The Omicron wave is set to peak: In Germany, the incidence nationwide is higher than ever before. This makes the reliance of society and the economy on high-performance digital infrastructures even more important in the here and now. Such a reliance is the precise factor that the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association, is campaigning for in the political and public spheres.

This year, it’s not just the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the threatening climate change which will continue to drive forward digital transformation in the economy and society. “Digitalisation is part of the solution to many challenges,” says eco Chair of the Board Oliver Süme.

For the first time in Germany, we have a coalition agreement which features a close link between the topics of digitalisation and sustainability, with this agreement presented by the SPD, Bündnis 90/The Greens and the FDP on Wednesday, 24 November 2021.

Alliance Co-Spokesman Volker Ludwig: “Importance of digital infrastructures for growth and sustainability should be on the table in coalition negotiations.”

The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association, welcomes the fact that the EU Commission wants to implement the planned CO2 reduction of 55 percent by the year 2030 on the basis of the planned “Fit for 55” package.

The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, urges the new Frankfurt city government to tackle the climate and energy policy regulatory projects mentioned in the current coalition agreement which focus on data centres, and to do this in close cooperation with the digital infrastructure operators based in Frankfurt.

Summa one of 24 new Gaia-X AISBL Board Members DE-CIX as a blueprint for other Internet Exchange operators Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX, the operator of the world’s leading Internet Exchange in Frankfurt am Main, was one of 24 people elected to the Gaia-X AISBL Board during the organisation’s first general assembly...

Corona has certainly given further impetus to the topic of "digital transformation". An interview with Stefan Mink, Head of TechOps Infrastructure at 1&1 IONOS

In general, it has to be said that not even that many new concepts are needed. For our planet and for us, using proven technologies is already a huge step in the right direction. An interview with Sascha Oehl, Director Presales Cloud & AI, at Huawei Technologies

In the future, we will see a strong networking of machines, sensors and plant components in the industry. An interview with Uwe Laudenklos, Lead Business Area Manager Northern & Central Europe at ABB.

An interview with Michel Arres, Vice President Secure Power DACH, from Schneider Electric about market developments and the sustainability potential of data centres. The new environment will be hybrid: There will be cloud data centres, regional data centres, but also edge data centres.

Since its foundation in 2019, MEN@NET GmbH has specialised in network and performance analyses of the data networks of data centres. In a short interview, Thilo Hospe, Head of Sales and Business Development Manager at MEN@NET GmbH, reveals more about the company, how it is dealing with current challenges, and his expectations of eco.

With advancing digitalisation, the global demand for computing power is increasing, and with it the energy requirements for data centres. But the strong data centre infrastructure also means an opportunity for future energy concepts, especially in conurbations like Frankfurt am Main.

Sustainability experts from all over the world will present ideas and solutions for a more climate-friendly digitalisation with reduced energy consumption on the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) virtual “clean-IT Forum”.

Users of cloud services and digital ecosystems such as GAIA-X expect maximum data availability. The data centre business is a matter of trust, and that starts in Europe's data centres. Standards and certificates such as EN50600 and the Data Center Star Audit stand for security and availability of data, says eco data center expert Gerd Simon in interview.

One year after the adoption of the EU Green Deal, leading cloud infrastructure providers and data centre operators in Europe have signed up to a joint Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact – with this including the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association.

Conclusions for sustainable digitalisation were adopted at last week’s meeting of the EU Environment Council. Among other things, these stipulate that data centres should become climate-neutral by 2030.

Are European data centres ready for the climate targets of the EU Green Deal, to strengthen climate and environmental protection through digitalisation? A new study with best practices in the field of energy-efficient data centres formulates technological development potentials as well as policy recommendations.

Are data centres in Europe ready to meet the climate goals of the EU Green Deal? And what best practices can data centres already use today? The answers to these questions are provided in the new study "Data Centres in Europe - Opportunities for Sustainable Digitalisation", published by the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany in cooperation with the Borderstep Institute and with the support of the Vodafone Institute. In an eco netTALK on Tuesday, 24 November, we will present the key results of the study.  

According to a new survey commissioned by eco – Association of the Internet Industry,  56% of Germans  believe that digital technologies and applications can have a positive impact on the climate footprint in the future.

Dr. Béla Waldhauser, spokesperson of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures, advocates a holistic view of digital infrastructures, as they contribute to achieving the European climate targets & ensure energy-efficient use of digital applications.

Significant increase in energy efficiency: 12 times lower energy consumption per GB of data transmitted in data centres compared to 2010 Constantly decreasing CO2 emissions (30% less by 2030) despite increasing demands on computing power Global energy efficiency potential through cloud computing not yet exhausted Berlin,...

eco and the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures regard the German Federal Environment Ministry’s initiative as a successful start to driving forward sustainable digitalisation.

The goals that the German federal government is pursuing with its National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency Strategy 2050 are certainly ambitious. As a member of the government’s Working Group on Digitalisation, eco too is participating in the dialogue process to bring life to these goals.

eco Chair Oliver J. Süme: “GAIA-X paves the way for a new level of digital sovereignty, which at the same time goes hand in hand with high European data protection requirements and reliable IT security.”

On Friday, 8 May 2020 leading industry experts from different layers of the Internet infrastructure - including Access Providers, Internet Exchange Points, Content Delivery Networks, Data Centers, and Cloud Service Providers – will discuss how they are maintaining the Internet during COVID-19. John Graham-Cumming,...

The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of the eco Association, welcomes the decision of the energy ministers and senators of the German states to reduce electricity costs and thereby initiate a sustainable energy transition economic programme.

In times of the coronavirus crisis, the data volume is growing exponentially. And yet network operators in Germany are at a distinct competitive disadvantage, with electricity costs being four times higher than in other European countries. The Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany therefore calls for the EEG levy for data centers to now be lifted.

In the eco Association’s 25th anniversary year, Lars Steffen speaks to Thomas Rickert about the initiation of the eco Complaints Office, the CSA, and further initiatives for an Internet with Responsibility. Read more on dotmagazine.

Marc Fröse from ETIX Everywhere looks at the challenges of building data centers in highly diverse geographical and regulatory environments. Read more on dotmagazine.