Networks Europe Mar-Apr 2016 | Page 8

08 NEWS The data centre impact of VR Its only March and Virtual Reality (VR) is being tagged as one of 2016’ hot topics, but where will its impact be felt? Greg McCulloch, CEO of Aegis Data claims that data centres are ideally placed to help VR become reality. For this to be the case, hosts will need to know that their infrastructure can support the highest levels of connectivity, storage and qualities of service that these immersive experiences will require. There is ever-growing demand for a richer audio-visual experience. When combined with competition from big industry players with an eye on a market still in its infancy, VR will reach US$6.7 billion in 2016 and potentially US$70 billion by 2020 some research claims. McCulloch says that “It will be the gaming market that will benefit most from the rise in VR but we expect this to rapidly progress to other industries such as entertainment, healthcare, military services, machinery, manufacturing and aerospace… For the data centre industry, VR’s emergence represents a huge business growth opportunity and in order to capture this it’s imperative that the necessary infrastructure is in place…” Silicon features at the London Stock Exchange Many comparisons are made between the entrepreneurial culture in Silicon Valley and the UK and don’t forget the roundabouts. It’s good to see that Exponential-e has been identified by the London Stock Exchange as one of '1000 Companies to Inspire Britain' for the third consecutive year. The British cloud network provider is acknowledged as one of the most influential and fastest-growing small and medium sized businesses in the UK by the Exchange. The report is a celebration of the UKs fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and to be included, companies had to show consistent revenue growth over at least three years and significantly outperform their industry peers. Growing data storage worldwide Enterprise data storage solutions company INFINIDAT is expanding its global operations with the opening of new offices in EMEA, APAC and North America. They are also planning to more than triple their US office space. The expansion is directly driven by the increasing universal demand for the high performance, scalability and reliability delivered by their enterprise data storage array InfiniBox. INFINIDAT Founder and CEO Moshe Yanai said, “Enterprise companies in every market face challenges posed by growing volumes of data and they’re seeking efficient ways to manage and utilise that data to its full advantage. InfiniBox provides the performance, capacity and efficiency to address data growth and utilise that data to be highly competitive.” Commenting on the achievement Lee Wade, CEO of Exponential-e said, “For the UK to compete on a global stage, it is essential that British businesses have the infrastructure in place to support that innovation. By focusing on developing solutions that help businesses s ucceed, we can help build smarter, flexible solutions that can be scaled through our cloud presence.” Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange Group added, “High growth SMEs are the driving force behind the UK economy, developing the skills, jobs and growth that we need. But ambition alone is not enough. Their success must be highlighted and their growth properly supported with appropriate finance. That’s why this award is so important, demonstrating the strong alliance between UK Government, financial market participants, investors, entrepreneurs and companies supporting these inspiring businesses.” www.networkseuropemagazine.com