iNNOVO Cloud creates new business opportunities with affordable open line system
To improve connectivity between their data centers and develop their services, iNNOVO needed an increase in bandwidth. They also needed a solution that would provide high security and availability without breaking the bank.
About the customer
iNNOVO Cloud was the result of a research project into cloud computing by Deutsche Bank and Goethe University in Frankfurt. During the project, the team saw first-hand the potential of cloud technology and when the research reached its conclusion in 2012, a company was created to address this market. Initially iNNOVO worked with banking and finance companies, but as more companies have come to appreciate their highly reliable cloud services the client base has expanded to include businesses of all sizes and sectors. As a platform for their services, iNNOVO operates three data centers and owns the first cloud park close to Frankfurt in Germany. They also have presence in a repurposed mine in Norway.
Industry: Enterprise Data Center Interconnect
Location: Germany
Solution: Open line system
The challenge
Improve services cost effectively
Just as iNNOVO’s founders forecasted, the demand for cloud services has grown exponentially, so much that the provider’s initial DWDM networking solution soon was heading toward maximum capacity. To improve connectivity between their data centers and develop their services, iNNOVO needed an increase in bandwidth. They also needed a solution that would provide high security and availability without breaking the bank.
iNNOVO turned to solution integrator Xantaro, who have broad technical expertise in network design, implementation, operation and support. “Working with Xantaro, we’re dealing with technical experts who speak our language and understand our business from a practical perspective,” explains Tom Eichhorn, Lead Infrastructure Innovations at iNNOVO.
The two companies reviewed several different 100G solutions. Only one could support PAM4 in a cost-effective way: the Smartoptics DCP-M40 Open Line System with pluggable QSFP28 PAM4 transceivers. iNNOVO realized that the solution would give them the 12 x 100G services they needed, as well as the possibility to combine several 10G and 16G services over the same equipment, in one simple to use solution.
“We were already running a Smartoptics solution, so we knew about the company. But we were surprised when Xantaro highlighted the potential of Smartoptics’ Open Line System. Initially it looked too good to be true,” says Tom.
“The Open Line System from Smartoptics means we can launch 100G services almost instantly, bringing greater agility and adaptability to our clients”
The Solution
Speedy deployment and easy management
iNNOVO turned to solution integrator Xantaro, who have broad technical expertise in network design, implementation, operation and support. “Working with Xantaro, we’re dealing with technical experts who speak our language and understand our business from a practical perspective,” explains Tom Eichhorn, Lead Infrastructure Innovations at iNNOVO.
The two companies reviewed several different 100G solutions. Only one could support PAM4 in a cost-effective way: the Smartoptics DCP-M40 Open Line System with pluggable QSFP28 PAM4 transceivers. iNNOVO realized that the solution would give them the 12 x 100G services they needed, as well as the possibility to combine several 10G and 16G services over the same equipment, in one simple to use solution.
“We were already running a Smartoptics solution, so we knew about the company. But we were surprised when Xantaro highlighted the potential of Smartoptics’ Open Line System. Initially it looked too good to be true,” says Tom.
Any new IT deployment takes time to set up and is prone to teething problems. However, it took just two weeks for iNNOVO to get started with its new Open Line System. “The ease of operation is much better than our old passive solution or other options on the market.
Smartoptics’ Open Line System really is plug and play and has a much better feature set than the alternatives. For example, the integrated monitoring solution allows us to see what is happening on the client side and if our engineers have done the right thing when setting up the system,” comments Mihail Vasilev, Marketing and Customer Engagement Manager.
the Result
Constant improvement on the agenda
With technology and customer expectations evolving at an ever-increasing pace, it’s important for iNNOVO to keep up and offer solutions that meet these constantly changing needs.
“Agility and reliability are in our DNA and part of our promise to constantly improve our services. The Smartoptics Open Line System helps us deliver on this promise. Now we have a platform for developing and launching new services much faster than before. When a customer orders a new 100G connection, as long as we have the hardware, we can be up and running almost immediately,” explains Mihail.
Now that the solution is in use, the team at iNNOVO aren’t sitting back. They are already looking at Smartoptics’ next generation of DCP products, designed to support longer distances.
“We’re looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with both Xantaro and Smartoptics. We’re expecting the same kind of performance and usability that we have gotten with our new open line system. And we can’t wait to see what Smartoptics comes up with next,” concludes Tom.
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