layered security systems, digital video surveillance, network monitors and a 24×7x365 fully manned Network Operations Center (NOC) that is tied to the national support team.
Reduced TCO with elimination of capital expenditures – Rather than making capital investments in power, cooling, security and network access often required for a leased space, organizations can leverage Latisys’ investments in next-generation technologies, operational expertise and efficiencies, in addition to the data center infrastructure.

“Photobucket has established itself as one of the most promising technology companies in the Denver region, and we are excited to continue this partnership,” said Bryan Walsh, Denver Regional Sales Director, Latisys. “Our team focuses on working with customers like Photobucket to understand their unique needs, and then remaining flexible as these needs change. By taking this approach – and continuing to invest in new services and capabilities as evident with the recent Denver expansion – we are positioned to not only gain new customers, but keep them.”

With multiple high-density, Tier III data centers in Denver, Orange County, Chicago and North Virginia, Latisys offers a complete array of IT Outsourcing Services from colo to cloud, covering all U.S. time zones – including gateways into Asia Pacific and Europe – and providing unmatched scalability and multi-site redundancy to enterprise businesses.

Source:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9208871.htm

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Eurowings outsources to Lufthansa Systems for data center operations

February 21st, 2012

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German regional airline Eurowings has selected Lufthansa Systems to provide data center operations and SAP application management and hosting.

The operation of the data center comprises around ten applications that are vital to its flight operations and includes a virtualization degree of a 100 per cent.

Both companies recently signed an outsourcing contract for five years. The migration from the Eurowings data center will be completed within five months.

“For this major outsourcing project we were looking for an experienced partner who is close to us so we can easily manage the handover of our data center operations as well as SAP application management”, said Thomas Muth, Vice President Information Technology of Eurowings. “The expertise in running critical airline applications as well as our long-standing and trustful business relationship has been another important aspect for our decision.”

Eurowings has been a customer of Lufthansa Systems since 2006, when it picked the Lido/RouteManual charting solution for its flight operations. Today the airline entirely relies on IT from Lufthansa Systems for its flight operations. It uses a broad range of solutions from the Lido family of products including Lido/Flight, the Lido/FlightBag EFB solutions, the Lido/eRouteManual electronic navigation charts plus NetLine/Sched, NetLine/Crew and NetLine/Ops for network planning, crew management and flight operations.

“We are proud that Eurowings has entrusted Lufthansa Systems with the operation of their core IT systems”, says Martin Rüschen, Senior Vice President Key Account Management Lufthansa Group Airlines at Lufthansa Systems. “By getting critical applications and having them operated in the data center by the same provider Eurowings achieves sizable technical and administrative synergies.” Lufthansa Systems has extensive experience in IT outsourcing for airlines as well as an increasing number of customers from a wide variety of industries, who as well benefit from the high standards of quality, availability and data security which are essential for the airline industry. Lufthansa Systems manages and maintains the systems of its customers at its own data centers in Germany, Great Britain, the U.S. and Singapore. The largest of them is the data center at the company’s headquarters in Kelsterbach, which is among the most powerful and modern in Europe.
Lufthansa systems isthe IT arm of the German airline group.

Eurowings is a member of the Lufthansa Regional group of airlines, headquartered at Düsseldorf airport. It operates a modern fleet of 23 Bombardier CRJ900s.

Source:http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/focus/archive/2012/02/eurowings-outsources-lufthansa-systems-data-center-operations

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Dell Builds on Cloud Plan with Washington Data Center

February 17th, 2012

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Tech giant Dell recently unveiled its latest data center in Quincy, Washington.

Offering redundant network connectivity, the facility is set to provide cloud solutions to the company’s North American customers. In addition to that, IT outsourcing will also be provided for.

Discussing the matter in a press release, Dell Services executive director Partrick Mooney said his company was “proud to be listed as one of the top Green IT companies in the world.”

“Our efforts to optimize the Power Usage Effectiveness at our Western Technology Center appeals to customers who want to consider the impact to the environment when configuring their IT solutions and to our environmentally conscious team members who participate in green initiatives across Dell,” Mooney continued.

Specific services of the facility include data storage, disaster recovery, private and hybrid clouds, enhanced security and management.

According to a report from Data Center Knowledge, the data center itself encompasses 40 thousand square feet which is just part of the project’s first phase. Dell says the facility offers “backup-up emergency power generation” and relies on an “uninterruptable power supply.”

The data center’s opening follows an April 2011 announcement by the company in which Dell revealed that it would be investing $1 billion towards tech solutions.

Included among the company’s plans was the construction of twenty two Global Solution Centers throughout 2011 and 2012. At the time, Dell advertised the initiative as offering virtualization and data management at affordable rates.

