How important is Networking in Data Center Growth? Google has 29 open positions

With Verizon purchase of Terremark, it is interesting to watch the Telco industry figure out how to grow.

On the other side, looking at Google growing into the Telco space is interesting.  Check out these 29 open networking positions at Google.

Google Mountain View – Global Network Operations

Here is an interesting surprise.  Look at the last job Networking needs a technical program manager who focuses on Space and Power.

The role: Technical Program Manager, Space and Power

Technical Program Managers will plan, facilitate, and manage the deployment of new services purchased from third party vendors and suppliers worldwide. You will work closely with design and technical negotiation teams to assess space and power requirements to support new capacity demands. The technical program manager will be responsible for creating the facility designs and statements of work to guide build outs within new and existing locations. You will work closely with the technical negotiators to understand the terms of new contracts and arrangements including delivery targets and other technical requirements. You will manage all aspects of the site deployment process with vendor to include: site surveys, daily vendor management, walk through and final acceptance to ensure facilities are delivered on schedule and to specifications. Technical Program Managers will be responsible for facilitating communications between all relevant stakeholders both internal and external.

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Google's next server innovation, optics?

Someone asked a good question on what Google server hardware looks like.  Decided to go up and take a look at who Google is hiring and found a position for Optics Hardware engineer.

The role: Optics Hardware Engineer

As an Optics Hardware Engineer, you will be creating useful systems for emerging computing applications in the real world. You will apply your experience designing optical systems to our projects. As a member of the R&D team, your skills will guide early component and system-architecture choices toward optimal performance, manufacturability and cost approaches for constructing highly integrated devices. You will use optical simulation tools and work hands-on to bring designs to life. You will work with other Optical, Electrical, and Mechanical engineers to prototype designs and plan for scale-up.

Responsibilities:
  • Design, implement, debug and characterize optical systems geared for emerging applications.
  • Evaluate and improve current processes and components.
  • Carry new design concepts through exploration, development, and into deployment/mass production.
  • Prepare documentation both for internal R&D use and for transfer of products to manufacturing.
  • Collaborate with other team members, including optical, electronics, mechanical engineering, and operations staff.
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Christian Belady fills Daniel Costello's position at Microsoft

I recently caught up with a data center executive to discuss who was moving where.  I told him Mike Manos was moving.  Reviewed a few people I heard had thrown their hat in for vacant positions.  Where there was likely a change coming.

One that just popped yesterday with a blog post in Christian Belady's move to fill the position Daniel Costello vacated at Microsoft when he went to Google.

The Gravitational Pull Was Too Strong

By Christian Belady
General Manager, Data Center Research, Global Foundation Services

Many of you may have already heard that I have change roles yet again in Microsoft. It was only 11 months ago that I had moved to Microsoft Research to pursue ground-breaking work in the Extreme Computing Work (Apples Don’t Fall Far from the Tree). In that time, I experienced the great opportunity of helping to set an organizational vision and build a team of Hardware Architects and Engineers, who I believe are second to none. It was a significant experience given to me by Dan Reed the CVP of XCG, which I am very grateful for. However, while their team’s ship has set sail on a course that I believe will transform the industry five to 10 years out, I realized that growing up professionally in a product development ecosystem most of my career, I do need more of an instant gratification. Combined with that need and the growing business needs of the Global Foundation Services (GFS) team, I am thrilled to say that I will be going back to my roots in Microsoft to be the GM of Datacenter Research (DCR), reporting to Kevin Timmons.

DCR will be an advanced development lab (versus a traditional research lab), whose horizon is one step beyond the datacenters we have on the drawing board today.  I am blessed to have yet another great opportunity.

2011 will most likely be a dynamic year for data center executives look for greener pastures.

