Joined Up Thinking - A Case Study on Axill Europe
One of the biggest compliments a company can receive is when a firm returns to them for assistance with a new project, and this is just what happened to Gateway to London after they helped online media specialist Axill Europe.
Axill Europe was founded in 2005 and it has 300 staff worldwide in Hong Kong, India, the UK and the US. Providing content, such as pictures and music via mobile phones, Axill Europe's flagship service, Globe7 Phone, enables users to make free PC-PC calls and send instant messages to any landline or mobile across the globe. The companion website, Globe7.com, provides online communication and services such as short messaging, net telephony, video streaming, global content delivery, gaming, social networking, advertisement management and delivery.
Axill Europe also runs an internet TV service and specialises in building partnerships between website publishers and advertisers to ensure advertisers get best value return on investment.
Strategic Purchase
Gateway to London had originally worked with Axill Europe back in 2005 when Gateway to London and Think London assisted Axill Europe in finding a headquarters in Admirals Way, the Isle of Dogs. Impressed by the outcome of their previous dealings, Axill Europe, who also rented a data centre in Stratford, called upon Gateway to London for the second time in 2007. With information at the heart of everything they do, their objective was to increase their data capacity. To maximise future return on investment as part of their overall business strategy, they also wanted to acquire a data centre that would ‘work hard' as a valuable asset in their property portfolio.
Data centres have special heating and cooling requirements because servers need to stay cold. Axill Europe knew that to ensure reliable operation and the longest possible life from components, temperatures in data centres must stay within certain limits. Network failure can be very costly and server and computer equipment repairs and replacements can run into many hundreds, or even thousands of pounds. A huge power supply and a back-up generator are not only essential for this, but the sheer weight of the machines storing the data means they also need reinforced floors.
With so many complex needs, data centres are hard to find, and London Thames Gateway is one of a handful of UK locations offering suitable high quality premises.
Understanding the Company's Specific Needs
In February 2008 Axill Europe's data centre site search commenced. The data centre had to be able to accommodate a large source of energy and be no more than 45 minutes away from their headquarters. Through its network of agents Gateway to London leveraged a series of meetings and site visits and found a suitable London Thames Gateway property before it went onto the market.
The Gateway to London and Think London teams then worked closely with Axill Europe on finding a solution to match their data centre requirement. They also oiled the cogs of the move by helping with visa and immigration processing for the company's senior executive team. The company agreed terms on their new data centre in Harbour Exchange, South Quay, on the Isle of Dogs in May 2008.
The site had recently been vacated and - being a former data centre - was suitable for their needs. Axill Europe's longstanding headquarters in Admirals Way's Quay House, is just five minutes' walk from their new Harbour Exchange South Quay data centre.
Investment into New Services
Axill Europe moved into their new data centre at the end of 2008 once it had been converted into modern office space. Axill Europe has already streamlined the business by saving on renting data centres, this money has instead been invested into new services.
Dorababu Penumarthi, Director, Axill Europe explained: "We are delighted that we have been able to retain our entire London workforce as a result of finding the new data centre. We are planning to invest the money we've saved into new services and upgrade the new data centre to further increase its capacity."
