by Renee Israel
Bet365, the large UK online gambling and sports book group, has signed a
decade-long deal with a London-based fibre optic network provider in order to
deploy and manage a new national network.
The deal with Geo Networks Ltd. will come into effect from the beginning of
2012 and is said to be costing Bet365 gambling group over £3 million.
The new Bet365 optical fibre network will be deployed between the company's
key data centers in Manchester, Heathrow, Stoke-on-Trent and London. It will
allow the distribution of data across the network in real time and meet the
company's need to provide service to its players online.
"As player numbers continue to grow, we must find innovative ways to make
sure our infrastructure can meet the demand today and the growth we anticipate
in the future," noted the Head of Networks and Security for Bet365, Neil Selby.
Selby said that Bet365 gambling group requires a robust and low latency
network that is able to provide a seamless service to its hundreds of thousands
of players simultaneously online, "each of whom rightfully expect their odds
information and, of course, their winnings to be readily available."
Fibre Optic Network to Handle Bet365 Traffic Spikes
Selby also said that the nature of Bet365's business required that the new
fibre optic network have the ability to deal with huge spikes in traffic. The
deal with Geo Networks allows Bet365 to own the network and enjoy a greater deal
of control.
The new Bet365 network is expected to allow the company to
respond better to growing demands in the industry "with a scalable, reliable and
future-proofed solution".
This is Geo Networks' for foray into the online gambling
industry. The group's Chief Executive Officer, Chris Smedley said: "With
experience in providing dedicated fibre networks for some of the most intensive
organisations in the UK, Geo Networks will ensure that Bet365 will have the
capacity to provide its players with uninterrupted access to online services and
the infrastructure to react to peaks in demand."
Sedley added that the igaming industry presents a huge area for
growth as it requires a "significant amount of network capacity."
He admitted that although this was a new breed of customer for
the company, Geo Networks is nevertheless looking forward to developing its
experiencing in the UK online gambling industry.
Work will begin on the new optical fibre network for the Bet365
gambling group this year, with a view to beginning operations from the beginning
of next year.
