Skillsoft opens European Data Centre

Boosting cloud operations for improved performance and data sovereignty for companies based in and doing business in the European Union.

Wednesday, 5th December 2018 Posted 5 years ago in by Phil Alsop

Skillsoft has opened a data centre in Frankfurt, Germany for Percipio customers headquartered in the European Union (EU) as well as multinational Percipio customers doing business in the region. The new data centre was established to accommodate the growing demand in Europe for Skillsoft’s learning experience platform. The data centre will enable Percipio customers to restrict the storage and processing of their data within the EU and ensure compliance with data sovereignty laws.

The European data centre ensures that user data never leaves the confines of the EU, including data at rest and data in motion. In addition, the Percipio service adheres to all applicable European data privacy and safe harbor regulations. The data centre investment complements the implementation of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) for Percipio which has been in place from May 2018. As part of the establishment of the data centre, Skillsoft hired an external privacy counsel to perform a comprehensive assessment of Skillsoft’s relevant business processes, EU personal data collection and use practices, as well as personal data flows from the EU to the US to ensure privacy policies and practices fully adhere to GDPR.

“Supporting our burgeoning European Percipio customer base is a major focus for Skillsoft. We also recognise that our European customers and learners want an option to store and process their data within the EU due to data security and data sovereignty concerns,” commented Apratim Purakayastha, chief technology officer of Skillsoft. “Customers want confidence that their data is secure, sovereign and complies with safe harbor policies and GDPR. Further, having a dedicated EU data centre also improves performance for Percipio customers doing business in Europe.”

The data centre provides redundant high-bandwidth connectivity and scalability, enabling Skillsoft to develop its hosting service rapidly and effectively. Security access includes multiple levels of physical and digital access controls, highly reliable network connectivity and state-of-the-art collocation facilities providing the best possible operating environment to Skillsoft and its customers. The data centre includes VESDA fire detection and FM-200 fire suppression. A 2N redundant power supply provides dual power feeds and backup batteries, water coolant systems, and generators. An N + 1 redundant climate control system provides primary and backup chiller units, cooling towers, and water storage. Additionally, a local network operations centre (NOC) monitors the data centre’s operations continuously.