Eurofiber - July 2021 by Business Chief Europe

Laying the foundations for a digital society IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

DIGITAL REPORT 2021

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR A DIGITAL SOCIETY

Eurofiber.com

Eurofiber’s open digital network is paving the way for an all-inclusive dynamic digital world – first envisioned by the Dutch company 20 years ago

distance of 160 kilometers of fibre optic cable has been laid by Eurofiber since I interviewed the group director of the company exactly one month ago. This impressive statistic is why the Dutch-based open digital network provider is leading the way in helping European cities stay connected. The pace of deployment is staggering and started back in 2000 when Eurofiber laid their first 500km stretch of fibre network to connect the four major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. Today, they have laid more than 38,000km of fibre – laying 40kms each week – have 10 data centres and a digital footprint that covers the Netherlands, Belgium, France and a new branch in Germany. There was a time when a river was the lifeblood of a city for its trade and commerce, but as the pandemic has shown, the future of remote working for

“ Utilising our own fibre optic network and data centres, we provide smart, open, futureproof cloud infrastructure and connectivity solutions to companies, government bodies and non-profit organisations” DANIEL DANON

GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS, EUROFIBER

millions of people now relies on being connected to a digital world – as does the future safety and security of a city. Eurofiber is literally laying a lifeline for the digital society of so-called ‘smart cities’. The network is already being used to control 75 per cent of the movable locks and bridges along Amsterdam’s famous canals. “Vital infrastructure” is how the Dutch government designates the company’s open digital network which means different providers, from hospitals to FinTech, companies, governments and non-profit organisations can install and operate their services in an efficient way. “Utilising our own fibre optic network and data centres, we provide smart, open, futureproof cloud infrastructure and connectivity solutions to companies, government bodies and non-profit organisations,” said Daniel Danon, Group Director Products & Solutions. Eurofiber.com

“Customers have complete freedom to choose the services, applications and providers they need, allowing them to tap into the full potential of digital innovation”

“Customers have from Netways Europe complete freedom to to Infradata – and has choose the services, the aim of helping applications and others at its heart. providers they need, allowing them to tap Open fibre network into the full potential Eurofibers’s open of digital innovation,” digital infrastructure, said former French which they own and engineer Daniel Danon, operate, is designed who joined Eurofiber in to independently April 2020 at the height support a wide of the pandemic. spectrum of industries Speaking from and innovations. The DANIEL DANON GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS Utrecht, Danon companies Dataplace, & SOLUTIONS, EUROFIBER said the DNA of the FullSave and Eura DC company is an “open operate their 10 data fibre network to enable others” pointing centres in the Netherlands and France. out he is proud to lead an organisation – “We were lucky enough in 2000 to have rich with a strong ecosystem of partners the vision of how fibre was going to be a key 6

Eurofiber.com

DANIEL DANON TITLE: GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS INDUSTRY: FIBRE OPTIC NETWORK AND DATA CENTRES part of the future and it has become the most future-proof, dynamic, element of our digital world. We have been able to create an infrastructure that is cost effective, which is very important to us as we want to enable other people’s businesses in a financial and technical way,” said Danon. “As a company we have a digital all the way approach, we're fast growing so everything has to be scalable and that means being digitised. So we know how important it is to be digital, to have our processes and our systems, at the disposal of our 550 employees and of our partners, wherever they are. “Going digital for our customers can also be counterproductive if you don’t keep it personal. Whenever we're thinking about digitisation, it's very important for both our customers and for colleagues, that we go digital – but we always keep it personal.”

EXECUTIVE BIO

LOCATION: NETHERLANDS Daniel Danon started his career at Telecom Modus Ltd in London, followed by an MBA at INSEAD in Paris, he became product manager at Liberty Global/UPC in Amsterdam. In 2009 he moved to Budapest where he initially worked as senior consultant at Solon and then became Director of Business Development and New Enterprise Services at Vodafone Hungary. In 2014 Daniel returned to Liberty Global in Amsterdam, where he worked as Director Product Strategy and VP Product Planning & Research. In 2020, he joined Eurofiber as Group Director Products & Services, responsible for the company’s portfolio strategy.

Eurofiber.com

NETWAYS EUROPE, THE SOLUTIONS PARTNER FOR OPTICAL NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURES. Netways Europe is the Value-add Partner that distinguishes itself through a consultative market approach. This customer-oriented approach means we work with you on the right solution for your business!

