Higbie forecasts for the future of data centres at DatacenterExpo in Düsseldorf

Infrastructure thought leader and data centre expert, Carrie Higbie of Siemon, is due to speak on the topic of the changing face of the data centre in light of new technologies at the forthcoming DatacenterExpo event in Düsseldorf on 17 September 2010. Her talk will focus on the impact of cloud computing, virtualisation, consolidation and higher bandwidth demand technologies on the data centre environment.

Explaining her topic, Carrie said, “Data centres are evolving due to new technologies. But how can you ensure your datacentre remains manageable? Careful planning is one answer: On 17 September in Düsseldorf I will explain cause and effect decisions throughout the data centre ecosystem. Layout and configurations will be included plus considerations for colo or hosted environments, solutions for colo providers and power and cooling – with a particular eye towards greening operations.”

DatacenterExpo will take place at the Düsseldorf Congress Centre on 16 to 17 September in Düsseldorf. Carrie Higbie speaks on the second day at 12:40pm.

The event is designed for the data centre and IT management community. It encompasses not only the conference programme, but also an exhibition which will showcase the industry’s newest technology and services.

According to the organisers, the event provides an excellent opportunity to talk to experts and listen to thought leaders from around the world.  They claim that the resources, knowledge and examples on offer can be immediately applied to help maximise performance, minimise cost and improve efficiency and scalability. 

Carrie Higbie MBA MSBA, is global director of data centre solutions and services for fibre and copper infrastructure specialist Siemon.  She has been involved in the computing and networking industries for over 25 years and participates with the IEEE, TIA, COMMON, ASHRAE, USGBC, WGBC, ISO, the Uptime Institute and various consortiums for standards acceptance. Carrie is Siemon’s liaison into the company’s participation into the Cisco Developer Program, APC’s BladeReady ™ Program and works with other electronics manufacturers and system integration companies.

Carrie has an extensive background in all aspects of networking and application development as a consultant, project manager, and Fortune 500 executive.  Carrie has taught at a collegiate level and she is now a popular speaker at industry events.   She has authored an impressive body of technical articles and whitepapers and her work is published around the world. 

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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New Cabling Speeds Network for Global Aerospace

When the world’s leading specialist aerospace insurer, Global Aerospace, needed an infrastructure upgrade it selected Siemon cabling technology and – perhaps surprisingly – installed a category 5e UTP system.  With twin drivers of rapid rollout and keen pricing, this well-proven technology was chosen to support Gigabit Ethernet and all members of staff are undoubtedly glad to have a robust system to enable them to serve global airlines, aircraft builders and light aircraft owners, particularly in light of recent aviation challenges.

Global Aerospace has 10 offices strategically located around the world and its headquarters sit in the centre of the insurance and banking market in London.   As the oldest specialist insurance company in the world, Global’s 450 staff expertly serve its customers with tailored insurance, assessing each risk on its own merits.  The organisation as a whole calls on over 85 years of experience in the dynamic aviation market.

When Global Aerospace moved into its two story office 16 years ago category 5 cabling was already in place and served well until two years ago when the company invested in upgrading much of its hardware.  Clearly it needed its network infrastructure to support Gigabit speeds, but those on the front line of customer delivery were experiencing dropped packages. The resultant resends meant that the system as a whole was downgraded to 100Mb.  The category 5 foundation was letting down the entire IT network and an upgrade was essential to capitalise on the investment already made. 

Category 6 was originally considered to be the solution for Global Aerospace, but when trusted suppliers CCS Media introduced the installation company NetCare, the decision makers realised that a Siemon category 5e system would supply all the necessary capacity and at a much more competitive price.  After careful comparisons and consideration, UK IT manager at Global Aerospace, Chris Ellery, confirmed that, as they have no plans to move beyond 1 Gb network application speeds in this location, this would be the cabling to equip the firm for the next 10 years.

“We were told that Siemon’s solution represents one of the worlds highest performing 5e solutions, with 160mhz performance across the channel (versus the more standard 100mhz)” explained Chris Ellery.  “Now that we have undergone the very efficient 800 point install and gone live, I am pleased to report that this performance has been noticed by all the system users who have commented on faster operating speed.  The system is stable and robust – both crucial considerations in our business.”

NetCare was the company that Global’s IT provider, CCS Media, introduced to undertake the installation and the integrater commissioned it in just six weeks.   Alan Williamson, sales director at NetCare commented, “Global Aerospace needed a guaranteed solution that could be implemented rapidly and cost-effectively.  Working with Siemon, we put together a very competitive package that meant they could rely on quality technology for real peace of mind.”

Just as Global Aerospace underwrites on behalf of a panel of insurance companies, Siemon also underwrites this system with a 20 year warranty.  NetCare’s Certified Installer status means that this is a system warranty; guaranteeing not just the products used, but also the application performance of the total installation.

The last word goes to Chris Ellery; “This was very well organised by NetCare and disruption to day-to-day business was kept to an absolute minimum.  We are delighted with the Siemon system and the resultant performance improvement it has enabled for our entire operation.”

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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High quality hosted VoIP now available to small businesses

Thousands of small and medium-sized businesses will be able to benefit from hosted high quality VoIP services for the first time thanks to a deal between the ISP Lyndos.net and the publicly-funded Digital Region super-fast broadband project.

The deal between the internet service provider Lyndos and Digital Region will bring cheap and versatile phone services previously only available to large corporations within the budget of companies of any size.

It will make use of the 500km of fibre optic cables being laid across South Yorkshire through the £100m Digital Region project.

In the past only companies with 100 or more employees could realistically use high quality internet phones – or VoIP – because it involved laying fibre optic cables into a building. VoIP over the public internet is not practical because of poor voice quality due to network latency and contention.

The 500km of fibre optic cables being laid for the South Yorkshire Digital Region project, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Yorkshire Forward and the four local authorities in South Yorkshire, will make it cost-effective for companies with only a few employees to use the technology.

Mike Hall, Chief Operating Officer of Lyndos, said: “The benefits of having a hosted VoIP system are huge; the calls are significantly cheaper than from conventional landlines, there is no capital expenditure, no line rental and you can get a tremendous number of features such as call recording, diverting calls and phone systems across multiple sites. You simply pay a fixed fee per handset and can add more handsets without having to upgrade your system.”

Another development will allow university students living in private rented accommodation to benefit from faster and fairer internet services than ever before. Lyndos has devised a service to give a guaranteed bandwidth to each student living in a shared house.

Thousands of students at Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University will benefit from the service, thanks to a deal between Digital Region and Lyndos Xtranet.

Mike Hall said: “Currently students living in shared houses share  bandwidth, which means that if one student downloads music and movies, others in the house will not have the internet capacity they need to do their work.

“We did market research among student landlords and found that broadband services were the number one concern students had with their houses. Some students had to work at 3am just to get enough bandwidth to do their university work.”

Lyndos Xtranet will give each student their own guaranteed 6Meg download capacity, more than ample to do their work, which will be unaffected by the activities of anyone else in their house.

Those who want to upgrade to higher bandwidth for heavy use, such as downloading movies and music or using games consoles, will be able to do so without affecting their housemates.

“This is great news and another significant step forward for the region’s digital presence,” said David Carr, CEO, Digital Region Ltd.  “We’re extremely pleased that another ISP has seen value in joining up to our next generation broadband network.

“It is extremely positive for everyone that they feel Digital Region can give them such a strong portfolio of services for both businesses and consumers.

“With the network build progressing as it is there are already more than 16,000 premises ready to be connected, and having Lyndos as a Digital Region service provider only serves to enhance our proposition.”

Jim Farmery, Assistant Director of Business at Yorkshire Forward, said: “Digital Region gives the Yorkshire and Humber region a head-start in the race for high-speed internet access, and will prove a major asset to those businesses who sign up to the service offered by Lyndos.