Washington State has proven a popular market for the construction of data centers by top companies. Among others forming a data center presence in the Quincy area are tech giants Microsoft and Yahoo!.

In the past, the state has offered data center tax incentives in hopes of attracting businesses to the area. The last initiative passed by the state’s legislature expired at the end of June 2011. For more information regarding Dell’s new data center, view a press release by the company here (content.dell.com).

Source:http://www.thehostingnews.com/dell-builds-on-cloud-plan-with-washington-data-center-23092.html

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Bangalore gets a data center with screaming capacity and tight security

February 10th, 2012

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I’ve written a lot about the IT industry in India – I wrote a blog on IT outsourcing for two years at our sister publication, CIO.com – and clearly that country is focused on building out its tech infrastructure. So when I saw the news about the development of a 900,000 square foot data center in a four tower building that is designed to support up to 100 megawatts of power, it caught my eye. And according to the developers – Tulip Telecom Ltd., and IBM – this mega data center is the third largest in the world. \

You can check out this behemoth – the so-called Tulip Data City – by taking a virtual tour here.

The facility, in Bangalore, is designed to serve as a foundation for cloud services. It is a striking symbol of Tulip’s evolution from its beginnings as a wireless connectivity provider, to a telecom services provider with a fiber-optic data network that reaches more than 2,000 locations in India, and now to a more comprehensive provider of managed services and data centers.

There are plenty of wow factors – rainwater harvesting, numerous generators with 4 megawatts of capacity each, an anti-fire system, three large diesel tanks, a maze of underground cables, and more than 30 chillers on the roof for providing cooling. On the ground floor are 16 generators (four more are outside), a state-of-the-art network operations center (NOC) with an integrated management system, and office space with meeting rooms. One half of the ground floor is empty and ready to meet future needs.

The four tours are five floors each (starting at the second floor) and currently house 20 Enterprise Modular Data Centers. It is capable of supporting 14,000 racks, and each cold aisle area is self-contained to keep cooling most effective. There are numerous sensors and monitors for tracking air flow, temperature, humidity, pressure differentials and more.

Physical security is tight. There’s a 10-feet stone fence surrounding the facility, and on top of that fence there’s another 4-feet of electrical fence. There’s a gated entry for vehicles. Anybody coming into the facility must pass through metal detectors; there are also handheld scanners and explosives sniffers. RFID-enabled access systems are used, as are biometric scanners. There are 1500 cameras for round-the-clock, real-time surveillance.

Redundancy is impressive too. There are two UPS systems that get power from two different substations, including one in the front of the building, within the grounds.

The Tulip Data City is estimated to have cost more than $180 million (or Rs.900 crore), according to this article in Forbes India. The article reports that analysts expect the third-party data center market in India to grow at a compounded rate of between 25-30 percent over the next five years, and that reports also suggest Tulip is expecting a steady state revenue of about $190 million (Rs.950 crore) from the data center, which could happen in four years.

Source:http://www.itworld.com/data-centerservers/248752/bangalore-gets-data-center-screaming-capacity-and-tight-security

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Tags: Center Data

Can an Egyptian Virtual Call Center Outprice India?

January 28th, 2012

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As local small businesses in Egypt suffer, due to reduced consumer spending during the country’s economic crisis, one entrepreneur is plotting to build a virtual call center that will hedge against the risk of being a local or national company. Karim Sameh is building CloudCenter, a cloud-based operation designed to undercut competitors’ prices by employing freelancers around the globe.

The model is simple: agents will answer calls from anywhere, including Egypt, Kenya, or a small village in South America. A bidding system will determine prices, with each call going to the employee bidding the lower per-minute price that moment.

“This way we guarantee that the customer is always paying the lowest rate,” says Sameh, who has 20 years of experience in IT and five years of experience working in IT outsourcing in Egypt. With employees in time zones around the world, CloudCenter would also provide clients with agents working during day hours, removing the need for clients to pay a premium for night shifts.

Sameh plans to reduce rates even further using freelancers who undergo local training and certification, rather than full-time employees “We are averaging 25% of the cost of a traditional call center business,” he notes. While a customer in the US would typically pay $2000 a month for cell center services, he plans to offer services for $500.

Yet to ensure quality and ensure competition doesn’t drive agents’ prices too low, Sameh plans to take advantage of local pockets of expertise. “Resources in Kenya speak better English than those in India, while resources in Rwanda, for instance, have very good French. Each resource will only be allowed to answer within one vertical,” he explains.

A history of good customer feedback will also move agents up the call-allocation list, incentivizing good performance. And when it comes to call quality, “we have an algorithm that will not route a call unless the internet connection is of a specific quality,” Sameh points out.

