Much has changed since the London Stock Exchange opened 450 years ago. Nowhere in Europe are there as many FinTech companies as there are in the City of London. Online banking, cryptocurrencies, new financial products and globalized trade are continuously increasing the demand for computing power. In addition, the pandemic is fueling the shift toward online transactions.

With the London finance industry experiencing unprecedented disruption, how are IT departments in this financial hub rising to meet these new challenges?

Colocation in London

The classic investor principle of ‘don't put all your eggs in one basket’ also applies to the IT strategies of most financial companies, according to our observations. Public and private cloud platforms are used in parallel with proprietary IT infrastructure. However, rather than investing scarce CapEx in buildings to host their own infrastructure, forward-looking finance industry players are increasingly opting for colocation space as part of their hybrid infrastructure strategy. In London, as in other financial metropolises, the need for modern, sustainable and efficient data centers is increasingly more evident.

As a leading colocation and interconnection service provider, NTT has a presence in the European financial capitals. We recently opened our new flagship data center in East London. Our goal is to offer the London financial center the following resources and capabilities:

• Security

Our security architectures and processes are certified by independent organizations. All NTT data centers meet the highest standards, and the secure operation of infrastructure is guaranteed even in the event of a crisis. Our London 1 facility is driven by two independent power grids, plus a redundant emergency power system. A multi-level security system protects the entire data center campus, which is also monitored 24/7.

• Connectivity

Like all our data centers, London 1 is a carrier-neutral operation. We offer a scalable platform with access to global and local telecom networks and cloud providers, as well as the largest internet exchanges. Our Global Data Center Interconnect (GDCI) provides private and secure connections between our data centers and major cloud service providers via a single port.

• Sustainability

Sustainability is fundamental to our data centers’ design and operation. We seek to capitalize on local conditions wherever possible. In London, for example, we’ve dispensed completely with non-essential cooling units in our data center, which has seen energy efficiencies increasing significantly – an issue we understand is as close to the hearts of our clients in the financial sector as it is to ours. London 1 has also achieved the rating of ‘Excellent’ from BREEAM.

Whether in Frankfurt, Vienna, Amsterdam or our other locations globally, we’re proud to be the partner enabling financial institutions’ digital transformation. With London 1, we’re confident we’re in a position to further accelerate their journeys.

Take a virtual tour to get to know London 1 or give us a call at +44 20 8016-9118, send an email to dc.emea.sales@global.ntt or fill out the contact form to schedule a meeting.