“It will also be an extra attraction to any businesses looking at locating premises in our region, which in turn will stimulate the local economy.”

The Digital Region network, built and managed by Thales UK, is designed to support a potential revolution in the delivery of wholesale broadband services to South Yorkshire, delivering consumer and businesses related services across the region together with enhancing social care, health and education services.  Thales UK, in partnership with DRL, commenced the construction works in 2009 and is scheduled to complete the building of the ‘fibre-to-the-street cabinet’ network to over 1,500 locations across the entire region by 2012.

For more information on Lyndos services, please visit www.lyndos.net

About LyndosLyndos.net provides Voice, Application and Data connectivity services to UK businesses. Utilising secure and resilient network, Lyndos.net can delivery scalable and flexible fibre and wireless connections anywhere.

Services include high-speed Internet, SIP Trunks (VoIP phone services) with significantly cheaper call rates, Business Continuity Solutions, Hosted Telephony (like an in-house phone system but with zero capital outlay), Hosted Applications (software as a service), Private Mobile Networks, private phone cards and Managed Office services.

Lyndos.net provides fully tailored mix-n-match services to create unique solutions to any connectivity challenge.

Lyndos.net Hosted Solutions, including VoIP telephone systems, mean simple cost per user on-demand – avoiding large capital outlays upfront.

All supported by in-depth pre-sales technical advise and first class support end-to-end.

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Brand-Rex Appoints Global Sales and Marketing Director

The Board of Directors of Brand Rex, the leading cable and data solutions company, has announced the appointment of Martin Gossling as Global Sales and Marketing Director (Communications Business). A business leader with a wealth of international experience and distinguished track record, Martin will be responsible for providing strategic direction and dynamic leadership to a global sales team, as Brand-Rex looks to drive its business forward.

“I am delighted to appoint Martin Gossling as Global Sales and Marketing Director (Communications Business) with immediate effect,” says Brand-Rex CEO, Paul Lines. “He brings with him a wealth of sales and marketing knowledge and considerable international experience.”

Having held senior management positions at world-class corporate and privately-funded organisations including Regeneris, Motorola, and Heraeus Silica & Metals Ltd., Martin has led at the forefront of technology and electronics innovation for more than 25 years. He has a First Class Honours Degree in Design & Technology from Loughborough University, and extensive experience at all stages of the product lifecycle – from design and components, through to commercial hardware and software products, after-sales service and support. Moreover, he has experience in contract law and contract development for business deals worth over US$500 million, and also won numerous awards for business development, sales, and team leadership – including Motorola’s ‘Teaming for Excellence Award’ and EMEA salesperson of the year – even managing the team that scooped a BAFTA in the ‘interactive music’ category for mobile music creation during his time as VP Global Sales at Tao Group.

“Brand-Rex is a great British company that has established a world-class portfolio of communications cabling products and solutions, backed by a proud history of innovation and project delivery on the global stage,” states Martin Gossling. “It has a very strong customer base and respected brand, and competes with the major corporations in today’s very challenging economic conditions. We will be even smarter, more dynamic and visible in winning new business, and I aim to build on our history of success, and reputation as a supplier of excellence to cement Brand-Rex’ position as a Tier-1 provider of both datacommunication and telecommunication solutions worldwide.”

The appointment of Martin Gossling, complements the selection of Alistair Black as Operations Director earlier this year, and reflects Brand-Rex’ determination to drive forward business growth. Ian Wilkie, formerly Business & Marketing Director, will take up the appointment of Supply Chain Director.

Brand-Rex has won a number of major international contracts this year, and was also recently confirmed as the UK leader in structured cabling for the second year running, by independent research firm BSRIA. This accolade was achieved following sales of over 1.1 million data outlets in 2009, which gave Brand-Rex an 18 percent share of the UK market – 3 percent higher than that of its closest rival.

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

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Siemon announces DIN Rail mounted patch panels for Industrial Ethernet applications

Siemon, the network cabling infrastructure expert, announces the release of its new DIN Rail mounted patch panel.  This 4-port panel snaps securely into any standard 35mm DIN-Rail to provide a quick and flexible patching solution for RJ-45 based copper and optical fibre Industrial Ethernet connections.  This allows Ethernet connectivity to be easily mounted wherever DIN Rail is available, including in distribution cabinets, alongside DIN Rail Ethernet switches and with PLCs and other control devices.

Siemon’s DIN Rail patch panel features an angled mounting design for low-profile cable routing.   By angling the outlet orientation, the panel provides ample cable routing space and secure strain relief in just 70mm (2.75 inches) of mounting depth, without impeding port access or exceeding performance-critical cable bend radius requirements.

At just 130mm (four inches) wide, the 4-port modular panels are side stackable, allowing a simple, high-density expansion path to address expanding network connectivity needs. These durable panels are constructed of lightweight, high strength steel with industrial black powder-coat finish and integrated cable management features.

Compatible with Siemon Z-MAX® outlets and MAX modules, these panels support a wide array of cabling connectivity options, including Z-MAX 6A category 6A/Class EA systems in both UTP and shielded configurations,  category 6 UTP Z-MAX, shielded and UTP category 5e MAX as well as LC, SC, ST and MTRJ MAX fibre modules.

The new DIN Rail panel from Siemon comes from the company’s SIS  (Siemon Interconnect Solutions) development team, focused on solving industry and customer-driven interconnect challenges by developing standards-based, application specific products.  The SIS expertise calls together extensive network engineering knowledge with design innovation and considerable production capability. 

The SIS portfolio includes a comprehensive line of connectors and cable types that may be integrated with an array of transmission technologies, providing solutions for a variety of markets and customer applications.  For more information on the DIN Rail panel or other Industrial Ethernet components, structured cabling products and high-speed interconnects refer to the  http://www.siemon.com/sis

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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Brand-Rex signs as Silver Sponsor for Europe’s DataCentre Expo

Global cabling specialist Brand-Rex has confirmed as Silver Sponsor to DataCentre Expo, Europe’s largest single event for the data centre industry. Being held September 16-17 2010 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and organised by IM2 Events, DataCentre Expo will gather thousands of data centre professionals in one place for Europe’s premier annual expo and conference.

With the resurgence in data centre build-outs gathering pace, Brand-Rex will be demonstrating its latest advances in High Density Copper and Fibre Cabling Systems, which deliver superior bandwidth performance in horizontal wiring, data centres and storage area networks (SANs). Brand-Rex innovations on display at DataCentre Expo will include the 10GPlus Zone Cable, a 3P-approved solution that is 50 per cent smaller and 30 per cent lighter than conventional cables, and the company’s unique cable management systems, designed for use in high-density environments.

“Being Silver Sponsor at DataCentre Expo provides us with the perfect platform to demonstrate first-hand our expertise in meeting the connectivity challenges faced today by professionals tasked with operating or planning data centres or server rooms,” said Ken Hodge, Chief Engineer at Brand-Rex. “The reality of centralised server technology and high-speed computing power is a vast increase in cooling requirements, energy consumption, and cabling volumes. This calls for a fresh approach to cable design and management, and makes choice of cabling critical when specifying new data centre equipment.”

Brand-Rex 10GPlus Zone cable has been developed specifically for use in the most challenging data centre environments and provides clear advantages to installers and operators. Fully backwards compatible with all Cat6 (Class E) and Cat5e (Class D) products, 10GPlus Zone cable is a ClassEA performance product with an outside diameter of 5.4mm, making it the smallest and lightest cable on the market with such a high specification. By saving space in pathways and reducing the loads in cabling trays and racks, 10GPlus Zone cable improves airflow throughout the data centre, and also combines an industry-leading level of transmission with exceptional screening technology to eliminate alien crosstalk problems. This ensures optimal protection against any forms of electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Brand-Rex will also be showcasing its unique cable management systems, which transform cabinet installation layouts and greatly reduce the amount of floor space required in data centres and server rooms. The fibre system comprises frame, HDFC cabinet, cable/patch cord management and fibre cassettes, and accommodates up to 1,824 fibre ports in standard configuration. The cabinet also supports up to 912 Duplex LC connector ports when used in conjunction with the Brand-Rex fibre management panel and dual ½ U fibre cassettes. The latter are compatible with 17” and 19? frames, support LC or SC adaptors, and feature a unique and patent-pending mechanism allowing cassettes to pivot, slide and hinge within the HDFC cabinet, enabling technicians to dress and work on spliced fibres without removing the cassette, and without compromising live lines on adjacent cassettes.