Learn More

Network design Netways Europe provides support for design challenges. 25 years of expertise in fibre solutions results in smart and thorough solutions independent of manufacturers. Pre-staging and Pre-configuration equipment Shorten service delivery? We prepare equipment before it is put into the field, test the hardware and software configurations of the equipment as per requirement. Guided installation needed? We create wiring diagrams for smooth and correct installation (for and by installers). We provide customer-specific installation of software and configuration on devices. Need for additional supplies? We also add extra cabling or (pre-programmed) SFPs, making it plug-andplay for installers. This prevents errors and unnecessary lead times. Logistics / Lifecycle management We take care of the complete logistics process. As a distributor/integrator, we hold stock so that we can respond quickly. In addition to regular distribution, ad hoc delivery is crucial to the progress of the rollout or project. If hardware fails, we take care of the RMA process, so

the interruption of service will be as short as possible. Re-use of equipment? We take care of the return process. After return, the equipment will be refurbished with the support of our own special software and make it ready for re-deployment. Doing so, we extend the life cycle of equipment. This is how we contribute to our and your sustainability goals. Managed Services Netways provides support and management, for manufacturers or as an addition to your support team based on a tailored SLA. We can provide services like fibre optic monitoring and signalling as part of the service level agreement. This ensures accelerated diagnosis and shortens resolution times. We provide support for fault diagnosis, because in addition to extensive expertise, we also have advanced test equipment at our disposal. Specials Need for custom applications? We design and produce optical solutions such as passive splitters based on customer’s requirements. Learn More

Eurofiber: Laying the foundations for a digital society

“ We were lucky enough in 2000 to have the vision of how fibre was going to be a key part of the future and it has become the most future-proof, dynamic, element of our digital world” DANIEL DANON

GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS, EUROFIBER

Eurofiber.com

Hybrid cloud management The Eurofiber Group consists of: Eurofiber, DCspine and MatrixMind (in the Netherlands and Belgium), Dataplace (Netherlands), FullSave, Lumos, Eurafibre, ATE and Eura DC (France) and provide the following services: • Ethernet • Secure cloud connect • Business Internet • WDM • SD-WAN • Managed dark fibre • Data centre services “We also provide services to secure cloud connect that allows you to have a direct connection into a player such as Amazon, Microsoft Azure or Google cloud,

and not have to go through the internet “From the start we were an open remaining on an ethernet layer which means network, and it really is part of the DNA of it is very close to the customer,” said Danon. the organisation that Eurofiber was built to “What I think customers really be the fibre for everyone. We've brought need from us is overall hybrid cloud that into the larger digital infrastructure, management. It's not just about including colocation and connecting one office building to connecting data centres, which is another. We are connecting our unique and powerful. customers and partners to their “Our open network is different 38,200km data, wherever it is, and helping and powerful as it allows us to of fibre optic them manage that data flow, in invest once, for many. It allows us network is owned and operated by their own premises, in the data to deliver ultra low latency and Eurofiber centres that are close to them, because we have a mesh network as well as into the public cloud.” the routing is much more dynamic and direct,” said Danon Competitive advantage who also pointed out having a presence Danon cites that having an open network across Europe was also important. model allows them to be “different “In addition, when you're thinking and powerful” thus giving Eurofiber about data, it's also about colocation and the competitive advantage. connecting to the cloud. Managing and Eurofiber.com

DID YOU KNOW...

HOW EUROFIBER IS CONNECTING CITIES

AMSTERDAM

ROTTERDAM

Eurofiber has a unique partnership with Amsterdam Smart City (ASC) who work with companies, governments, knowledge institutions and the people of Amsterdam with the aim of developing the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area as a smart city. As the Dutch government has recognised, for a city to become connected it needs an open digital network so different providers can install and operate their services in an efficient way. Eurofiber’s fibre optic infrastructure in the capital is very dense. The finemeshed network coverage across the Dutch capital is laying the foundation for smart city applications so that sensors, intelligent systems, Internet of Things applications and big data analyses can be used efficiently. Amsterdam has the most inhabitants of a Dutch municipality: 859,732 in an area of 219 km² – a quarter of which is water. Eurofiber’s coverage extends to hospitals, schools, metro services, energy stations and the famous canals with some 50 bridges and locks connected via the Eurofiber network, as well as 200 bus shelters and dozens of security cameras in the public space. With an average network distance of 400 meters to the backbone, 96 per cent of the locations in the Amsterdam region are within their network coverage.

Eurofiber started in 2018 with the construction of a large-scale, fine-mesh fibre optic network between all locations of the Municipality of Rotterdam. With this project, all existing fibre optic networks of the Municipality of Rotterdam are optimised and linked to the Eurofiber network, creating a single high-quality fibre optic network for the municipality. “We've helped them connect everything from bridges to cameras and the electricity network. When we talk about a smart city, it means that everything in that city will benefit from being connected with fibre and opening up opportunities for the people living there,” said Danon. “It is a key enabler which will allow the city to live its full digital potential and deliver its citizens more ecological and effective connectivity. We also have to think of future-proofing a smart city and prepare it for a future of 5G and edge computing.

