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Atman won the tender for the provision of colocation services organized by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. The BGK’s IT infrastructure will be transferred from the server room at the Bank’s head office to the Warsaw data center of the Polish operator. The value of the contract concluded for 4 years exceeds PLN 9.5 million.

In the tender for the provision of ICT equipment colocation services announced by BGK participated ATM SA (owner of the Atman brand) and NASK. Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego chose the offer of Atman as the most attractive in terms of the price, awarding it over 20 points more than the offer of the other bidder.

At the same time, the offer of Atman met all technical requirements specified by the Bank in the specification of the essential terms and conditions of the contract, including in terms of the location, equipment and security of the data center. Additional services were also important; they included i.a. migration of IT equipment from the BGK’s head office together with a temporary transmission service ensuring stable communication between the infrastructure already transferred and the resources awaiting migration.

After the tender procedure, in June this year, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego signed with ATM SA a contract for 4 years (worth over PLN 9.5 million gross) with the option of extending its duration by four annual periods. The total value of such an extended 8-year contract is approximately PLN 17.2 million gross.

Security above all

As a result of the concluded contract, the data center operator will place 26 racks containing ICT equipment from the BGK head office in one of its facilities, and will guarantee the possibility of expanding this environment by another 19 racks. In addition, according to the technical specification of the contract, the Bank’s resources will be located in the so-called box, which is a completely separate colocation area. This means that no unauthorized persons – neither other users of the server room nor data center service – will be able to even touch the racks of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

“We were looking for a reliable data center for the basic data processing center of BGK and we are glad that renowned operators competed in the tender. A guarantee of broadly understood security was our priority. It was followed by the question of accessibility – ensuring uninterrupted power supply and connectivity, which is extremely important for entities from the financial sector, such as BGK. We highly value Atman’s experience in providing colocation services. We are certain that the security and continuity of work of our infrastructure will be maintained at the same level as before,” says Mariusz Kłysiak, Director of IT Operations Department at Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

Atman Warsaw Data Centers meet the requirements of the TIER III standard for data centers, providing colocation services with SLA that guarantees availability of power supply at the level of 99.999 percent on a yearly basis.

Market with perspectives

Despite the growing importance of IT outsourcing and cloud solutions, many companies and institutions still maintain IT infrastructure on their own. Some, however, decide on colocation in a professional data center, taking into account, for example, cost arguments, problems with obtaining IT specialists or the need to meet regulatory requirements. This is confirmed by the results of research of analytical companies. For example, IHS Markit predicts that in 5 years the global market for such services will grow by an average of 8.4 percent per year, reaching the value of 38.8 billion dollars in 2023. That is 12.9 billion more than in 2018.

Growth trends are also visible in Poland: companies from both the private and public sectors are increasingly willing to transfer their IT environments to locally operated colocation facilities. No wonder then that – according to experts – the Polish data center market will grow in value – in 2023 it will amount to PLN 2.09 billion. The revenue is to be generated by added services, for example, in the cloud, but also by colocation that already generates about PLN 200 million annually for the industry. There are also many indications that this market can face further investments. According to the consulting and analytical company – Audytel, in 2018, the colocation space in data centers increased by 5 percent – up to 93 thousand sq m.

ATM S.A. is the leader on the Polish data center market and an expert in the security of data transmission and processing listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Under its Atman brand, it provides colocation and hosting services as well as cloud services in its own data centers with a total area of 13,600 sq m. Using its foreign links and fiber-optic networks in major Polish cities, Atman offers broadband services, including Internet access and data transmission. The main recipients of services are telecommunications operators, traditional media and online portals as well as companies from the financial, commercial and industrial sectors. More information is available at atman.pl.

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego is a state development bank – the only such institution in Poland. The Bank actively supports the socio-economic development of the country. While implementing strategic development projects, it finances, among others, major infrastructure investments, increases access to housing for Poles and stimulates the entrepreneurship of Polish companies in the country and abroad. It is an investor in funds whose assets are managed by the Polish Development Fund. The Bank’s employees have high competences in implementing projects aimed to develop the country. Taking care of the country’s sustainable development, the Bank is present in every region of Poland. In 2018, it began to expand, opening foreign representation offices – the first one was launched in Brussels. BGK has unique experience in financing, investing, granting guarantees and distributing EU funds. It plays a significant role in the implementation of the Strategy for Responsible Development which is a key document in Poland’s economic policy. BGK’s operations are based on responsible, ethical and sustainable business, which is why the Bank undertakes a number of initiatives promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, ecology and fair treatment of employees, partners and clients.