Aiming to provide customers with enhanced data transparency regarding access and location, IBM has announced major upgrades to its cloud data centre in Frankfurt, Germany.
December 2017 is the intended starting point for the upgrades, beginning a period in which new controls will be created to ensure the restriction of data access to EU IBM employees exclusively. Security is going to be boosted by advanced encryption capabilities.
In addition to bringing customers reassurance regarding who can access their data, a new support model and capabilities are also set to be implemented, bringing AI, DevOps and data analytics into play.
IBM is not only tweaking and changing its technological approach, the company is going as far as to increase the staff in the region to provide 24/7 operations and support.
In a blog post on the news, Sebastian Krause, GM, IBM Cloud Europe, said: Concerns about data residency, security and personal data protection are at an all-time high as businesses prepare for pending regulatory and compliance requirements like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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GDPR is now less than 200 days away from going live, with potentially crippling fines on offer for those who fail to be compliant. With IBM moving to ensure data security is made central, other organisations must realise the importance of adequate preparation.
Patrick Palacin, Cofounder and CTO of TeleClinic, said: “IBM’s commitment to data responsibility and the added controls in the IBM Cloud in Europe allow us to trust IBM to protect our most valuable data… Our patient and caregiver information is highly sensitive and additional capabilities to ensure data residency, security and privacy mean the IBM Cloud is the innovation platform we can trust.”
By empowering customers to securely access and track their data, IBM is aiming to further increase its global data centre standing. The tech giant now has 60 data centres that are spread across 19 countries.
