EU Business News November 2017

30 EU BUSINESS NEWS / November 2017 Digital Realty Launches Second Data Centre in Frankfurt Hosts commemorative event with industry experts to explore data security, regulation and the role data centres play in enabling the European digital economy. On the 13th November, leading global provider of data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions, Digital Realty announced the grand opening of its second data centre in Frankfurt. This nine-megawatt facility is the first of three buildings to be built on the new Digital Realty campus in Sossenheim, Germany, an established data centre hub approximately three miles west of downtown Frankfurt. The Wilhelm-Fay-Strasse site in Sossenheim is expected to support the development of up to 27 megawatts of data centre capacity, and will be connected via dark fibre to Digital Realty’s existing facility on Lyoner Strasse, establishing a carrier-neutral and fibre-rich connectivity hub with access to major carriers, Internet service and exchange providers, as well as leading global cloud service providers. Expansion demonstrates commitment to customers and their operations in Germany. “Frankfurt is one of the most important data centre markets in the world – second in size only to London in the European region. Given its central location, excellent infrastructure, and concentration of leading international businesses, Frankfurt is widely regarded as the connectivity, commercial and financial capital of Germany,” said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein. “We are pleased to be able to support our customers’ global growth requirements on our state-of-the-art Sossenheim campus.” Digital Realty convenes industry experts to explore the impact of new data security regulations. To commemorate the launch of its second data centre in Frankfurt, Digital Realty hosted a roundtable forum on the ground floor of the new facility to discuss the impact of stringent new data protection rules in Europe. Industry experts from a diverse group of organisations participated in a lively, wide- ranging discussion on topics including the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which was enacted to strengthen and unify data protection regimes for all individuals within the European Union. In conjunction with the grand opening and roundtable forum, Digital Realty shared the results of a research paper it commissioned from IDG regarding the impact of data protection laws in Germany. The study revealed that, while awareness of and confidence in organisations’ ability to meet GDPR requirements is high, familiarity with the specific requirements was less universal, suggesting a somewhat mixed level of preparedness. In addition, opinions were almost evenly split on expectations as to how data protection approaches will evolve in Germany over the next five years. A plurality of respondents expects rules to become stronger, but almost as many anticipate that rules will be relaxed to facilitate greater business activity. “Cybersecurity is not only a hot topic in Europe, especially with GDPR coming into effect, but in Germany it’s an established protocol, subject to significant governance and regulatory oversight,” said Rob Coupland, Digital Realty’s Managing Director, EMEA. “The research IDG conducted on our behalf provides valuable insight into how attitudes toward the protection of data are evolving, and the impact this might have for the future of business in Germany.” ,