Meanwhile, the Brand-Rex High Density Copper Cabling System offers exceptional storage density, with a capacity of up to 1,728 patch ports in a 900mm x 1000mm footprint. The cabinet is half the normal depth of traditional products, allowing it to be installed back-to-back, effectively doubling patching density, or alternatively saving on valuable floor space. Combined with the Brand-Rex tool-free jack and the V12 angled panel, the system eliminates the need for horizontal cable management, resulting in additional space to logically manage high volumes of patch cords.

“As an industry-leading provider of high-speed and high-density solutions, Brand-Rex has created connectivity systems that clearly benefit both the end user/operator and the installer/maintainer,” Ken continued. “Our miniaturised cabling solutions have been developed specifically for use in data centres and feature smaller diameters, improved flexibility and lower weight, not only reducing the space required in pathways for direct savings in energy costs, but also making them ideal for use in high-density cross-connects and other areas of cable congestion – as found in the SANs. At the same time, our High Density Cabling systems deliver an open construction for effortless cross patching, easy installation and maintenance, and simple, clear and repeatable access.” 

Ken will also be speaking at the DataCentre Expo event. A Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering Technology, Ken has been involved in the industry since 1982, researching, designing and developing optical fibre and high frequency cabling for LAN and Telecom networking. He is actively involved in BSI, IEC and CENELEC activities in International Standardisation in the cabling sector.

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

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Brand-Rex High Speed Infrastructure Underpins TelecityGroup’s State-of-the-art Data Centre in Paris

Robust, 10Gb copper and fibre infrastructure from Brand-Rex chosen for innovative, energy efficient Condorcet data centre

Brand-Rex today announced that it was the chosen supplier for the high speed copper and fibre infrastructure underpinning TelecityGroup’s new Paris data centre, Condorcet.  Designed and built to be one of Europe’s most technically advanced and energy efficient data centres in Europe, Condorcet uses innovative design throughout to maximise energy efficiency.

“Condorcet is a prestigious and forward looking project that will lead the way for data centres in the future,” says Paul Lines, CEO, Brand-Rex. “We are delighted to be chosen for our ability to contribute to the technical merits of the building and demonstrate our commitment to quality, reliability and competitiveness as well as the stringent environmental standards set by Telecity Group.”

The innovative design of Condorcet includes a Climate Change Arboretum that will be used by the French National Institute for Agricultural Research to investigate which species from around the world will be most adaptable to the predicted climate in 50 years time. The giant greenhouse is heated using the waste energy from the data centre. Energy efficiency has been designed into every part of the building including a white roof to mitigate solar gain and free cooling to reduce energy consumption. These innovations will provide a significant reduction in power consumption compared to a traditional data centre, equivalent to an annual reduction of 28 million kWh, or 2,500 tonnes of CO₂ each year. The Condorcet data centre has already been awarded ‘Best European Colocation Facility’ at the 2010 Data Centre Europe Awards in recognition for its innovation both in terms of design and operational quality, and as one of the most technically advanced and energy efficient data centres in Europe.

With 10Gb Ethernet mandatory throughout the data centre Nicolas Buono, Director of Operations, TelecityGroup France, underlines that Brand-Rex was chosen as the preferred supplier for the high performance and excellence of its products and its ability to offer both fibre and copper systems. “Brand-Rex also differentiated itself from the competition by designing a product for us that directly addressed the special connectivity needs of the Condorcet data centre in terms of rack size and weight,” says Nicolas Buono.. “Brand-Rex products are well designed, highly reliable and are straightforward to install which makes life on site easier.”

Brand-Rex low smoke, low halogen 10Gb Zone Copper cabling with its reduced diameter of only 5.4mm was another winning factor in the technical proposal. The reduced size and weight of the Brand-Rex cabling allowed TelecityGroup to fit more cables in each of the cabling trays. The infrastructure design of Condorcet uses horizontal cable runs from comms rooms situated above customer racks. Keeping floor spaces clear of cables significantly improves air flow to racks and offers additional security as the cabling links between customer’s racks and the Telecity racks cannot be touched.

The Brand-Rex V12 angled panel has been used throughout for its ability to route cables easily without the need for additional horizontal cable management. The tool-free RJ45 jack also made installation faster and simpler.

“Condorcet is a showcase data centre site that leads the way in energy and performance efficiency and we are delighted that a Brand-Rex infrastructure was chosen for its performance, flexibility and reliability,” says Lines. “Our integrated fibre and copper infrastructure has contributed to Condorcet’s ability to demonstrate the best environmental practice in Europe.”

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

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Aquantia sets new bar for 10GBASE-T with the industry’s highest performance 40nm PHY

Aquantia, the leading developer of mainstream 10GBASE-T PHY solutions, announced today that it has achieved a performance breakthrough with its 40nm generation product platform, demonstrating 120 metre reach on a category 6A cabling system in a data centre environment.  The company’s full portfolio of the industry’s highest performing PHY chips includes quad, dual and single-port configurations.

Robust cable reach, with margin above the standard 100 metre mark is important for accelerated adoption of 10GBASE-T technology.  Whilst others have set the 100 metre reach as their goal, Aquantia’s solutions have established a new bar in performance.  Additional margin enhances the end user experience and mainstreams the design for system OEMs.  End users benefit from the additional margin, as it allows for variability in connectors, cable bends, etc.  It also helps system OEMs to simplify their design and lowers their cost by allowing for generic magnetic, fewer PCB layers and overall enhanced reliability.

Aquantia partnered with Siemon to test its flagship 40nm 10GBASE-T PHYs across the wide range of copper cables typically deployed in enterprise and data centres.  The tests were performed on cable configurations extending beyond the IEEE 802.3an standard of 55m on category 6 and 100m on category 6A and 7, pushing the envelope to the maximum insertion loss defined by TIA standards.  The tests demonstrated the Aquantia 40nm 10GBASE-T PHY running error-free performance over a 120 metre Siemon Z-MAX® category 6A channel; the maximum distance achieved so far in the industry for 10 Gigabit Ethernet on copper.

“For Aquantia to extend the transmission distance of high performance category 6A cabling to 120 metres is the ultimate evidence of the robustness and superiority of its 10GBASE-T architecture and its successful implementation in 40nm,” says John Siemon, chief technology officer at Siemon.  “This is a further confirmation of the maturity of the 10GBASE-T industry and the lead taken by Aquantia as an outperforming silicon supplier.  We are excited about working with Aquantia.  Instead of shortening the distance over copper cabling in the data centre and falling short of industry standard requirements, we are extending it, while offering end users greater design flexibility,” says Siemon.

Aquantia’s 40nm devices build upon its disruptive, patent protected, Mixed-Mode Signal Processing architecture, which has the characteristics of both simplifying the Analog Front End (AFE) and reducing the size and complexity of the digital section of the chip by performing advanced signal processing in analog.  The net result is lower power consumption and lower cost, compared to competitive approaches.  Ramin Shirani, Aquantia vice president of engineering, said “The superior linearity of our AFE along with our MMSP architecture are the cornerstones of our product offering and the reasons for this latest achievement.  We are already working to break our own record as we have done in previous generations.”

