Tuesday, December 15th, 2015

Time	Event
1:00p	There’s Already a Facebook Data Center in Asia Internet giants, the web-scale data center operators like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, or Apple, like to talk publicly about the massive data centers they design and build themselves to deliver their services around the world. These are usually state-of-the-art super-efficient facilities promoted as part of these companies’ overall corporate responsibility stories. What they don’t like to draw too much attention to is all the data center capacity they lease from commercial data center providers – the likes of Digital Realty Trust, DuPont Fabros Technology, or Switch. Both Microsoft and Facebook, for example, are DFT’s biggest tenants, each contributing about 20 percent to the wholesale data center provider’s annual rent revenue, according to a recent investor-day presentation. Facebook is also Digital Realty’s fifth-largest tenant, leasing space in four locations, according to a company fact sheet. Las Vegas-based Switch lists Google and Amazon as its customers. eBay uses a lot of space and power across Switch’s massive Las Vegas campus and will be the anchor tenant at the provider’s Reno, Nevada, facility that’s currently under construction. But web-scale companies control information about their data center infrastructure tightly, and while some of them have released some information about their cutting-edge flagship facilities, leased sites, if mentioned at all, are usually mentioned only in passing. So, when Reuters reported earlier this month that Facebook was planning its “first Asia-Pacific data center in Taiwan,” citing a hopeful local official, the first question for us was, “isn’t there already a Facebook data center in Asia?” Turns out there is. Facebook is leasing space at a Digital Realty facility in Singapore, according to an industry source who wished to remain anonymous. A Facebook spokesman said the company did not have a data center in Asia, but Facebook is advertising for a data center network engineer position in Singapore. Ken Patchett, a senior data center manager at Facebook, recently told The Atlantic that the company’s “West” region data centers included Singapore. Facebook entered the list of Digital Realty’s top-five tenants last year. This was while the social network was winding down its footprint in leased wholesale facilities in the US, consolidating into the new data centers it had designed and built itself and subleasing much of the wholesale space that was still under contract. Asked about the sudden change in Facebook’s ranking as a tenant on the data center provider’s earnings call for the fourth quarter of 2014, Matthew Miszewski, senior VP of sales and marketing at Digital Realty, said, “We’ve had a historical fantastic relationship [with Facebook], and that relationship continued in 2014, especially in Q1 in 2014… We’re very satisfied that their take in 2014 with us is a very long-term relationship in a market that is growing even faster from a social-media perspective than is the US market.” It’s not surprising that Singapore is home to a Facebook data center. The tiny city state is a key Asian business center and network interconnection hub and one of two main internet gateways to mainland China. The other is Hong Kong. Many US or European companies that want to provide services over the internet in Asia use data centers in either Singapore or Hong Kong, or both. As of last month, Facebook had about 500 million Facebook subscribers in Asia, according to Internet World Stats. According to Facebook’s official statistics, there were slightly over 1 billion daily active users of the social network globally in September, the most recent month for which the data is available. The big data centers internet giants build and own and the smaller footprint they lease from commercial providers to widen geographic scale are not the only facilities they use to provide their services. They also have many small network POPs (Points of Presence) in data centers around the world and use their own or service providers’ caching sites. So, when a county official in Taiwan says Facebook is evaluating potential data center sites in the country, it may very well be so, but it doesn’t mean the company doesn’t already have a data center in the region. It’s also possible that Singapore is not the only place in Asia where Facebook already has a data center. (Comment on this)
5:48p	The Blurry Relationship Between CMOs and CIOs Lalit Dhingra is president of NIIT Technologies’ US operations. Transforming any part of a business can put a strain on the entire organization regardless of how well it is planned. The recent push for digital transformation is no different. As more businesses evolve operations to be digital-first, marketing and IT departments often approach the transition from different, yet relevant, points of view that can cause tension. This is due in part because each department does not understand the intention of the other: chief marketing officers (CMOs) can perceive that IT teams don’t recognize the urgent need for integrating new data sources, though the CMO may not understand how long such a project actually takes. Likewise, chief information officers (CIOs) are forced to work within shrinking budgets which can make implementing new systems more difficult. While the divide between CMOs and CIOs is narrowing, companies are