Endor
Better Data Management with Hybrid IT

Most enterprises today are moving from legacy data centres that are self-owned and operated, to public, private or hybrid clouds and hybrid IT services. The common reason for this change is that traditional IT operations are not fast enough to keep up with the ever-growing amount of data being produced along with current computing challenges. “Partners weren't having this conversation with customers and that created a gap, which had a profound impact on businesses. That is what we built Endor on,” says Gunnar Gudjonsson, MD and Co-founder of Endor.

Endor is looking to capitalise on Iceland’s strict data privacy laws, green power and renewable energy sources, and favourable conditions for data centres. With the added advantage of the country’s low temperatures, the cost-effective data centre pricing offers a unique value proposition for enterprises around the world working with Endor. Iceland´s Modern Media Initiative (IMMI) prevents the disclosure of data to any third party, organisation or foreign nation. This ensures that data of enterprises stored on Icelandic data centre services cannot be seized by foreign governments using vehicles such as the US Patriot Act.

Hybrid IT is the future and Endor has trusted partnerships with various leading global IT vendors and service providers, where the goal is to make IT more of an enabler for customers. Endor’s hybrid IT approach provides enterprises with the flexibility they need to combine their existing on-premise infrastructure with that of the cloud in ways that are suited for different workloads. The Endor Cloud (EC) solutions are based on self-service and automation, where customers can monitor and automate their resource consumption.

Endor’s EC Storage leverages the capabilities of Scality RING software to provide a Storage-as-a-Service solution. EC Storage is deployed in three different data centres and has been designed as an entirely parallel, distributed, scale-out storage environment that offers petabyte-scale storage for software-defined data centres. As capacity demand increases, EC Storage allows for seamless expansion onto thousands of physical storage servers. In addition to raw terabytes, Endor has created value-adding services on top, such as file sharing capabilities. EC Storage provides low latency and faster access to data as all the information is kept in Iceland to meet IMMI requirements. Supporting a wide range of protocols, EC Storage includes an easy-to-use comprehensive management platform that is monitored round the clock.

Endor has played a key role in consulting on and implementing complex data centre and service provider related solutions. One of the most exciting ones is developed with ATOS, Endor´s premier strategic partner. The solution provides High-Performance Computing as a Service (EC HPC) to large international customers in various sectors, such as the automotive industry. EC HPC is primarily being delivered via a dedicated or hosted model but also via flexibility services where customers can access on-demand resources when cloud bursting is needed. On top of Endor’s solution, ATOS adds its own HPC application specific solutions and services. “The close partnership with ATOS can play a huge role in securing growing utilisation of EC solutions and the expansion of Endor into other markets”, says Gudjonsson.

The company also offers solutions that leverage the years of experience that Endor’s management team has amassed in the infrastructure and managed services solutions space. It provides customers end-to-end solutions that combine the expertise of its partners and delivers solutions that emphasise security, scalability, and efficiency. “As such, Endor takes on the responsibility of operating and maintaining the IT systems and functions on its customers’ behalf,” says Gudjonsson.

Endor works with an extensive partner ecosystem to deliver services to its customers. It has partnerships with many of the premier IT service companies that offer services and support for infrastructure, system architecture and design, as well as application development and operation. “The goal is to provide a partnership that successfully and efficiently meets the demands and requirements of our customers,” informs Gudjonsson.

Endor’s focus for the future is to partner with international companies that are looking to enter the Icelandic market because of the strategic advantages it offers. In terms of expansion, Endor is focused on the domestic market but plans to scale operations in a focused effort into markets similar to that of Iceland. Current ecosystem of partners that understand the value of Endor solutions and our services portfolio will be critical for success within other regions.