Deploying State-of-the-Art Cloud Data Centers

Technology Rotation delivers data center reliability, scalability and sustainability.

Ficolo operates a state-of-the-art intelligent edge data center for cloud delivery, wholesale cloud and cloud on-ramp in Finland. The data center provides local edge for European providers and regional edge for global providers. The data center’s philosophy is to rapidly respond to customer demands as well as prepare for future challenges and growth.

The Challenge

The challenge is to quickly respond to changing customer requirements. Customer demands are immediate and there cannot be delays in deploying technology. Systems need to be up and running in days. CAPEX procurement methodology can be long and cumbersome. Assets are often obsolete, and performance degraded as the lifecycle utilization is exceeded.

Protecting and conserving cash flow to ensure cash is available to fund strategic initiatives and innovation is important to the Ficolo leadership team. “Cash is the fuel that drives business growth,” says Kim Gunnelius, CCO and Co-Founder. The opportunity is to develop a scalable data center that’s predictable while lowering the total cost of usage. A sustainable solution that rotates technology on a regular basis to acquire modern and secure infrastructure without significant management cost. Ficolo needed an innovative IT solution that protects cash flow and operates sustainably.

Building a cutting-edge sustainable data center is top of mind for Ficolo’s leadership team. The latest technical innovations are utilized to manage efficiency, improve system performance, decrease power consumption and reduce the impact on the climate. It was the first data center in the Nordics to receive client research institute, Cicero’s, “Dark Green” rating, a methodology where cooling and waste heat is recycled into the data center to achieve efficient and sustainable use of energy. Dell understood Ficolo’s sustainability goals and the need to deliver technology performance in the data center.

The Solution

Technology Rotation,*  a flexible pay-as-you-go payment solution, enables Ficolo to deliver reliability, scalability and sustainability in the data center while meeting the demands of the client cloud application.** New technology assets are rotated in and obsolete equipment is removed at a pre-defined cycle.

Deploying the latest technology provides greater protection against security threats and improvements in performance which can translate into reduced downtime. Equipment operates reliably, faster, saves power and additional computing power is more easily installed and upgraded. This removes much of the stress and labor to address IT support issues required to replace or maintain legacy systems. There is confidence the equipment will be running at peak performance.

A reliable and high-performing data center enabled Ficolo to provision new services faster, leverage automation and technical orchestration to reduce the cost of ownership, empower development teams and better secure assets through enterprise segmentation. Modern data centers must be able to adapt to changing customer technology requirements.

Technology Rotation provides greater control of cash. Seppo Ihalainen, Ficolo’s CEO and Co-Founder states, “Dell helps us manage our cashflow successfully.” The benefits are better budgeting with predictable payments over time. Finance has the satisfaction of having clear insight into expenditures, allowing cash to be reallocated and invested into operations and IT priorities with higher ROIs. Ficolo is able to save 15% in administrative cost and lower the cost of usage by 10%.

With the latest technology deployed using Technology Rotation, IT resources spend less time on hardware fixes, patch work and equipment maintenance. Excess funds from the increase in cash flow efficiency provides the flexibility to add IT head count to critical projects to help bring about greater employee satisfaction and productivity. Technology Rotation affords organizations the ability to innovate and meet challenges from new initiatives. Acquisition of technology is simplified.

Technology Rotation promotes sustainability and responsible business practices. It contributes to the circular economy by refurbishing and remarketing 95% of assets. This recirculated equipment is put back into productive use. The remaining 5% is recycled in adherence with local regulatory guidelines such as EPA in the United States, WEEE in Europe and NCTRS in Australia.

Technology Rotation from Dell Technologies can be an integral part of modernizing your Data Center environment and optimizing your cash flow. We invite you to learn more about Technology Rotation or contact your Dell Account Manager today.

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**Payment solutions provided and serviced by Dell Financial Services L.L.C. or its affiliate or designee (“DFS”) for qualified customers. Offers may not be available or may vary in certain countries. Where available offers may be changed without notice and are subject to product availability, applicable law, credit approval, documentation provided by and acceptable to DFS and may be subject to minimum transaction size. Offers not available for personal, family or household use. Dell Technologies and the Dell EMC logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. Restrictions and additional requirements may apply to transactions with governmental or public entities. FAIR MARKET VALUE (“FMV”) LEASE: At the end of the initial FMV Lease term, lessee may 1) purchase the equipment for the then FMV, 2) renew the lease or 3) return the equipment to DFS.

Alain Lamoure

About the Author: Alain Lamoure

Alain Lamoure is a Senior Director of Product Marketing for Dell Technologies. He leads the teams responsible for portfolio messaging, thought leadership and field marketing for APEX Custom (IaaS) and Payment Solutions, a full portfolio of innovative payment solutions for any hardware, software and services, allowing customers of all size to choose how they want to consume their technology. Alain started with Dell Technologies in 2001. He has held various leadership positions in Marketing, Sales and Operations in Services, Internet Of Things and Financial Services. Prior to Dell Technologies, Alain worked in the Telco and Banking industries. Alain received his MBA from ISC Paris.