Eurofiber.com

BERLIN Eurofiber has just appointed Christoph Klein as Managing Director Germany to lead the expansion in Germany as part of its European growth strategy. Eurofiber entered the German market with a joint venture with Vattenfall, which is established to connect more than 500,000 households and businesses in Berlin.

“From the start we were an open network, and it really is part of the DNA of the organisation that Eurofiber was built to be the fibre for everyone” DANIEL DANON

GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS, EUROFIBER

Eurofiber.com

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IN THE HOT SEAT WITH, DANIEL DANON, GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS What technology do you predict will be used by data centres in the future? Data centres will bring data closer to the consumers and businesses. It will not just be about cloud but edge and ultra low latency. At the end of the day it's making sure data is very close to customers. This will impact things such as Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, 5G, 6G as we move into the future.” What plans do you have for the future? “To be the best open infrastructure for the digital world. We want to enable our customers to grow and innovate without any digital limitations, and thus empower the digital society.” What is the next smart city you will be working on? “We are not focusing on one city. We've got a very dense mesh network across our territories and on a daily basis we are connecting more elements within a city than ever before. We are working with cities across all of our footprint in The Netherlands, Belgium and France.” “Our work in Berlin with Vattenfall is an amazing asset for the community to have in the ground and will benefit households and businesses as well as the city's optimisation management.

Eurofiber.com

controlling all aspects of this hybrid cloud also puts us in a competitive position. That means that we really are the partner of choice in terms of digital infrastructure. “We are continuing the vision of a dynamic digital world first envisioned by Eurofiber when the company started more than 20 years ago.” Partners – Infradata and Netways Europe Danon outlined the importance of being an open network which enables Eurofiber to work with an ecosystem of partners which include Netways Europe and Infradata. “It’s not just about how we enable our partners, but also how partners enable

“We are connecting our customers and partners to their data, wherever it is, and helping them manage that data flow, in their own premises, in the data centres that are close to them, as well as into the public cloud” DANIEL DANON

GROUP DIRECTOR PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS, EUROFIBER

us. Netways is our key partner for logistics, and together we can continue to keep our they grew with us, and always go one standards very high for our customers, step beyond. even in these extraordinary times.” “We have worked with Netways for Commenting on Eurofiber and many years and they have always taken Infradata, Danon said this was one of care of written processes which is very their core partnerships. “Infradata is not important. They’re always trying to just a partner, they really are our system improve our partnership, which is integrator,” he says. “Our network very important by thinking ahead is largely based on equipment and [they] have always helped us they manage with us and that to go a step beyond. equipment is an integral part of “In these crazy times where, for all of the service level agreements 160km example, the chip market went – our promise to customers. They of fibre optic cable is laid haywire and Netways helped us have been supporting us and every month adjust our stock management. taking care of the ethernet and by Eurofiber They are a key part of our logistics internet network.” Eurofiber.com

2000

the year Eurofiber was founded

550

employees

€202m revenue

Eurofiber.com

Healthcare and FinTech Danon said Eurofiber will continue to be agile to their customers by making sure they are available and adapt to their needs. “We’re constantly monitoring developments in industries like healthcare and FinTech and we build scenarios on that to make sure our network will continue to be the infrastructure they need. This also includes security encryption, reach and latency and bandwidth.” “It’s also about our colocation infrastructure being more than just real estate but being part of how customers connect to the cloud, and that cloud is, in itself, a very agile and dynamic place to work in. We've already recognised how we can build an EUROFIBER – EIGHT STEPS infrastructure – an orchestration TO A FAST, SECURE SERVICE capability – to combine everything we've got. It’s not • Ethernet – connects sites securely always about the invention of and flexibly over a custom private something new. It's also about network with Ethernet VPN. combining what we have with • Secure cloud connect – provides the expertise of our partners.” a safe, direct access to multiple Danon said he was looking cloud platforms. forward to focusing on • Business Internet – offer their new venture in Berlin. employees fast and secure internet “Extending our fibre networks access with business internet. and data centres across • WDM – benefit from high. Western Europe is part of bandwidths with WDM and don't the future plans but we are worry about management. also committed to focusing • SD-WAN – software replaces on the growth here in the manual management. Netherlands. Belgium and • Managed dark fibre – control the France still have a lot of bandwidth of your dark fibre and fibre and cloud connectivity grow as needed. opportunities and we are • Data centre services – data and focusing on our joint venture applications optimally and securely in Germany,” he said. available in a Tier 3 data centre. • Connectivity – the foundation of a smart city.

Eurofiber.com

Eurofiber

Safariweg 25-31 Maarssen The Netherlands 3605 MA

T +31 30 242 8700 | www.eurofiber.com