still struggling to move beyond the IT crossroads to take full advantage of digital opportunities. This rift will continue to shrink as more firms truly commit to transforming businesses in meaningful ways enabled by technology. Simply making a website mobile friendly, and migrating file sharing and instant messaging to the cloud doesn’t truly constitute digital transformation. Companies must avoid a “tick the box” mentality and take a more in-depth approach to digital transformation. Planning for Transformation When any company starts to transform the business model, it is natural to start developing a list of efforts or changes that must be done and then start to assign the task. However, this can lead to diffusion of responsibility and lack of understanding of the end goal about why the company must be digital. This can be avoided by empowering the CIO, who is, in most cases, a chief digital transformation leader, to be at the executive table. Since engineering is a huge part of the transformation, it makes sense for the CIO to play a key role in it. However, every department – whether it is marketing, sales, IT or even the CEO’s office, has to collaborate in creating a well-thought-out plan. For quick adoption, companies need a digital framework that can clearly map their offerings to the customer’s expectations. The framework should target all business areas and identify suitable digital technologies for swift execution. The plan must also map out concrete measures of success. Aside from a framework, executive guidelines and direction from the C-suite will help drive a successful relationship between the CIO and CMO during this transition. Aside from this, however, there is also a need for increased collaboration between the CMO and CIO. Rather than operate in a siloed, individual manner, each should look to the other to push his/her boundaries and drive new opportunities while planning the change to digital. The CMO must expand his/her mindset to think of ways to create a marketing strategy that can be directly impactful for a business and the manner in which digital can add to this. The CIO, meanwhile, must look at the importance of digital platforms and digital transformation holistically, thinking of it as a means to improve the overall business process and the various strategies that play into this. Ensuring Role Responsibilities As companies expand the requirements for both the CMO and CIO role, some may worry that the responsibilities for each are shifting in a confusing direction. But this is not the case – companies must look to their employees to develop a harmonious relationship between both positions, after which the opportunities for a successful relationship are boundless. Both CIOs and CMOs can offer innovative thinking, provided that they operate together synergistically, rather than being territorial and/or controlling of the domain that each oversees. Both CIOs and CMOs can elevate their roles and offer innovative thinking within the IT and marketing department. If the relationship is stifled, however, by either being overprotective of the domain that he/she oversees, then the impact may be drastically limited. Indeed, if done correctly, CMOs and CIOs can incorporate strategic insights from the others’ respective department. In the case of the CMO, this means not just an expansion within digital marketing, but an ongoing development of tech-based marketing. CIOs, meanwhile can focus on a company’s IT systems and technological databases, while also developing a more creative role in which they can consult with CMOs and others in the company on best practices to leverage technology. Through this approach, both can work toward more of a “middle ground” between each role, rather than operating in a more restricted, conventional role. The Future for CMOs and CIOs Gone are the days when CMOs could focus exclusively on advertising and creative, and regard digital as a channel, not as an enabler of business transformation. As digital disruption is turning business models on its head, CMOs must become digital disrupters for their industries. A digital business plan immediately aligns a firm’s vision with digital initiatives to streamline core operations and create new revenue opportunities. Ultimately, a CEO’s clear vision of how digital technologies can help achieve competitive advantage is key to the success of digital investments. Industry Perspectives is a content channel at Data Center Knowledge highlighting thought leadership in the data center arena. See our guidelines and submission process for information on participating. View previously published Industry Perspectives in our Knowledge Library. (Comment on this)