One of the problems I was talking to with an insider is why data center engineers are not as well compensated as Network Engineers.  Huh?  If you didn't know a top network engineer can have a salary of $200-300K.  Name me a data center engineer who gets paid in that range.  Why the problem can exist is for many companies data centers are part of real estate.  Networking engineers are more closely aligned with IT development.  Networking engineers can quickly trace issues and fix networks in minutes, or bring them down in minutes as well as changes are made.

There are exceptions to this disparity, and the top data center talent is being drawn to where there are better opportunities.

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Mike Manos moves from Nokia to AOL

Mike Manos makes another career move, and lands at AOL.

I’ve Got Mail….A new Aol.

January 27, 2011 by mmanos

You may have seen the announcement today about my recent decision and move to join the new leadership team at Aol.  To some of my friends in the Technorati, and most specifically the Valley, this move probably seems very contrarian.  Having built some of the largest cloud infrastructure’s in the world, re-aligning operational processes at massive scale, Aol at first stroke may seem an odd choice.  I have worked in some of the largest multi-national companies in the world, I have successfully (and unsuccessfully) launched start-ups, have been a cost center and carried a P&L.  I think I have a pretty good understanding of the range and complexity of challenges (especially from a technology perspective)  from small business to large.   Across the spectrum of these types and sized companies you get a different feel.   Different cultures.  Different attitudes.    Different Vibes.

Mike has in a short period built an impressive list - Disney Interactive, Microsoft, Digital Realty Trust, Nokia, and AOL.

We'll hopefully hear more from Mike as he settles into AOL.

In the coming days/weeks/months, I hope to share many of the exciting things we will be endeavoring to accomplish and give you a real taste of some of the big changes I will be attempting.   As always, technology and operational processes will be key to the success of the mission the company is on and I have some very definite ideas on how we can leap frog current thinking in this space and ensure that our technology and operational approach is no only a strategic value to the business, but also industry leading in execution.

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Analysis: 4 reasons why Verizon bought Terremark

When Verizon announced its acquisition of Terremark I was meeting with Silent Partner's Kevin Francis.  We chatted about what it meant to the industry, and he quickly fired off some e-mails to a few others to discuss the implications of Verizon purchasing Terremark and how it affects the industry.

Kevin gave me his 4 reasons why he thinks Verizon bought Terremark.  Here is the official Verizon press release if you want to hear the official company line.  And where Terremark's data centers are.

Datacenters_Map

Reason #1.  What is the most valuable asset Terremark has?

  1. Control the largest and most strategic Latin American gateway in the US.       


                just as Google acquired 111 8th Avenue to create a gateway or hub for International carriers and ISPs to meet and interconnect with one another and Google, Verizon gains control of the largest access point for Latin American carriers (and therefore eyeballs) in the United States.  This gives them an immediate and frankly scary amount of control over the ingress / egress of US traffic to Latin American eyeballs and vice versa.  Global Crossing has traditionally been the one to “own” Latin America based upon their fiber assets in region.  Verizon now trumps GX by controlling the main interconnect point and peering fabric of NAP of the Americas.

What is the Terremark Latin American Gateway?

NAP of the Americas

Terremark's flagship facility, the NAP of the Americas®, is one of the most significant telecommunications projects in the world.  The Tier-IV facility was the first purpose-built, carrier-neutral Network Access Point and is the only facility of its kind specifically designed to link Latin America with the rest of the world.

NAP of the Americas - Tier IV South Florida Data Center

Miami has been ranked as one of the top-five best interconnected cities in the world, ahead of San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Terremark's NAP of the Americas makes Miami the only city in the U.S. where Optical, Ethernet, MPLS, Voice and Internet traffic is handed off in a single location.

Reason #2.  It's all about the cloud.

