Emirates Integrated Telecomm PJSC : NBD enters into a multi-year data centre co-location services agreement with du

UAE-based telecommunications service provider du, has entered into a decade long co-location agreement with leading banking institution Emirates NBD, to provide the organisation with third party data centre colocation services in the UAE.

Emirates NBD will benefit from du's world-class always-on and resilient data centre infrastructure which is supported by high-speed connectivity, resilience and redundant links. Besides optimising operational expenses, Emirates NBD also gains direct access to a vital data centre ecosystem.

Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer at Emirates NBD, said: 'Our long-term collaboration with du will significantly enhance our ICT infrastructure and give us a definitive edge among peers in the region. As a banking leader, Emirates NBD aims to be at the forefront of technology optimization in line with global best practice and our partnership with du aligns with these objectives. Additionally, this agreement will significantly reduce our business costs and boost service and business efficiencies.'

Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer, du, said: 'As a managed services provider, we can help optimise and consolidate Emirates NBD's data centre co-location facilities more efficiently and with economies of scale that eventually will enable them in their expansion and growth plans. We look forward to collaborating with Emirates NBD over the following decade, while enabling them to optimise business efficiencies, improve service levels and satisfy compliance requirement.'

du's infrastructure offers customers a secure platform of co-location, connectivity, infrastructure and expertise, to help them grow across the region. It presents a significant opportunity for customers looking to expand upon their existing footprint, and acts as a growth accelerator for businesses both in the UAE and the Gulf region. du's customers also take advantage of its 4G LTE network. du is one of the few operators in the world to start deployments supporting LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) on 4G. In 2015, du demonstrated the possibilities of 5G networks for future ultra-broadband and critical machine-type communication for the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city applications, ultra-high-speed communications of up to 10 Gbps over the air in the promising mmWave band. The company also effectively demonstrated LTE-A with 900 Mbps over its LTE network in 2014.