6:07p	Mirantis and Palo Alto Networks Partner on OpenStack NFV Security Tool Article courtesy of The Var Guy Mirantis and Palo Alto Networks have partnered on a Network Function Virtualization solution that they say brings a new type of security assurance to OpenStack cloud infrastructure. The partnership centers on the integration of a Palo Alto Networks security tool into Mirantis’s OpenStack distribution as a Virtual Network Function. The tool is designed to protect cloud applications from security threats. The news is notable because it highlights how NFV — which until now has seen a lot of development but relatively little real-world deployment — is intersecting with the cloud to provide new approaches to security. Through solutions like this one, security can be easily abstracted from physical infrastructure just like other cloud services. That approach not only makes security solutions more flexible by increasing their scalability and readiness to migrate, but also adds another layer of security to protect the physical servers that run OpenStack clouds. “As enterprises transition to a cloud infrastructure model, they migrate from hardware-based network services to a software-based, virtualized approach,” said Mirantis Vice President of Product Marketing Kamesh Pemmaraju. “Integrating Mirantis OpenStack with Palo Alto Networks VM-Series next-generation firewall is a good example of helping accelerate and secure this transition.” Palo Alto Networks has joined Mirantis’ Unlocked Technology Partner Program as part of the deal, which allows customers to deploy the security VNF tool through OpenStack’s Fuel orchestration component. This first ran at http://thevarguy.com/open-source-application-software-companies/mirantis-and-palo-alto-networks-partner-openstack-nfv-sec (Comment on this)
6:25p	Canadian Web Hosting Acquires eSecureData Article courtesy of TheWHIR Canadian Web Hosting announced on Monday it has acquired Canadian data center and hosting provider eSecureData. Financial terms were not disclosed. eSecureData has provided managed hosting, dedicated Canadian servers, colocation and domains to Canadian businesses and IT professionals since 2007. The company, based in Coquitlam, B.C. will be merged with Canadian Web Hosting’s staff and expand its data center operations. An eSecureData site in development in Toronto will be added to the business in the next quarter, and bring Canadian Web Hosting to five data center points-of-presence in Canada. Canadian Web Hosting says the move will improve the latency and capacity of its cloud as it brings more services demanding high performance online. Those services include its OpenStack-based enterprise public cloud offering “AURO,” as well as future releases including IoT services requiring faster and more software friendly infrastructure. In addition to infrastructure benefit, the acquisition expands Canadian Web Hosting’s portfolio of services for business requiring enterprise-grade infrastructure,SSAE 16 compliance, and managed support expertise. “This is a huge opportunity to develop and grow our business and work with a world-class team. Canada is starving for leadership in the datacenter and cloud space and with services like AURO and Canadian Cloud Hosting, and their understanding of what comes next in cloud, Canadian Web Hosting is definitely that company,” said CEO of eSecureData, Kevin Liang. “We are excited to be part of the team and to be backed by one of the leading Canadian infrastructure providers delivering managed hosting, colocation and cloud hosting. Canadian Web Hosting is a company that brings regulatory and financial strength that comes with their 17 years of leadership.” Canadian Web Hosting also recently completed its “CloudStream Backbone Network” to support its cloud and hosting offerings with a highly redundant Canadian infrastructure. The company also partnered with BitNinja in May to upgrade its server security. This first ran at http://www.thewhir.com/web-hosting-news/canadian-web-hosting-acquires-esecuredata (Comment on this)
7:21p	Transatlantic Cable Lands in Prefab Modular Landing Stations Landing stations in the UK and Canada for a recently launched transatlantic submarine cable were built in seven months using prefabricated modules by Emerson Network Power. The telco modules are part of Emerson’s SmartMod line, which also includes its modular data center product. Hibernia Express, operated by Hibernia Networks, is the first transatlantic cable to have been launched in the past 12 years, according to Emerson. One of the investors in the project to increase bandwidth between the two continents is Microsoft. Speed of deployment for the landing stations was key. The vendor says it took about 40 percent less time than it would have taken to build traditional brick-and-mortar landing stations. Each site is about 1,700 square feet, consisting of multiple modules. They also have Emerson’s power and cooing infrastructure, as well as backup power failover systems. Another major transatlantic cable system is in the works. Microsoft, Equinix, and Digital Realty Trust are among future users of the new system being built by Aqua Comms. (Comment on this)
7:42p	CyrusOne Launches Its Third Austin Data Center CyrusOne has brought online the first phase of its third data center in Austin. Phase one provides 55,000 square feet of colocation space and 3 MW of power. The data center can accommodate 120,000 square feet of colo space and up to 18 MW of power at full build-out, the company said. CyrusOne’s home state Texas is where it has the most data center capacity. Besides Austin, the company has data centers in the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio markets. Overall, CyrusOne has about 30 data centers, including one in each London and Singapore. The rest are in the US. About 12 CyrusOne and partner data centers in multiple metros are interconnected by a fiber network the company calls the CyrusOne National IX. The network allows customers to take space in multiple locations and have them linked directly, without making separate carrier deals. (Comment on this)

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