GreenQloud

Greenqloud
Private [1]
Industry Computer Software
Genre Cloud infrastructure
Founded Reykjavík, Iceland (2010 (2010))
Founder Eirikur Hrafnsson
Tryggvi Larusson [2]
Headquarters Reykjavík, Iceland
Key people
 Eirikur Hrafnsson
(COO US) [3]
Tryggvi Larusson
(CTO) [4]
Gisli Kr
(CCO) [5]
Jon Thorgrimur Stefansson
(CEO) [6]
Products Qstack
Number of employees
 < 29 [7]
Divisions Cloud Software
Website greenqloud.com

Greenqloud is a cloud computing software company with headquarters in Iceland and office in Seattle, offering cloud infrastructure software solutions for private, hybrid and public cloud deployments for enterprise businesses.

Founding and history

Founded in 2010, the company initially sold public cloud computing services, such as web hosting and data storage, known commonly as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), powered by data centers using 100% renewable energy in Iceland. Most hosting companies buy carbon offset credits as a green marketing measure,[8] and host data at multiple data centers on different continents as the solution for international sites.

Iceland began developing its data hosting industry in the late 2000s,[9] addressing the rapid growth of carbon emissions from data centers worldwide.[10] The same year, the first zero-emission wholesale data center was installed in the former NATO base in Keflavik by a Washington D.C. based startup,[11][12][13] followed by at least 2 other data centers in and around Reykjavik.[14][15] The development of wholesale data centers in Iceland made development of the consumer service vendors possible.

The late development of Iceland's relatively small data hosting industry also makes it possible for the country to be innovative and discerning in its information technology policies. In 2010, the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative was passed. Iceland has gained a reputation of not only being an ecological data hosting hub, but also a harbour from government and cultural censorship in developed as well as developing nations.[16][17]

Greenqloud and other Icelandic web hosting companies differ from competitors in North America and Europe in that its data centers are powered exclusively by hydropower and geothermal energy; this is possible because of Iceland's energy infrastructure. Iceland's geographical location offers two additional ecological advantages: (1) year-round cold climate in the Arctic Circle offers natural cooling, (2) its mid-Atlantic location eliminates the need for data mirrors on both continents, eliminating the use of multiple data centers and the associated energy consumption.

Current business focus

In 2014 the company released Qstack, its cloud infrastructure software solution to be deployed on private and hybrid infrastructure environments. Simultaneously, Greenqloud shifted its operational focus to Qstack, and offers support and certifications for the software.

News coverage of Greenqloud

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Greenqloud". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  2. ↑ Katie Fehrenbacher (2010-05-28). "Structure 2010 LaunchPad Presenter: Greenqloud, Iceland's Clean Power Cloud Computing Co.". Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  3. ↑ "Eirikur Hrafnsson". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  4. ↑ "Tryggvi Larusson". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  5. ↑ "Gisli Kr". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  6. ↑ "Jon Thorgrimur Stefansson". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  7. ↑ "Greenqloud strengthens resources with new hires". 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  8. ↑ Foster, Pete (2010-12-10). "Sustainable data centres". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  9. ↑ "Landsvirkjun to supply electricity to Verne Holding’s data centre". Landsvirkjun. 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2011-09-08. As you will all remember, the Landsvirkjun Board decided last autumn [2007]...to broaden its client base and... encourag[e] new directions in the economy... At around the same time, Landsvirkjun [et al.] decided to acquire a majority holding in Farice in order to lay a new fibre-optic cable to Iceland... a prerequisite for the operation of international data centres in this country. These decisions were a vital step in reaching the conclusions that we see today.
  10. ↑ McKinsey & Company, Inc., 2010 "Data Centers: How to cut carbon emissions and cost, Section 1:4"
  11. ↑ Miller, Rich (2008-02-27). "$300 Million Data Center for Iceland". Data Center Knowledge. Miller Webworks LLC. Retrieved 2011-09-08. Iceland's efforts to establish itself as a hub for green data centers has brought its first major project, as Verne Holdings has announced plans for a $306 million data center near Keflav"k International Airport... The facility is scheduled to open for business in 2009
  12. ↑ "Verne Holdings to Build Data Center in Iceland". Iceland Review. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2011-09-08. Verne Holdings, a joint venture by General Catalyst and Novator, signed an agreement with National Energy Company Landsvirkjun, Farice and Keflavík Airport Development Corporation (KADECO) yesterday on establishing a data center by Keflavík International Airport.
  13. ↑ "About Verne Global". Verne Global. 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  14. ↑ "About DataCell". DataCell ehf. Retrieved 2011-09-08(Icelandic and Swiss management)
  15. ↑ "Thor Datacenter – About us". Thor Datacenter. Retrieved 2011-09-08(Icelandic management)
  16. ↑ Eirikur Hrafnsson (2010-06-25). Structure 2010: Launchpad Greenqloud. YouTube. Event occurs at 3:13. Retrieved 2011-09-08. We have world-class data protection laws, and we're even getting better protection laws than Europe
  17. ↑ Hemsoth, Nicole (2010-08-17). "Behind Iceland’s Green Cloud". HPC in the Cloud. Tabor Communications, Inc. Retrieved 2011-09-08. [I]n a nutshell we have equal status with EU laws now and are about to get even better data protection laws for our clients (http://immi.is). Iceland has a lower risk index then the US and the UK.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.