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Beyond.pl: Addressing sovereign cloud needs in Poland and beyond
Wojciech Stramski, CEO of Beyond.pl a data center, cloud, and Managed Services provider, is quick to point out that enterprises’ data sovereignty requirements are growing in scope. As cloud computing becomes increasingly ubiquitous with business success, ensuring that data not only resides within sovereign jurisdiction, but that it is also subject to applicable laws, is increasingly too complex for the vast majority of organizations to handle on their own. This is also confirmed by reports. According to the Cloud Pulse 2Q22 survey conducted by consulting company IDC, data sovereignty and compliance with local regulations are important in shaping IT architecture for almost half of the 1,350 global cloud customers surveyed (48%). Actual control over data, its collection, storage, use and management is becoming one of the key topics in discussions about the global internet.
“Sovereign clouds are a crucially important response to regulations that impact not only where data resides, but how it is processed and managed, and who has access to it at all times,” says Stramski. “Once everything was simple. Companies stored data on their servers, in their own facilities. They had a sense of total control over the processed information. In today’s public or multi-cloud environments data is dispersed. This makes digital sovereignty even more critical.”
Stramski notes that as a result, more enterprises are looking for sovereign cloud solutions and services that are proven to keep data safe, secure, and in compliance with all applicable laws. For Beyond.pl’s more than 500 Polish and international customers, this includes all regulations in Poland – at the national and local levels – and those of the European Union, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
“Organizations in regulated sectors look for safe solutions that meet all applicable legal conditions, and are aware that non-compliance can result in significant fines and jeopardize the reputation of their brands,” he adds. “As their need for, and exposure to, cloud services increases, more and more organizations realize they need a partner who can ensure that their data sovereignty concerns are addressed.”
VMware’s research reveals that this applies to most organizations. The Multi-Cloud Maturity Index, a global survey of nearly 6,000 CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs conducted by Vanson Bourne, found that 95% consider data sovereignty a concern.
Stramski notes that on the most basic level, these concerns are widely shared. They include worries about data security, data privacy, control over data, compliance and regulations, and data availability and reliability. To address them requires not only a proven and robust sovereign cloud framework, but also an equally robust infrastructure to deliver it.
Sovereign cloud services require uncompromising security and reliability
With more than a decade of experience as a trusted VMware partner using VMware technologies across its full suite of managed services – among them Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Backup-as-a-Service, and Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service – Beyond.pl’s sovereign cloud services are offered in a private cloud model. Managed and maintained in a dedicated environment, each customer’s applications and systems are kept fully separate from other organizations’ data and networking.
All sovereign cloud services are offered through each of Beyond.pl’s data centers, strategically located in the city of Poznan located between Berlin and Warsaw, and connected by a redundant, dedicated, and secure private fiber optic ring of 11 km in length in one direction and 10 km in the other, which guarantees high availability. Each data center is also connected to the high-bandwidth transmission corridor connecting Frankfurt, Poznan, and Warsaw, as well as Europe’s largest internet exchange in Frankfurt (DE-CIX). More importantly customer on premise infrastructure can be connected directly to Beyond.pl’s data centers – leveraging the best of both worlds to create optimal hybrid environments compliant with the local and European legislation.
Notably, Beyond.pl’s Data Center 2 is the only data center in the EU to achieve the highest level of security confirmed by two bodies – the ANSI/TIA-942 Rated 4 certification and the EN 50600 Class 4 standard for all server chambers. Customers can even select a service level agreement that guarantees “six-nines” availability. Moreover, Data Center 2 has 100% uptime since its commissioning in 2016; Both data centers are also powered by 100% renewable sources of power a first in Poland and are among the regions most energy efficient facilities with a PUE of 1.2.
The future of data is sovereign
Wojciech Darłowski, Beyond.pl’s Board Member for Cloud and Managed Services only sees demand for sovereign cloud services and solutions growing in the months and years to come.
“Companies are continuously processing more sensitive information while increasing their exposure to cloud services,” he says. “This means they must be guaranteed complete data processing security while ensuring compliance with applicable laws, among others laws relating to the processing and protection of personal data. As a VMware Sovereign Cloud partner that operates the most robust data centers, we can provide this guarantee to our customers in Poland and the greater European region.”
It’s a future Wojciech Darlowski, sees benefiting the company.
“As an experienced provider of cloud services to highly regulated sectors, we have the expertise to meet the market’s growing demands. With a modern, secure, and localized sovereign cloud solution available in Poland and in the heart of Europe, our highly qualified engineering teams and VMware experts – vetted to achieve the highest standards and possessing the most demanding certifications – provide our customers the confidence of knowing their data is in safe hands.”
Learn more about Beyond.pl and its partnership with VMware Sovereign Cloud program here