Aquantia is currently sampling its full portfolio of 40nm 10GBASE-T PHYs, ranging from quad to single port configurations:

• AQ 1401 quad-port 10GBASE-T, for high density top of rack (ToR) and chassis-based switches
• AQ 1202: dual-port 10GBASE-T, for emerging LAN-on-motherboard server applications and stand-up NICs, CNAs and HBAs
• AQ 1103: single-port 10GBASE-T for single-port high end PC applications and X2 modules

Aquantia CEO and president, Faraj Aalaei states, “We are seeing great market momentum for 10GBASE-T with switch and server OEMs, following our recent achievements in the 40nm generation. A strong track record in innovation, expertise and a constant search for the highest performance are the drivers behind this success.”

Go to www.aquantia.com/news_videos.php for footage of recent Interop discussions on 10GE in the data centre, as well as additional footage on 10GBASE-T data centre trends, and follow Aquantia on Twitter for ongoing updates on 10Gigabit Ethernet connectivity in the data centre.

About Aquantia

With it’s 10GBASE-T silicon products for mainstream high-speed connectivity, Aquantia meets business needs for efficiency, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), productivity and easy-to-use network infrastructure. The company’s versatile technology platform is based on advanced signal processing, while fully leveraging the maturity of Ethernet and offering the universal appeal of the RJ-45. Aquantia ICs connect multi-core data centres, applications-optimised workgroup computing and virtual server networks with one flexible low cost and standards based architecture. Aquantia is a venture-backed private company. For more information, visit www.aquantia.com.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A achieves ISO/IEC 11801 category 6A component compliance

Independent, third party testing confirms that Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A achieves both component compliance and full channel compliance with the published version of ISO/IEC 11801.

The Z-MAX 6A shielded connector exceeds all category 6_A component performance parameters specified by newly published amendment 2 of ISO/IEC 11801, 2^nd ed. and IEC 60603-7-51 for category 6_A connecting hardware.  Performed by Intertek, an industry-recognized testing facility, the testing assessed NEXT loss, return loss, insertion loss, FEXT loss, TCL, TCTL, DC resistance, DC resistance unbalance, PSANEXT loss, and PSAFEXT loss performance.  The Z-MAX 6A shielded connecting hardware showed performance headroom across all tested parameters.

In addition to component compliance, independent third party testing conducted by UL verifies that Siemon’s Z-MAX 6A shielded end-to-end system exceeds category 6A/class E_A channel requirements specified by ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 and amendment 1 of ISO/IEC 11801 2^nd ed. The complete Z-MAX 6A shielded channel consists of Z-MAX 6A outlets, Siemon category 6A shielded cable and Z-MAX 6A patch panels, as well as Z-MAX 6A patch cords, which feature a design integrating a precisely tuned printed circuit board into every plug, for enhanced signal integrity and unparalleled end-to-end system performance.

The Z-MAX 6A shielded connector’s high performance is driven by an exclusive, patent-pending linear termination module that eliminates split and crossed pairs. The linear Z-MAX termination module allows conductors to be laced quickly into position without pair crosses, thereby maintaining and protecting cable pair geometry for optimised transmission.

The Z-MAX 6A shielded outlet also features exclusive diagonally-oriented IDC contact technology. This unique diagonal configuration maximises distance between contacts within side-stacked outlets, compared with traditional rectangular contact layouts. Maximising pair-to-pair separation between adjacent outlets minimises alien crosstalk. The enhanced noise resistance in shielded Z-MAX systems enables ultra-high density patching, accommodating up to 48 ports within 1U (one rack mount space).

The innovative combination of Z-MAX linear termination module and outlet is also at the heart of the system’s best-in-class termination time. Using the simple, patent-pending Z-TOOL™, Z-MAX 6A shielded outlets can be terminated in as little as 60 seconds from start to finish, including cable preparation. To further enhance flexibility and user-friendliness, Z-MAX work area outlets feature an exclusive hybrid design that allows both flat and angled mounting orientations with the same outlet. Enhanced high visibility printed icons provide a complete colour-coded identification system.

Z-MAX 6A is supported by multiple work area faceplates and surface mount options in addition to a full suite of Siemon data centre cabinet, rack and cable management products.

Follow Siemon on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/siemoncabling

Join Siemon on Facebook: http://www.siemon.com/go/facebook

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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New Managing Director appointed for Brand-Rex Germany

International cabling specialist Brand-Rex has appointed Joerg Schimke as its new managing director for Germany.

Joerg brings more than 30 years experience in the cabling industry to Brand-Rex, which will be instrumental in strengthening the company’s position in Germany, the second largest structured cabling market globally.

Brand-Rex CEO Paul Lines comments: “With Joerg at the helm of Brand-Rex Germany we are well placed to increase our share of this important structured cabling market.”

After completing degrees in electrical engineering and information technology, Joerg began his career at KWO Kabel AG, the predecessor of BICC Kabel GmbH, in Berlin. Following positions in sales and marketing at Alcatel and Nexans he became the sales manager at Corning, Germany in 2001. After overseeing sales in a number of European markets, Joerg was promoted to sales director Central Europe at Corning where he was instrumental in implementing a new strategy to develop and maintain relationships with end-users as well as distribution partners.

Brand-Rex is a new challenge for the seasoned cabling professional. “My passion is business development. I’m constantly trying to find ways to access new markets and find new customers. Brand-Rex has a challenging new strategy for Europe and I’m hoping to contribute to a successful implementation,” Joerg Schimke comments on taking up his new post.

Customer relationship management and distribution partnerships are at the forefront of Joerg’s plans for improving Brand-Rex’s future in the German market. “Our responsibility doesn’t end with handing over the product to the distributor. We need to actively engage with our distribution partners and reach out to our end customers in order to guarantee customer satisfaction. The Brand-Rex name carries a lot of brand value and we need to make sure this doesn’t change,” Joerg states.

Based in Gummersbach, staff at Brand-Rex Germany provide sales and technical support to Brand-Rex customers all over Germany. Their main focus is the further development of the German market and the introduction of new high performance solutions such as the U-MediaPlus and 10GPlus-Systems.

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

 BRX0312

Siemon Network Cabling Systems Support IBM’s Enterprise Modular Data Centre (EMDC) Solution

Siemon has announced that its network cabling solutions can now be implemented as a part of IBM’s enhanced Enterprise Modular Data Centre (EMDC) programme.  EMDC is a large data centre design concept which uses pre-engineered design strategies, allowing customers to meet unpredictable business and IT demands.   By building to a design that allows customers to increase density and footprint as required, clients can scale their data centres when needed without disruption to existing operations.

To bring this vision of large modular, plug and play data centres to the market, Siemon will work collaboratively with IBM and its global ecosystem of the world’s leading data centre physical infrastructure providers. End-to-end Siemon network cabling systems that complement IBM’s EMDC solution include high-performance Z-MAX™ category 6A and TERA® category 7A twisted pair copper, plus 10, 40 and 100-Gigabit-ready fibre optic cabling, the MapIT™ G2 Intelligent Infrastructure Management System and super density VersaPOD data centre cabinets.  

Siemon’s full network cabling infrastructure solution set, as well as their expert support network and global footprint, fully aligns with IBM’s vision that data centres can be constructed in a flexible way with the ability to scale on-demand. This, they claim, can significantly reduce initial capital and operating costs.  In addition to Siemon’s network cabling and data centre infrastructure capabilities, the IBM EMDC collaboration includes existing and new partners in power, cooling, monitoring and management, working with data centre architecture and engineering to help clients design, build and operate modular data centres.

“More than 60 per cent of CIOs around the world are expecting significant change brought by soaring data volumes, increasingly complex analyses and ever larger populations of users.  The struggle to respond to changing IT requirements to fit business demands is outdating a classic approach to building large, monolithic data centres which have to last 20 or more years.” said Steven Sams, vice president, Global Site and Facilities Services.  “By working with Siemon to deliver innovative data centre infrastructure, IBM enhances its global ability to lead data centre innovation and meet changing requirements with a very flexible plug and play approach – allowing data centre capabilities to be added – and paid for – when and where they are needed.”

