Feb 25, 2009 : Netcetera Launches New cloud platform

📅 February 25, 2009 - European managed hosting and data center provider Netcetera (netcetera.co.uk) has launched a new cloud platform, enabling businesses to design, build, manage and scale their entire on-demand IT infrastructure from a web-based interface.

According to the company's Wednesday announcement at the Data center World Conference and Expo (datacenterworld.com) in London, Netcetera's cloud platform is based on the 3tera's (3tera.com) AppLogic grid operating system for online applications. Applogic replaces expensive and difficult-to-integrate IT infrastructure such as firewalls, load balancers, servers and storage area networks with a grid of integrated, tested and self-contained software components called virtual appliances.

Netcetera's new cloud platform makes it simple for businesses to build their online application environment and manage the applications themselves, and offers the high scalabily demanded by web 2.0 businesses that may need to quickly scale their infrastructure due to demand.

Each AppLogic appliance runs in its own virtual environment with its own operating system, and all the code, data and infrastructure used to run applications is packaged into a single logical entity which can be viewed through a graphical user interface, making it easy to view and manage the application environment. Applogic also includes a range of popular open source applications, including Bugzilla, Twiki, SugarCRM and Zimbra.

"Our new cloud platform puts businesses in full control of their application environment, enabling them to scale on demand and deliver security and business continuity for all applications," Netcetera chief technical officer Tim Cass said in a statement. "Because applications exist in a virtual environment, with no dependence on specific hardware of any kind, it means that the applications themselves are completely self-contained, scalable and portable. Applications can be started, stopped, managed, copied or even exported to another virtual environment without modifications."

Based on the Isle of Man, a small independent island nation in the Irish Sea, Netcetera was formed in 1996 and is one of Europe's leading managed hosting and data center providers. It provides colocation, dedicated servers and managed infrastructure services to businesses in over 60 countries worldwide.

Netcetera also announced Wednesday that it is undergoing a £10 million infrastructure expansion on the Isle of Man, in part to provide data center services to London, which is currently experiencing trouble expanding its data center infrastructure due to local restrictions on space restrictions imposed by the 2012 Olympic Games. The new zone will have 150 racks available for colocation, providing space away from London's congested data centers. London continues to face more .