    2.  Cloud
                Verizon instantly has a viable cloud product available in the US and Europe which is built on Vmware’s Vcloud Express platform which Verizon also uses.  Both parties are members of the vCloud initiative and thanks to Vmware’s 5% stake in Terremark they effectively get $70 million dollars worth of Vmware’s money too.  Last September VZ put their toe in the water with Terremark and begain white labeling their cloud to circumvent their time to market problems they were experiencing building their own cloud product.  In addition, Terremark is huge in the federal sector thanks to their NAP of the Capital Region and has existing federal customers on their cloud (a feat few can claim).  Interesting to note that last November Terremark was selected to host the FCC’s cloud initiatives.  Is this leverage over the FCC for regulatory negotiations?? hmmm

Reason #3.  We want the people and their customers.  Note this supports why Verizon will let Terremark exist as a subsidiary and keep the Terremark brand.

   3. If you cant’ beat ‘em, buy ‘em
                Witness Cyrus One’s acquisition by Cinncinnati Bell and HyperTec’s acquisition by Bell Canada.  Carriers have realized that they don’t have the right personnel and intellectual capital to build modern, high density carrier neutral facilities. 15 years after deregulation the LECs and Tier1 operators are still saddled with a dated go-to-market strategy whereby they mistakenly believe selling non-carrier neutral sites will guarantee they control customers and gain all of their associated wallet share of network services.  Finally they are conceding to the fact that the 2nd generation of carrier neutral operators are running circles around them in terms of 1) acquiring emerging growth and tech centric customers (content, gaming, financials)  and 2) keeping them via sticky products like peering and Ethernet exchange platforms.   If you  can’t beat em’, BUY ‘em!  Adjunct to this point – I would argue that Terremark’s Design and Engineering team is one of the best in the market today. They deploy true Tier III sites vs Equinix and others (tier II).

Reason #4.  Security and Federal government market.  I was just talking to a friend who works for Department of Homeland Security and he has toured the Terremark Culpepper, VA data center which he says is one of the best secure data centers.

4. Security Expertise
                Terremark - Verizon has a huge managed security service provider division thanks to their acquisition of Cybertrust in 2007.  Terremark brings two key elements to Verizon’s MSSP practice.  1) Vision / Strategy.  Terremark is a leader in this area thanks to their acquisition of Data Return and their industry leading personnel like Christopher Day, Chief Security Architect.   2) Terremark has excellent knowledge and experience around deploying and operating secure systems in a cloud environment. This will prove to be a huge leg up on the competition as folks try to tackle the security problems associated with enterprise cloud.

Another analysis published is here, but they don't go into nearly as much depth as Kevin does and they don't make the point that NAP of America as the #1 asset.

DataCenterKnowledge posts on Verizon plans to keep Terremark as a carrier neutral facility.

Verizon: Terremark Will Remain Carrier-Neutral

January 28th, 2011 : Rich Miller

Can a telecom carrier own a carrier-neutral Internet exchange point? Many in the data center industry may be skeptical of the idea. But executives at Verizon insist that its $1.4 billion acquisition of Terremark will not mean any changes for Terremark’s carrier-neutral colocation business.

Peering sites work best in carrier neutral locations.

Terremark an Independent Subsidiary
“We have very specifically set Terremark up as a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Manny and his team will be independent,” said Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon. “We’re not going to try to cramp their style at all. There will be no moves to take certain customers out of play.”

“Our business model is not changing,” said Terremark CEO Manuel Medina. “Our carrier-neutral colocation business will continue as is.”

How will this play? The carrier hotel industry was born out of unhappiness with incumbent telcos and challenges in deploying equipment in central offices. After the Telecom Act of 1996 opened the U.S. phone market to competitive carriers, incumbent phone companies were directed to provide their new rivals with access to central offices to house equipment and make connections.

fyi, a reason I listen to Kevin is his company's business is advising clients on their network strategy.

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Next big carrier hotel to be bought is One Wilshire in LA.  Major tenants are.

MAJOR TENANTS:
Core Site
Data center and property management company
Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP
National law firm
Verizon Communications, Inc.
Broadcast and communications provider

Huh, Verizon is a major tenant.  Do I hear a bidding war for One Wilshire?  Google, Verizon, who else will join in?  Whoever can build a worldwide data center solution first has the advantage.

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