SoftLayer Opens First European Headquarters and Data Center

Company appoints General Manager to lead Dutch and European operations, recruits 25 to staff new data center in Amsterdam.

SoftLayer Technologies, an on-demand data center services provider, yesterday announced that it has chosen Amsterdam in The Netherlands for its European headquarters and first data center. The company avers that it is investing USD 75 million initially in Holland and its European operations, which also includes new network PoPs in Amsterdam, London, and Frankfurt. In addition, the company has appointed Jonathan Wisler as General Manager for European Operations. The company will also be recruiting a further 25 digital professionals to staff the new data center and support operations.

It articulates that at the end of October customers in Europe will be able to pre-order services to deploy, scale and manage their Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions based on the company's public/private network infrastructure. In early November, when the Amsterdam data center opens, it will have 13 data centers and 16 PoPs worldwide. Each data center is functionally independent with distinct and redundant resources, as well as fully integrated with all company facilities. Its global network fully integrates three distinct and redundant network architectures - public, private, and data center to data center - into the Network-Within-a-Network topology for maximum accessibility, security, and control.

The company says that the new Amsterdam data center will feature:

Capacity for more than 15,000 servers
Redundant network infrastructure
Fully-automated platform
Unique pod design concept

According to it, the new data center and Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt PoPs feature connectivity from multiple Tier-1 network carriers, including NTT, Telia, Level 3, and Global Exchange, with direct network connections to the company's facilities in Washington, D.C. and New York. With the strategic location of the European operations and the speed of the company network, customers and end users anywhere in the region can connect to its services with less than 40ms of latency.

Jonathan Wisler, an Information Technology veteran and now General Manager for SoftLayer in Europe commented, "Given the overall size of The Netherlands compared to the rest of Europe, this country is one of the most advanced in terms of internet infrastructure and networking. We're seeing a thriving community of both established digital entrepreneurs and start-ups here. There is a terrific buzz, particularly in Amsterdam, amongst digital professionals. It's exciting, vibrant and it's lively - the perfect environment from which to launch our European operations."

Jonathan Wisler explained, "SoftLayer is a name well-known in the US, but it's already establishing a prestigious European reputation for delivering flexibility and control to businesses that live on a browser. The technology approach is ground-breaking; the business model unique - we think that an increasing number of Dutch enterprises and organizations will quickly catch on to a new way of managing their digital infrastructures."

"I think it will be internet-savvy small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), social media and gaming start-ups that will be the early arrivals to our new Amsterdam data center. These are the types of companies that make up SoftLayer's core customer base, companies that have their finger on the Internet pulse and need the levels of control and flexibility in the cloud that we can provide," said Wisler.

As part of its European drive, the company has also joined the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX). "As one of the world's largest internet exchanges, we're delighted to welcome one of the world's largest hosting companies into our Internet Exchange community," said Job Witteman AMS-IX Chief Executive Officer. He added, "SoftLayer's choice and business potential in Europe show a clear sign that regardless of the financial markets, our (internet) industry and the city of Amsterdam offer one of the best environments for companies, technology and engineering talent to thrive."