Underwriters Laboratories Awards First-Ever Modular Data Center Safety Certification to IO

PHOENIX, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IO, the leading provider of next-generation modular data center technology and services, today announced its IO.Anywhere™ product portfolio has been awarded the industry's first-ever modular data center safety certification by UL (Underwriters Laboratories), the world leader in advancing safety sciences. Achieving UL Listing marks a breakthrough for the modular data center industry as companies are now able to demonstrate product safety to customers with trusted, powerful proof.

The UL certification is based on the new UL 2755 which is the world's first comprehensive safety standard for modular data centers. It covers installation of servers in a modular data center and safety of the data center's power distribution, cooling systems and smoke/fire protection – certifying these components work together as a system ready for deployment. To achieve certification, IO.Anywhere needed to pass a rigorous UL examination process which included preliminary investigations, risk assessment, structural analysis, thermal testing, illumination testing and documentation review.

"In the world of cloud computing, modular data centers play a vital role as they signify a key and flexible data infrastructure element for the next generation," said Kevin Ravo, Business Development Director for global high-tech industry, UL. "Having an industry standard – such as UL 2755 – will provide IT organizations the confidence in the safety of the modular data centers they deploy as part of this next generation infrastructure. We salute IO for becoming the first company to achieve this certification."

IO.Anywhere enables organizations to adopt a Data Center 2.0 strategy that shifts from real estate-based infrastructure to a flexible, sustainable modular installation which allows a company to align its data center more closely to business needs.

IO.Anywhere is a fully integrated modular data center system that provides enterprise-class, always-on information technology infrastructure. It enables organizations to acquire immediate data center capacity from a choice of delivery models including Data Center as a Service (DCaaS) and rapid deployment as a product, anywhere in the world. IO.Anywhere includes the first complete data center operating system, IO.OS®, to provide intelligent control needed to maximize utilization, resiliency and energy efficiency.

"The UL modular data center certification needs to be a must-have requirement for all organizations looking to deploy modular infrastructure," said Andreas Zoll, Vice President Engineering and Product Management, IO. "The UL standard represents integrity and trust, and we are proud to have this prestigious organization certify that IO.Anywhere is the first product to meet our industry's safety standard."

UL is also setting up a Standards Technical Panel (STP) following the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) process for the publication of UL 2755 as an ANSI Standard.  In the international arena, UL has initiated a proposal through the IEC Standards development process to include this in the relevant IEC standard.

About IO
IO designs, engineers and delivers data center infrastructure for the world's largest enterprises, governments and service providers. IO owns and operates data centers for hundreds of customers, and has leveraged this experience to build a next-generation Data Center 2.0 cloud enabling technology platform. IO.Anywhere™ modular data centers provide enterprise-class infrastructure that can be delivered as Data Center as a Service and rapidly deployed as a product to customer sites anywhere in the world. IO developed the first data center infrastructure operating system, IO.OS®, to provide the intelligent control needed to maximize utilization, resiliency and energy efficiency. IO is a privately held company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information on IO, please visit us on the web at io.com.

About UL
UL is a premier global safety science company with more than 100 years of proven history. Employing nearly 9,000 professionals in 46 countries, UL is evolving the future of safety with five distinct business units – Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Verification and Knowledge Services – to meet the expanding needs of customers and the global public. For more information on UL's family of companies and network of 95 laboratory, testing and certification facilities, go to UL.com.                

IO and the IO logo are trademarks of IO. © 2012.

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