As part of a supplier agreement between IBM and Siemon and based on IBM client requirements, EMDC solutions may be deployed with Siemon’s high-performance cabling systems, including the IBM-branded FTS I-Line.  Launched globally as part of IBM’s Fibre Transport System (FTS), the IBM FTS I-Line is a specialised offering of high-performance plug and play pre-terminated fibre cabling, developed specifically under Siemon’s strict quality guidelines. Constructed of laser optimised multimode and singlemode fibre optic cable and components, the IBM FTS I-Line provides IBM’s global customers with future-proof support of critical data centre links including 10 Gb/s, as well as future 40 and 100 Gb/s applications. Utilised within the EDMC, the IBM FTS I-Line offers a highly flexible and scalable cabling infrastructure, capable of supporting a wide range of vendor equipment configurations with simple plug and play implementation.

IBM’s EMDC may also be supported by Siemon’s high-performance twisted pair copper cabling solutions, including end-to-end shielded and UTP copper cabling systems, ranging from category 5e to 10Gb/s category 6A and to the highest performing fully shielded category 7A TERA system.   Global access to Siemon’s comprehensive line of copper cabling systems allows IBM to ensure that its EMDC solutions are outfitted with the a high quality, high performance cabling infrastructure to help maximise their clients’ return on investment and deliver best in class products to supports their clients’ requirements, anywhere in the world.

To learn about Siemon’s comprehensive line of copper and fibre optic network cabling solutions, visit: www.siemon.com

Follow Siemon on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siemoncabling/
Join Siemon on Facebook: http://www.siemon.com/go/facebook

IBM’s Enterprise Modular Data Centre is one member of the IBM data centre family ® of solutions to drive greater advancements in energy efficiencies by making data centres more flexible in matching IT needs to capital and operating costs. 

Notes to Editors

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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Brand-Rex launches 2010-2011 Catalogue

The new Brand-Rex catalogue features more than 2600 products. Showcasing the extensive range of industry leading high performance copper and fibre solutions, the 168 page, full-colour catalogue also reflects the company’s recent ‘back to the drawing-board” approach by giving top billing to its new data centre line, products designed in conjunction with data centre managers to meet their real, operational needs.

It includes the innovative High Density Copper and Fibre Cabling Systems, the unique cable management systems comprising frame, cabinet, cable/patch cord management and sophisticated management panels to transform cabinet installation layouts and reduce floor space required.

The catalogue features the unique Brand-Rex MT-Connect MPO Fibre Connect system, a high performance high density fibre solution which is fast to install and reliable to use. The MPO solution also offers an in-built space saving solution by packing 12 fibres into a single patch-cable with an outside diameter of less than 4mm and a single 12-fibre MPO connector at either end.

There is also a new section on the SmartPatch IIMS infrastructure management platform, an industry leading intelligent infrastructure management system (IIMS).

Other new products include the range of 10GPlus and Cat6Plus shielded tool-free jacks, our smallest shielded jack yet which is quick and easy to install and offers multiple cable entry points making it the most flexible jack available on the market today.

The catalogue is now available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

www.brand-rex.com  

 Photo: is available on request from direland@turtleconsulting.com

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

BRX0027

Spreadsheets can seriously damage your wealth!

The humble spreadsheet is responsible for more bad business decisions than humans. Spreadsheets regularly wipe off 15% to 20% of companies’ share value. And sometimes wipe-out smaller companies completely. EASA today announces a simple effective solution.

 Oxford UK 5 July 2010 – Horror stories in the press about companies having $billions wiped off their share value due to mis-reported financial results are becoming a lot more common.

In many of these cases it turns out that somewhere in the production of these figures a faulty spreadsheet is the culprit.

In fact, research independently published by KPMG, Butler, Coopers & Lybrand and others has reported between 86% and 100% of financial spreadsheets analysed as having MAJOR ERRORS that could seriously affect management decisions based on the results of the complex spreadsheets.

So, although it is only the massive share value affecting blunders that make the headlines, every company using even mildly complex spreadsheets could be at an alarming 86-plus percent risk of major errors.

One recent case involved the C&C Group – the firm that owns Magners cider – and which saw its share price nosedive by 15 per cent after admitting company revenues had not risen by 5 per cent, but had actually fallen by 3 per cent – the reason? Spreadsheet errors.

And prior to this financial headline hitting share price fiasco, the UK’s Financial Services Authority ended up fining Credit Suisse a whacking £5.6 million after FSA officials discovered the bank’s business was less than transparent – the reason? Large spreadsheets with multiple entries, creating a recipe for errors.

Spreadsheets are the favourite tool of managers worldwide, but time and time again, companies in all market sectors are discovering the poisoned chalice that spreadsheets represent.

Now a UK-based company – EASA Software – has come up with a revolutionary solution that finally makes it safe to rely on spreadsheets.

The technology behind EASA was born out of the nuclear industry, to counter the possibility of spreadsheet errors which could have had unthinkable consequences.

According to Mel Glass, EASA’s director of business development, every day sees millions of business decisions being taken based on spreadsheets containing errors.

“This can lead to expensive assets being purchased – or major expenditures sanctioned – which in truth the company’s cash flow cannot afford. At best this leads to reduced profits. At worst it leads to massive negative cashflow and companies – particularly smaller ones – going under,” he said.

But, says Glass, after years of trying, companies and even Business Intelligence Software vendors have finally admitted that they cannot eradicate the spreadsheet.

“People love their spreadsheets. Companies in all sectors have tried to ban or replace them with Business Intelligence systems and all that happens is that employees end up taking the spreadsheet home and using it on their home computer – making the problem worse, not better,” he explained.

And this is where EASA’s solution is in a class of its own. It does not take the spreadsheets away from users – it simply takes away the opportunity for introducing errors. Making spreadsheets safe, reliable and auditable.

“What EASA does is to define a master version of the spreadsheet and hold it centrally, making it available to users via a browser, and not as an attachment to an email or a download from a server,” said Glass.

Accidental and deliberate changes to spreadsheets he explained, can cost companies a huge amount of money, as in the example of the National Australia Bank, which wrote down the value of its US mortgage business by A$3 billion, dragging the bank’s market value down by an astonishing 13 per cent – A$6.5 billion – in the process.

According to Glass, errors in spreadsheets have resulted in the crippling of small and medium size companies, as well as sending larger company stock values soaring and dipping. And this is before we start talking about the severe corporate embarrassment that has been taking place on a significant scale over the years.

Jail time

But, says EASA’s director, corporate governance rules mean that the penalties due to spreadsheet incompetence are set to take on a whole new dimension, as chairmen and chairwomen, CEOs, COOs, CFOs  and financial directors are increasingly being held personally responsible for errors.

The bottom line, he says, is that every senior manager in a major corporation in the US could potentially be threatened with jail time as a result of a relatively simple spreadsheet error.

And with European regulatory rules also being strengthened along the lines of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US – Solvency II being a good example – European business chiefs may soon be in a similar situation.

“Quite simply, these types of errors shouldn’t be allowed to happen as we enter a new decade and with EASA software installed, it won’t happen.

“Using our protective software means that users access the spreadsheet via a special interface that not only reduces data errors, but also prevents accidental – or intentional – changes to the underlying calculations and structure. We call it Web-Enabled Spreadsheets and it works – period,” Glass said.

“Don’t take my word for it, however. You only have to look at EASA Software’s growing list of blue chip customers such as Zurich, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard that use our software to deploy business-critical spreadsheets, safe in the knowledge that every user is accessing the same approved version. This prevents any spreadsheet snafus from wreaking havoc on a major – or even a minor – scale, within their organisations,” he added.

