Kao Data partners with Zayo

Kao Data has signed a partnership with Zayo, a leading global communications infrastructure provider, to expand the world-class connectivity solutions at its data centre campus in Harlow.

The partnership will see Zayo deploy two new points-of-presence (PoPs) at Kao Data’s KLON-01 data centre, which will directly enable new multi-gigabit lit and dark fibre capabilities. The new agreement and network connectivity will also allow enterprise organisations to connect directly from the US to Europe, while bypassing London’s busy Internet routes via Zeus - Zayo’s ultra-low-loss, subsea fibre optic cable, which runs from the UK to the Netherlands.

As one of the world’s leading carriers, Zayo operates one of the industry’s largest fibre networks, and owns a Tier 1 IP backbone spanning 141,000 miles across North America and Europe. Its network provides business and mission-critical connectivity to support the digital economy, and its capabilities will further strengthen Kao Data’s mission to provide a suite of world-class connectivity options at its Harlow campus.

Kao Data’s Harlow campus is renowned as the home for some of the UK’s most advanced high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Its high performance infrastructure platform, for example, connects some of the world’s most prestigious research and financial services organisations into Europe and other global destinations.

The campus is also home to the UK’s fastest and most powerful supercomputer, NVIDIA’s Cambridge-1, as well as several high density AI workloads and grid computing deployments from Tier 1 financial services organisations. Resilient, low-latency connectivity is crucial to facilitate the large data transfers synonymous with this form of computing, and Zayo’s network will play a key role in this pursuit by offering industry-leading connectivity across global financial hubs.

“As dependency on digital infrastructure continues to accelerate, it’s vital that we provide customers working across cloud, enterprise and financial services with diverse and resilient connectivity solutions that minimise latency,” said Spencer Lamb, CCO, Kao Data. “By partnering with Zayo, we’re increasing our high performance connectivity capabilities in Harlow - providing advantageous routes from North America into the UK and Europe, and avoiding London’s congested Internet routes via Zeus.”

“At Zayo, we understand the increasing reliance on robust digital infrastructure and the imperative of delivering diverse and resilient connectivity options to meet the evolving needs of our customers," said Yannick Leboyer, Chief Operating Officer at Zayo Europe. “Zayo’s extensive network provides our own and our partners’ customers across financial services, AI, cloud, and enterprises with the speed, reliability, and diversity they need to be successful and gain a competitive advantage in today’s market. We are happy to partner with Kao Data on our shared efforts to reshape digital connectivity and ensure our customers stay ahead of the curve and thrive in today's fast-paced digital ecosystem."