SoftLayer® Opens First European Headquarters and New Data Centre in The Netherlands

Company Appoints General Manager to Lead Dutch and European Operations, Recruits 25 to Staff New Data Centre in Amsterdam

SoftLayer^® Technologies , the largest privately-owned hosting company in the world, has chosen Amsterdam in The Netherlands for its European headquarters and first data centre. SoftLayer is investing €55 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 centre and support operations.

Jonathan Wisler, an Information Technology veteran and now General Manager for SoftLayer in Europe, comments, “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.”

As part of its European drive, SoftLayer 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,’” says Job Witteman, AMS-IX Chief Executive Officer. He adds, “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.”

Jonathan Wisler explains, “SoftLayer is a name well-known in the USA, 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.”

“Whilst we’re targeting European expansion, I think it will be Dutch enterprises, 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 centre. 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,” says Wisler.

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 SoftLayer’s unique public/private network infrastructure.

In early November, when the Amsterdam data centre opens, SoftLayer will have 13 data centres and 16 PoPs worldwide. Each data centre is functionally independent with distinct and redundant resources, as well as fully integrated with all SoftLayer facilities. The company’s global network fully integrates three distinct and redundant network architectures—public , private , and data centre to data centre—into the industry’s first Network-Within-a-Network topology for maximum accessibility, security, and control.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Amsterdam Data Centre

The new Amsterdam data centre will feature:

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

The new data centre 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 SoftLayer facilities in Washington, D.C. and New York. With the strategic location of the European operations and the speed of the SoftLayer network, customers and end users anywhere in the region can connect to SoftLayer services with less than 40ms of latency.

About SoftLayer Technologies

Headquartered in Dallas, SoftLayer is the innovation leader in cloud, dedicated, and managed hosting, and the largest private hosting company in the world. SoftLayer provides cloud, dedicated, and seamlessly integrated computing environments, with world-class data centers in Dallas, Houston, San Jose, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Singapore, and network Points of Presence worldwide. The company integrates and automates all elements of its platform, empowering enterprises of any size with complete control, security, scalability, and ease-of-management via a leading Customer Portal and Open API. For more information, please visit www.softlayer.com or call +1 866.398.7638.

Contact:

Bex Communicatie
Stephanie Bakker, +31 20 582 98 29
E: sbakker@bexcommunicatie.nl
or
SoftLayer Technologies
Andre Fuochi, +1 469-394-7274
afuochi@softlayer.com