 For more on spreadsheet horror stories: http://bit.ly/MVDF9

For a video on how the EASA System works: http://bit.ly/a0Dimh

For the EASA Software web site: www.easasoftware.com

Fortis selects Siemon Z-MAX for Stoke call centre expansion

Fortis Insurance Solutions (FIS), part of the Fortis UK insurance group, one of the UK’s leading providers of award winning insurance solutions, continues to expand after 28 years of successful operation.   As a result of expansion, FIS recently appointed Siemon to deliver a new future-proof 10Gb/s capable physical layer network infrastructure to provide the business with a base to build more advanced applications and systems without being concerned about network performance issues or cabling limitations for many years to come.

Significant growth across the Fortis business, as a result of insurance partnership deals, lead to the company increasing its workforce and investing in redesigning its Stoke-based call centre, which will now accommodate around 550 advisors. The new cabling has enabled the business to deploy voice-over IP technology within its call centre, as well as allowing the deployment of more bandwidth intensive applications, without the need for further upgrades and business disruption.

Compounding the infrastructure design challenges were operational imperatives:  With service level agreements to fulfil, FIS specified zero downtime as essential during the work to ensure that business with its customers was not disrupted, along with special consideration on the impact on its employees’ working environment. Upholding data security and confidentiality was also a specified imperative throughout the installation project.

NETcare, a long standing Siemon Certified Installer, undertook this complex infrastructure installation for FIS.  10Gb/s category 6A was selected as the required standard and Siemon’s high performance Z-MAX® was the system chosen, thanks to its proven quality and unmatched service support.   

“Our infrastructure choices have to underpin our customer service standards for many years to come,” commented FIS finance and operations director, Jason Banwell.  “Choosing Siemon category 6A has provided real lifetime return on investment value.”

The network cabling project was completed without any interruption to the business and in line with FIS’ growth plan requirements. To meet the 100 per cent uptime target, NETcare engineers started on site at 5am and call centre staff were moved into different parts of the office whilst work was completed, thereby mitigating the need for temporary accommodation.  A total of 1400 new Z-MAX 6A connections have been made in the horizontal, structured via 70 multi user Telecommunications Outlet Assemblies, providing consolidation points under the raised floor.  Siemon XGLO OM3 fibre has been used as the backbone.

Finance and operations director, Jason Banwell concludes, “Our clients enjoy fully tailored, seamless solutions with access to a wide range of products, quotes from the UK’s leading insurers and detailed management reporting.  Delivering this proposition requires that our systems are built to perform faultlessly and enable our highly trained staff to provide the best standard of service.  We believe that this new infrastructure will provide the foundation for that delivery and is fundamental to the continuity of the efficiency and quality of our service levels.”

Fortis’ success is built on the ethos that puts the customer at the centre of everything it does. Known in the insurance industry for its market leading service, Fortis’ Stoke operation now services almost a million customers, using efficient processes delivered at the lowest cost.

About Siemon                                        

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.   www.siemon.com/uk

About Fortis Insurance Solutions

Fortis Insurance Solutions has over 25 years’ experience as a personal lines insurance broker and outsourced solutions provider.

Formed in 1981 as Alliance Insurance Brokers, the company was acquired by the HSBC group in 1998 and changed from Alliance Auto Direct to become HSBC Select.

Following a management buyout in April 2003, the business became The OutRight Company UK Ltd.

In September 2005, The OutRight Company became part of Fortis (UK) Limited, a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions and life protection in the UK, and was rebranded to UKFIS Limited in October 2008.

Today Fortis Insurance Solutions forms part of the Fortis multi-channel distribution strategy, providing transaction and support services via the Internet, Aggregators and Telesales, for personal and commercial lines insurance business. Fortis Insurance Solutions distributes and services through its own branded business AutoDirect and CoverDirect and third party branded business, offering solus or panel arrangements to suit the needs of its clients. Aligning its business activities with its partners’ general insurance strategies enables Fortis to offer end-to-end white label capabilities in product development, marketing, campaign management, sales, fulfilment and claims – providing a seamless integration with partner brands.

With a turnover in excess of £17 million and operating profit of £2 million (as at December 2008), Fortis Insurance Solutions provides a UK based customer contact centre with over 200 trained advisors (and capacity for 550). The business is committed to continuous growth, having a broad spread of clients and contractual agreements covering three and five year terms.

About NETcare

NETcare Europe Ltd is an established provider and installer of quality computer networks and systems to the SME, corporate and public sector. Committed to the long-term, NETcare installs best in class solutions, developed using quality products and utilising the latest technology.  The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of networking products and services from a diverse yet structured range.

NETcare tailors advice, selection and implementation of the appropriate communications solution for each client through a thorough understanding of their organisational needs and objectives.  The customer’s requirement of added value solutions combined with competitive pricing are key priorities that focus this tailoring.

NETcare Europe is fully registered with the British Standards Institution as holder of ISO 9001:2008. The company holds a wide range of accreditations from the leading manufacturers of IT networking products, supported by investment in industry-recognised training programmes for its workforce.

NETcare’s success has been built by continually exceeding customer expectations. www.ldd.co.uk

TSC0368

Brand-Rex announce distribution of EPV Solution from RiT Technologies

Easy to install, affordable infrastructure connectivity management for small and medium sized networks now available from Brand-Rex.

Brand-Rex, leading manufacturer of copper and fibre structured cabling systems, today announced the launch of the EPV Cable Management Solution from RiT Technologies.

Providing real-time, connectivity monitoring of a network infrastructure, from the communications room to remote sites, the EPV appliance based cable monitoring system is aimed at large as well as small to medium sized organisations.

“EPV takes a new, easy implementation, approach to real-time connectivity management,” says Ian Wilkie, Business & Marketing Director, Brand-Rex. “We are delighted to build on our 10 year partnership with RiT, viewing EPV as an extension to our existing copper, fibre and intelligent infrastructure management solutions that will allow us to offer accessible and affordable infrastructure management monitoring to both new and existing clients.”

Aimed at organisations who want the functionality of a traditional enterprise monitoring system without the complexity yet with no compromise on fundamental sophisticated features as well as the peace of mind of knowing how well their network is performing, the EPV is a standalone solution that requires no additional software or servers. Based on RiT’s advanced infrastructure management technologies, once installed EPV continuously collects information within the network patch panels and communication racks. Any change in connectivity is immediately detected, prompting the system to send notifications and email alerts to designated staff. All network connectivity information, including notifications and alerts, are easily accessed using a user-friendly, permission based GUI from a web browser, making EPV the ideal solution for monitoring and managing connectivity across the network at both local and remote sites.

“We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Brand-Rex through its adoption of our EPV solution to complement its cabling infrastructure technologies,” says Zvi Braun, Senior Director – Product and Project Management, RiT Technologies. “EPV is an innovative product that brings a new concept to market: infrastructure management that can be deployed on a ‘plug-n-play’ basis without investment in new servers or software. EPV can be easily upgraded to a full-featured intelligent infrastructure management (IIM) solution, enabling customers to grow as required from initial installations to large-scale deployments.”

About Brand-Rex

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

About RiT Technologies

RiT is a leading provider of intelligent solutions for infrastructure management, asset management, environment and security, and network utilization. RiT Enterprise solutions address datacenters, communication rooms and workspace environments, ensuring maximum utilization, reliability, decreased downtime, physical security, automated deployment, asset tracking, and troubleshooting. RiT Environment and Security solutions enable companies to effectively control their datacenters, communications rooms and remote physical sites and facilities in real-time, comprehensively and accurately. RiT Carrier solutions provide carriers with the full array of network mapping, testing and bandwidth qualification capabilities needed for access network installation and service provisioning. RiT’s field-tested solutions are delivering value in thousands of installations for top-tier enterprises and operators throughout the world.

