DCN October 2016 | Page 10

industry news

TECHNOLOGY FIRM TELENT ACQUIRES RICHARDSON EYRES

Telent has announced that it has completed a deal to acquire Data Centre Solutions and Services technology company Richardson Eyres .
The acquisition will enable Telent to offer an even wider range of solutions and services to customers who are looking to further embrace the digital revolution . The move will also build on the company ’ s networking capability .
Richardson Eyres was established 30 years ago and provides data centre technology infrastructure solutions and services for large organisations in the UK and Europe .
Supporting many of the world ’ s largest banks , pharmaceutical companies , law firms , construction companies , software , retail and online businesses , Richardson Eyres will bring additional multi-vendor capability and a strong base of highly skilled and accredited engineers into the Telent fold .
Mark Plato , CEO of Telent , commented , ‘ Telent also has a long and successful heritage of building networks . From our earliest days , we ’ ve been helping our clients prepare for the future , connect people and protect data .
‘ With increasing numbers of customers moving to the cloud and requiring more virtual and flexible technology this will broaden our offering to our existing customers and extend our reach particularly within the ICT space . Additionally it will also offer Richardson Eyres ’ clients access to Telent ’ s capabilities and expertise .’
The acquisition follows several investments made by Telent , including the recent acquisition of Arqiva ’ s Secure Solutions Business and previously Telindus in the UK .

Over two thirds of businesses at risk of falling foul of new EU data protection laws

Compuware Corporation has released new research that reveals many European and US businesses are ill-prepared for the recently agreed EU General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) and are at risk of falling foul of its rules around the use and control of personal data . Key findings include :
Just over half ( 55 per cent ) of European businesses are well briefed on the GDPR and its impact on the way that customer data can be handled . Over half ( 52 per cent ) of US businesses hold European customer data , meaning they too will need to comply with the new regulations . Just 43 per cent of US respondents claim to be well briefed on the GDPR and its impact . Despite the risks of failing to comply , 68 per cent of businesses don ’ t yet have a comprehensive plan in place for how they will respond to the impact of the GDPR .
Factors contributing to the difficulty of EU GDPR compliance include growing IT complexity , the Agile and DevOps enabled proliferation of new applications , ongoing collection of more data , and IT outsourcing . The overwhelming majority of respondents ( 63 per cent ) admitted that data complexity is one of the biggest hurdles to achieving compliance , whilst a further 53 per cent said that securing and handling customers ’ consent for their data to be used would be another major hurdle .

IN BRIEF

Next Generation Data ( NGD ) has partnered with Infosys as part of a data centre services requirement from a water utilities company based in Wales . This follows the recent selection of Infosys to manage substantial elements of the client ’ s IT estate . A bespoke provisioned installation of high density / high performance computing racks is now operational at NGD ’ s secure colocation facility . This can take advantage of the abundant power ( 180MW ) and diverse low latency connectivity available , assuring high levels of resilience and redundancy while enabling scalable expansion in the future .
Virtus Data Centres has been placed 16th in the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 . The Tech Track 100 league table ranks Britain ’ s top 100 private technology , media and telecoms ( TMT ) companies with the fastest growing sales over the latest three years . Virtus was identified as the 16th fastest growing technology company in the UK , and the fastest growing data centre company , achieving 133.57 per cent growth over the last three years . Other companies listed in the Tech Track 100 include Skyscanner and Funding Circle .
In October 2016 , employees from Six Degrees Group and Qlik will undertake a momentous 400km bike ride in Malawi to raise money for WeSeeHope .
The cyclists aim to complete the ride in six days , cycling from the capital , Lilongwe , northwards along the western side of Lake Malawi . Covering up to 100km in a day , they will be pushed to their limits , cycling in over 40 ° C heat .
WeSeeHope provides support for children in Southern and Eastern Africa who have been orphaned or isolated by extreme poverty . During the bike ride , the cyclists will stop at different projects that WeSeeHope supports , to better understand the work it does and to meet some of the beneficiaries .
8 Solutions has appointed Colin Henry as business development director responsible for further growing the company ’ s presence within the UK . Colin , who has a proven track record in the specialist cleaning industry , joins the company having spent the past 14 years selling data centre services for Interserve and Cordant . His appointment also follows the promotion of Mike Meyer , the current sales director , to drive the company ’ s European expansion , including the opening of new offices in the Netherlands .
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