Swiss internet service provider green.ch will launch its new flexible cloud service under the name Green Cloud in Spring this year.

Cloud services for all usual IT needs will also be launched, as well as Flex Cloud which will allow the mapping of dynamic IT infrastructures.

The services are based on internationally established standards and Green Cloud said it will store data for the services at its green.ch group data centers in Switzerland.

Flex Cloud is based on the popular OpenStack software, an open source architecture for cloud services.

In the Flex Cloud users can dynamically configure their computing power, memory capacities and networks in line with their own specific requirements.

Green.ch said this means the needs of small and medium-sized companies with just a few servers are met along with the needs of larger sized companies and corporations with several thousand servers, complex network technologies, top-level security requirements and load balancing between various data centres.

Customers will only pay for the capacities they actually use, related to the actual usage time.

The model is similar to web services of market leaders abroad with the only difference being that the data is solely stored in Switzerland.

The new service will allow users to adapt their system in line with any necessary modifications at any time.

Green.ch said the services are well-suited to applications that need to be set up quickly, require a high degree of scalability or need a highly customised configuration and are charged for on an hourly basis, in line with the “pay as you use” principle.

Flex Cloud is suitable for IT applications with capacity peaks or that are used for a limited timeframe, the services are also available at a significantly more attractive price than conventional infrastructures.

New standard configurations specifically designed for small and medium-sized companies will be added to the existing successful range of virtual servers by green.ch.

The platform used is the state-of-the-art Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V virtualisation technology from Microsoft meaning all Windows applications and existing Microsoft infrastructures can be integrated quickly and efficiently. 

The next step being planned is to make it possible to mirror Windows servers at the customer in the green.ch data centres at the push of a button. Green.ch CEO Franz Grüter  said this will herald a new era of data backup services at attractive conditions for small and medium-sized companies.

“With four data centers of its own, green.ch has the ideal basis for offering Swiss cloud services. As the largest hosted exchange provider and the biggest Windows hoster in Switzerland, we understand the needs and requirements of small and medium-sized companies as well as of large corporations. We will now use this experience to provide the entire range of private, public and hybrid cloud services,” Grüter said.