For more information, please visit our website: www.rittech.com

BRX0304

Fifth Olympic project win makes Brand-Rex the de-facto Olympic structured cabling supplier: Westfield Stratford City Olympic Shopping Complex

Dimension Data wins bid to install robust, converged technology infrastructure from Brand-Rex at Westfield Stratford City  - The Prestigious New Olympic Shopping Complex

24 June 2010: Brand-Rex today announced that Dimension Data (www.dimensiondata.com) has been awarded the contract to supply and install a Brand-Rex high speed data and communications infrastructure for Westfield’s new £1.45bn Olympic Shopping Centre development: Westfield Stratford City. The prestigious gateway to the London 2012 Olympics, the 1.9 million sq ft development will be Europe’s largest urban shopping mall. It is anticipated that 70 per cent of all visitors to the London Olympic Games will pass through the centre.

Westfiled Stratford City project is the fifth major Olympics-related structured cabling project that British based, Brand-Rex has won, with its high performance copper and fibre infrastructure products. this now confirms Brand-Rex as the de-facto supplier of choice for Olympics projects.

“This is a prestigious and exciting win for Dimension Data and Brand-Rex,” says Paul Lines, CEO Brand-Rex. “To be confirmed  as the ideal infrastructure solution to underpin the complex technology required in a project this size, together with four other major Olympics projects that will all be part of the world stage in 2012, demonstrates the quality, reliability and competitiveness of our infrastructure products. Our dedicated Olympics Team together with our leading installation partners are on track to secure the majority of the Olympics business.”

The innovative design of the shopping centre complex creates different retail zones spread over three levels and includes a beautifully designed 24 hour lifestyle street to create interest and functionality. Costing £1.45 billion the centre also connects the two transportation hubs of Stratford Regional Station and Stratford International Station. As one of the most environmentally efficient retail centres in the UK, Westfield Stratford City has been designed to achieve excellence in sustainability with some of the most stringent guidelines imposed on its construction and on-going management, and this extends to the high performance structured cabling installation.

The technological infrastructure required to support a project of this size is enormous and complex. “There will be technology in use throughout the building,” says Kari Baden, MD at Dimension Data. CCTV, Access Control, BMS, WiFi, car parking to electronic tills, High Definition Digital Signage, Footfall – and even identity tags to prevent children getting lost! This is going to be a hardworking completely utilised, fully integrated network and needs a robust, high performance infrastructure to support it.”

Underpinning the infrastructure is a primary and secondary optical fibre structured cabling backbone that connects every telecommunications room to the primary equipment rooms as well as linking in external services from telecoms providers, mobile carriers and satellite equipment.

The Brand-Rex air blown fibre solution Blolite+ was chosen specifically for the project due to its flexibility and scalability, allowing additional connectivity for further services and devices in the future without disruption. The unique Blolite+ system uses compressed air to blow specially coated optical fibres into pre-installed plastic tubes, microducts, providing a flexible and cost effective method of installing optical fibre with unlimited future-proofing potential.

With two mirrored data centres and 77 separate comms rooms this is a challenging project. Each of the comms rooms will be pre-manufactured, provisioned and tested off-site by Dimension Data before being craned into position at the appropriate point in the build process. Weighing over one ton each, and measuring 6m x 1m x 2.1m high, they contain three fully equipped comms cabinets together with the necessary structured cabling, air conditioning, power and lighting in a protected unit that is IP55 rated to prevent access of dust and water.

Brand-Rex 10GPlus Cat6a structured cabling capable of delivering speeds of 10 Gb/sec will be used together with the Blolite+ fibre optic backbones to deliver the fixed infrastructure to the whole of the shopping complex and commercial areas. In addition, the Brand-Rex infrastructure will support a 700 access node wireless network giving public access within the shopping complex. “This is a showcase site for London and we are delighted that Brand-Rex products were chosen for their reliability, performance and flexibility,” says Lines. “Blolite+ optical fibre together with10GPlus copper cabling provides a high performance, cost effective and robust solution for all today’s integrated communication needs.”

About Brand-Rex 10GPlus:

10GPlus is the ultimate performance Augmented Category 6/Class EA structured cabling system from Brand-Rex. This industry leading, high quality solution offers superior performance and user friendly installation features allowing simple and speedy deployment of high speed cabling infrastructure. Designed to fully support 10GBASE-T applications, 10GPlus offers IT managers a solution that will support their needs both today and in the future.

About Brand-Rex Blolite+

Blolite+ is the ideal solution for backbone cabling systems providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure that allows for future expansion. Installed networks can be simply reconfigured, expanded or changed without disruption to existing services and minimum interference with the original installation. Repairs are fast and simple, damaged ducts can be replaced and new fibre blown in using compressed air. Blolite+ offers significant savings in lifecycle costs when compared to conventional fibre optic cabling solutions and has been designed to fully support today’s integrated communication requirements.

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

BRX0294

Siemon declares American operations carbon negative by over 330 per cent

Siemon, a worldwide leader in IT network infrastructure, today announced that its US and Canada operations have achieved carbon negativity.  The company says that its carbon reductions and offsets exceed actual emissions by over 330 per cent. 

Siemon reached the carbon negative benchmark through an aggressive programme of environmental improvement initiatives, including the development of more energy-efficient and sustainable manufacturing processes, zero-landfill recycling, increased reliance on renewable energy sources such as solar power and carbon offsets based on extensive forestland conservation efforts. Siemon is the first and only network cabling manufacturer to achieve this notable green milestone.

The announcement is based on an extensive audit that identified Siemon’s 2009 US and Canada-based carbon emission sources and calculated their total carbon footprint utilising publicly available US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data. The scope of the study focused on facility-level emissions within organisational boundaries as specified by ISO 14064-1 and included electricity and fossil fuel usage-related CO2 output at Siemon’s US-based global headquarters and manufacturing facility as well as the effects of the facility’s waste management programmes.  The audit also compiled fuel consumption for the company’s US and Canada auto fleet and air travel.

Siemon’s 2009 carbon reduction and sustainability programmes were also analysed using EPA data.   According to the calculations, Branch Hill Farms, a 3000 acre tree farm established and operated by the Siemon Company board of directors, as well as 900 metric tons of waste recycled at Siemon in 2009 and the company’s clean solar energy system, further reduced yearly carbon output by a combined 16,330 metric tons.  

Balanced against the approximately 4880 metric tons of CO2 emissions, the combined 16,330 metric tons of carbon reductions and offsets noted above brings Siemon’s total US and Canada carbon footprint figures to negative 11,450 metric tons – a carbon reduction over 3.3 times larger than the company’s actual carbon output.

“Just about every enterprise – especially manufacturers like Siemon – will produce carbon, but our success proves that there are economical and effective ways to offset the impact of those emissions,” explained Carl Siemon, the company’s CEO. 

According to Carl Siemon, his company’s approach was twofold: Siemon adheres to longstanding continual improvement policies that drive efficient manufacturing and business processes.  A more efficient use of energy and materials is not only sound business practice, but also makes the company a more environmentally sustainable operation.  Confident that carbon emissions were being reduced at the source, Siemon developed ways to cut further through better waste management, alternative fuels and offsets.  As Siemon continues to improve internal operations and processes, they are also working proactively with suppliers and partners to identify areas where mutual improvements to upstream and downstream impact can be made.

“We didn’t set out to be carbon negative,” Carl Siemon explained.  “We just want to be as efficient and environmentally responsible as possible. Being carbon negative is the natural result of over 50 years of progressive environmental stewardship.”