While CloudCenter plans to have a few revenue streams, including commissions, consultation for clients, and allowing customers to retain specific agents for a fee, the challenges of such a model are not insignificant. It can take around 12 weeks to train a call center employee in a transitioning economy, according to the The Global Call Center Report 2007.

Turnover also may be a killer. Call centers in developing countries with fulltime employees who don’t have union coverage typically have around 24% annual turnover, and replacing one fully trained call center worker costs between three and four months of a typical worker’s pay. While CloudCenter would not have to worry about replacing fulltime workers, freelancer turnover could be much higher.

While local call centers will likely provide stiff competition in local emerging markets, when it comes to becoming a dominant global service, CloudCenter will compete against the mere 14% of call centers that are global in scope, mostly in countries like India and the Philippines.

If the startup can carve out even a small slice of the pie, it’s a lucrative market. In the Philippines alone, which is now the leading global location for call centers, the industry will generate an estimated $12 billion in 2012, and up to $100 billion by 2020, according to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines.

Currently CloudCenter, which won first place in the Ideathon at Arabnet Cairo this past November and was listed as a finalist in Google’s Ebda2 startup initiative this December, is looking to partner with international development agencies in order to finance its training, and potentially looking to Google to leverage its VOIP infrastructure.

While the company is still considering several incubators willing to invest in its virtual model, Sameh is focusing on finding partners that can add the most value. “It’s not just about getting investment,” he says. “There is plenty of money in the region. It’s about having the dot com skills sets to develop a business in this environment.”

Source:http://www.wamda.com/2012/01/can-an-egyptian-virtual-call-center-outprice-india

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Firm needs 2,000 call center agents for Bulacan

December 26th, 2011

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At least 2,000 call center agents are expected to be hired in a two-day jobs fair here slated on Dec. 27 to 28 in San Rafael town.

Mayor Lorna Silverio said the jobs fair will be spearheaded by Sutherland Philippines, one of the top five business process outsourcing (BPO) company in the country.

“Sutherland is the second company to locate in our IT Center this year,” Silverio said referring to the San Rafael Information Technology Center (IT Center).

A branch of Sutherland Global Services, Sutherland Philippines is investing at least P100-M for their first facility in Bulacan.

“While they are constructing their facilities, Sutherland will farm out and train newly hired call center agents in their branches in Central Luzon and Metro Manila,” the Mayor said.

The jobs fair will be held at San Rafael governance center in Brgy. Sampaloc from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To qualify, applicants must be at least 18-years old, with good communications skills, with or without experience, and must be at least high school graduate.

Based on documents, Sutherland Philippines has established branches in Tarlac, Clark Freezone in Pampanga; the cities of Makati and Taguig in Metro Manila; and in Camarines Sur and Davao City.

Source:http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=762240

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Call Center Outsourcing Company in the Philippines Reveals New Hiring Plans

November 14th, 2011

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A business product outsourcing (BPO) company that also serves call centers in Davao City, which is located in the Philippines will be hiring approximately 200 workers in 2012 to met increasing demands from clients.

A recent article revealed that May Marie Silva-Feria, administration manager of Callbox, commented that since 2008, this hiring spree is the first time the firm has expanded in its search for new employees.

Silva- Feria claimed that one of the reasons the business is doing so well within Davao City is largely due to the well-educated citizens that are located in the region, as well as the fact that the cost of living in the city is much less than other cities in the country.

“Callbox as a BPO is not just a call center but a sales and marketing firm. We provide valuable sales insight by developing a selling process, implementing the strategies and managing a dedicated sales team. With minimal upfront investment, our clients can benefit from years of management experience, proven processes and industry expertise which range across multiple markets, including IT and software, finance, medical products and services and telecommunications,” Silva-Feria said in a statement.

Some of the positions the organization is looking to fill include outbound call center agents; software and web developers; web and graphics designers; web content writers; SEO specialists; recruitment experts; production team leaders; account managers; and operations managers.

The company hopes to find the perfect candidates and have them ready to roll by May 2012.
In related industry news, TMCnet has reported that Sitel, another call center outsourcing provider, recently began the process of recruiting 125 work-at-home customer sales associates and leadership roles in the Omaha, Nebraska area.

The company decided to add the 125 work-at-home employees in Nebraska at this time due to the fact that a leading national telecommunications client was looking to expand their customer service partnership with Sitel and broaden their online engagement with customers.

Source:http://call-center-outsourcing.tmcnet.com/topics/call-center-outsourcing/articles/238009-call-center-outsourcing-company-the-philippines-reveals-new.htm

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