How Atlantic Metro Helped Launch Vricon in Just Nine Weeks
When the leading provider of photorealistic 3D products and digital elevation models couldn’t find an IT provider to take them seriously, Atlantic Metro delivered core infrastructure that got their business off the ground.
The Challenge
Vricon needed massive amounts of bandwidth, power, and data center space within a small footprint to launch a new 3D satellite imagery company.
When Vricon was established in 2015, it began with backing from two well established defense-sector companies – The Swedish Saab AB and DigitalGlobe Inc. Despite this, Vricon struggled to be taken seriously by IT infrastructure providers.
“When you say you’re going to be starting up a super computer and you’re going to need a lot of bandwidth, a lot of companies are like, ‘okay, sure, you’re not actually going to do that. We’ll spec out half of that for you,” says Chris Neam, Vricon System Administrator.
Vricon needed a data center that not only met strict security and geographic specifications, but also was engineered to adequately cool a dense configuration. To meet their rigorous cooling needs, they were looking at space planning and implementation of cold aisle containment – along with hot aisle containment and heat extraction.
With a small team and no established server space or data center in the U.S., Chris needed to find a provider who would not just take Vricon’s data requirements seriously, but provide internet connections for massive amounts of traffic and offered managed services.
They also needed to get everything up and running by September 1. It was June 24.
Vricon had nine weeks.
Why Atlantic Metro?
When other providers demanded at least six months, Atlantic Metro promised to get it done in two.
With their own data centers, colocation services, robust internet network, and managed services offerings, Atlantic Metro was the perfect fit for Vricon’s needs.
Chris says, “They really care. Whenever we’ve had issues, minor or large, even if it’s not something they’re directly tied to, they’ve been there to help. I wasn’t worried about whether [Atlantic Metro] would have enough space to handle what we were doing. I knew that when there was going to be a problem, I’d have people that would be able to help out.”
Not only did Atlantic Metro provide outstanding services and work on a short deadline, but they also went above and beyond when Vricon needed office space for their first U.S.-based production team. This office space – at no additional cost – mimicked their future connectivity by giving full 1 Gbps layer 2 access, helping them launch and plan for future growth.
In the end, Vricon launched on their target date of September 1, just nine weeks after contacting Atlantic Metro.
The Results
Atlantic Metro continues to exceed expectations by delivering power and managed services that go beyond Vricon’s basic needs.
Atlantic Metro played a critical role in getting Vricon off the ground with the right network, data space, power, and support.
“There were so many different things that needed to be answered in different sequences that if it was just me doing that, it wouldn’t have happened in time,” says Chris.
“From the very beginning, they took us seriously when others wouldn’t.”
In their two years of working with Atlantic Metro, Vricon has expanded, too. In their second phase, Atlantic Metro helped them rollout four cabinets of blade servers in less than a week. They’ve also upgraded their bandwidth from 2 to 5 Gbps.
“That’s been important along the way, making sure the routes are kept reliable. We’ve got a VPN link between our Swedish office and our U.S. office. We need to keep that high bandwidth and low latency across the Atlantic.”
Now, with 28 U.S.-based employees, Vricon gets up to a quarter petabyte of bulk transfer data each month (enough data to fill a music playlist for 500 years!)
Without massive amounts of power and space, they would be unable to deliver their final product — world-leading 3D geodata and 3D visualization solutions – to the telecommunications companies, government agencies, and military organizations they serve around the world.
“Knowing that [Atlantic Metro] is actively monitoring and making sure it all works is massively helpful. They know enough of our network and how it works that it enables me to actually take a vacation. That’s the way business should be done.”