For more information on Siemon’s environmental initiatives, including an overview of their carbon footprint analysis, visit www.siemon.com/green.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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Siemon announces new ConvergeIT infrastructure for green intelligent building infrastructures

Siemon has launched a new ConvergeIT intelligent building cabling programme.  ConvergeIT combines Siemon’s well-known network infrastructure expertise and technical and installation support capabilities with its comprehensive structured cabling product line, to provide a straightforward process for the implementation of a converged, IP-based intelligent building cabling system. The programme has been developed to help architects, design-build firms, building owners and contractors plan and deploy efficient IT cabling infrastructure for support of green intelligent buildings

Growing in global popularity, the intelligent or “smart” building concept combines multiple data, low voltage and building automation applications onto one centrally managed network.  These converged systems can include voice/data, video surveillance, access control, digital signage, audio/video, fire alarms, energy management, HVAC and more.  According to a study conducted by the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA), properly planned intelligent buildings can cut energy costs by up to 70 per cent¹ and the US EPA states that these smart platforms can enhance building asset value by two to three² times initial investment.

Siemon’s ConvergeIT programme takes the intelligent building approach a step further, supporting the facility’s various low-voltage applications on a single IP-based structured cabling system, rather than on separate and often proprietary cabling plants. “IT structured cabling is the ideal solution for a converged intelligent building cabling infrastructure,” explained Robert Carlson, Siemon’s vice president of global marketing.  “It provides the flexibility and performance to support multiple critical building systems at the highest reliability levels.” 

The efficient ConvergeIT approach to smart buildings also offers strong cost reduction and simplified system management benefits, says Siemon. By eliminating multiple proprietary cabling types in favour of a single structured cabling plant, material and labour costs can be cut significantly.  According to CABA, overall intelligent system cabling material costs can be reduced by up to 33 per cent¹.  This consolidation of infrastructure can also drive up to 40 per cent savings in pathway material costs³.  Because the structured cabling plant can be deployed by a single IT contractor as opposed to the multiple specialised installation groups often required with proprietary systems, ConvergeIT can reduce overall low-voltage building cabling and pathway installation labour costs by 28 per cent³ or more, claims Siemon.

“ConvergeIT also drives a greener, more sustainable smart building,” adds Carlson. “The energy savings enabled by power management systems like automated HVAC and lighting controls, as well as cable and pathway material reductions, not only save money, but are key elements of green building initiatives such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification system.”

According to Siemon, beyond reduced deployment costs and sustainability improvements, ConvergeIT can cut ongoing maintenance and management costs. Converged IP-based cabling can cut intelligent system-related move, add and change costs by 20 per cent versus multiple systems¹.  The centralised smart cabling plant approach can also reduce the reliance on multiple specialised installers in favour of a single IT cabling contractor, saving up to 15 per cent in service contract costs¹. 

This operational efficiency extends to facility maintenance and IT personnel. The simplified system management capabilities of IP-based intelligent building cabling allows critical information to be more easily shared between building systems and enables staff to access system information from anywhere on the network.  This can help minimise staff resource requirements, whilst simultaneously reducing response time to minimise costly business disruptions.

To learn more about Siemon’s ConvergeIT intelligent building cabling programme, please visit www.siemon.com/convergeit.  This online resource centre provides information on ConvergeIT technical support and design resources, as well assistance in locating a highly-trained Siemon Certified Installer to deploy a ConvergeIT system. 

References:
1 – Bright Green Buildings: Convergence of Green and Intelligent Buildings, CABA, 2008
2 – EPA EnergyStar
3 – ConvergeIT: Enabling Intelligent, Green Buildings, Siemon

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

Brand-Rex Becomes an Investor in Excellence

Brand-Rex has joined an elite band of businesses to have achieved Investor in Excellence status, one of Europe’s highest quality standards. 

The company’s Speciality division in Leigh, Lancashire, is now one of just 200 European businesses to be awarded the accolade, which demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement.

The Investor in Excellence standard has been designed to encourage organisations of any size, and from any sector, to work towards a common standard that reflects quality and excellence.

The company received its award from North of England Excellence, which was presented to Brand-Rex by local MP Andy Burnham.

The standard is built around the EFQM (European Foundation of Quality Management) Excellence Model, which is widely used throughout Europe as a framework for improving organisations.

Brand-Rex has used the model as its main business improvement tool for the last decade, working alongside quality specialists North of England Excellence. And last year they won the North of England Excellence Quality Award in the category Private Company Less Than 250 Employees.  In 2008 the company won a special award for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Brand-Rex’s speciality division manufactures high performance electrical cables for the aerospace, automotive and rail industries.  General Manager Steve Tickle explains: “Many of our products are designed to operate in extreme environments, and across a range of industries where high quality must be a given. Achieving an accreditation like this reassures all our customers that we’re a company that always puts quality first.

“This strong emphasis on quality is another reason why the company as a whole has performed so strongly in recent years. It’s helped us to win contracts both in new sectors and in new international markets.”

Among the key benefits of working towards the standard, says Tickle, is that it helps to embed continuous improvement into an organisation, while it is also a natural progression on from other quality standards such as ISO TS 16949, AS9100 and ISO 9001:2000, all of which Brand-Rex has already achieved.

And Tickle adds: “Attainment of the Investor in Excellence standard from North of England Excellence has been an excellent achievement for Brand-Rex.  All our staff deserve a well earned pat on the back for their efforts in helping the company to attain this Blue Riband standard.”

ABOUT BRAND-REX

Brand-Rex Ltd is a global operation, designing, developing and manufacturing the most sophisticated, high performance copper and fibre cabling systems for communications and extreme environment applications. Headquartered in Scotland, the company is committed to being a trusted market leading provider of best-in-class communication infrastructure solutions that are truly ‘future proof’. For more information visit www.brand-rex.com

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Green Data Centre Seminar at Mercedes Benz World

Infrastructure specialist Siemon is teaming up with complimentary suppliers to delivery a new education seminar entitled ‘Growing a Green Data Centre – from the ground up’.  The event is being held at the prestigious, state of the art, Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, on Thursday 10 June 2010.

Joining Siemon to deliver the seminar programme are collaborators Daxten, who specialise in data centre cooling, construction giants Galliford Try Communications and data centre design consultants, Future Facilities. 

Keynote speaker will be Siemon’s global director of data centre solution and services, Carrie Higbie, who will be outlining the choices for data centre professionals presented by cabling manufacturers.  Her talk will also explain how infrastructure design can positively impact green operations for any data centre, whether new build or an existing facility.

On the half day programme, other talks include ‘Mission critical power – changing the way you think of power distribution’, given by speaker Phillip McGuinness of Daxten.  ‘Data centre design software and energy efficiency’ presented by Jonathan Leppard of Future Facilities and ‘Building a green data centre’ by Paul Crowther of Galliford Try Communications.

Attendance at the educational seminar is complimentary but strictly by invitation.  Guests have been invited from across the data centre world.

Commenting on the launch of this new event, Graeme Stoker, marketing manager for Siemon in EMEA, explained, “We know from the demand for our papers and articles on green data centre design that there is a huge interest in cost effective ideas for reducing the environmental impact of data centre operation.  So, it seemed a logical step to bring together selected experts that can explain how to develop a green data centre from every angle and covering aspects of infrastructure, cooling, design and construction.  By offering a concise and informative programme in just a morning, we hope to provide an injection of useful and practical information that would be of use to any data centre professional.”

“The fact that we’re hosting the event at Mercedes Benz World is an incidental attraction,” added Stoker.  “But this dream location and state of the art facility sets the scene very well for our event.”

Keynote speaker Carrie Higbie MBA MSBA, has been involved in the computing and networking industries for over 25 years and participates with the IEEE, TIA and various consortiums for standards acceptance.  She has an extensive background in all aspects of networking and application development as a consultant, project manager, and Fortune 500 executive.  Carrie has taught at a collegiate level and she is now a popular speaker at industry events.   She has authored an impressive body of technical articles and whitepapers and her work is published around the world. 

About Siemon                                        

Established in 1903, Siemon™ is an industry leader specialising in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. With global offices and partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) and fibre cabling systems available and is one of only three network cabling infrastructure companies worldwide with true global partnership capabilities. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company’s long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

www.siemon.com/uk

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