The activities of Arcadiz and LCL are closely linked. Founded in 1999, Arcadiz initially built and maintained mission-critical networks for operators, utilities, and companies with their own fibre infrastructure. In 2017, Arcadiz established its own backbone network connecting around 50 data centers in the Benelux region. Connecting them with premium connectivity, differentiated by its high availability, low latency, and high capacity. "Because LCL Brussels-North is one of the two most important hubs for international connectivity in Belgium, it was only natural that we started our success story there," says Founder and CTO Marc Vandeputte. "I strongly believe in co-creation between LCL and Arcadiz to offer customers excellent service in the data center."

In the early years, Arcadiz had its own server rooms in Haasrode, but these have now been completely transferred to LCL and other data centers. "With a delay of sub-1 millisecond to our servers, we have perfect connectivity. It's like working on your own local hard drive. So, we don't need our own data center," says Marc Vandeputte. "An additional, but important advantage is that we have assured power supply and are also physically extra protected, for example in case of fire."

Guaranteed availability

Super-fast connections and guaranteed availability are crucial for Arcadiz. "We offer 99.9995 percent availability, also considering external events such as a break in the fibre optic cable or power outages. For our major customers (banks, large industrial players, governments, pharmaceutical companies, local integrators, operators, media companies, etc.), we are instrumental in guaranteeing the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of their data. It is important for these organisations to have their data synchronized between geo-diverse locations. We offer them the highest encryption standards and the lowest latency by selecting or building the shortest possible routes between their data centers. With applications and security emerging in the cloud in the FLAPD cities (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin), we expanded this secure and low latency vision to important centers in Amsterdam, Paris, and Frankfurt, among others. For example: round-trip Brussels-Amsterdam is 3ms with 0,075 ms jitter and zero packet loss, significantly surpassing what is achievable via the internet.”

“To achieve this, we lit around 4000 kilometres of carefully selected fibre, stitched together with our own fibre infrastructure resulting in the shortest possible redundant routes.”

Growing without running out of breath

LCL provides more than state-of-the-art infrastructure, says Marc Vandeputte. "The open communication and customer focus ensures smooth cooperation. We are not afraid to come up with solutions together, such as the pay-as-you-grow model, which allows you to nurture growth ambitions without running out of breath along the way. This co-creative attitude is also useful for developing innovations that help the data center company's customers, with LCL taking care of the housing and Arcadiz taking care of the connectivity."

ESG chain responsibility

LCL's efforts and achievements in sustainability are a valuable asset in Arcadiz's value chain. As a carrier and leading core routing, switching and optical network integrator, Arcadiz observes a growing trend where governments and larger enterprises increasingly integrate ESG into their purchasing decisions and business relationships. "We see a sort of chain responsibility emerging," says Marc Vandeputte. "It's important for LCL and all our other suppliers to set the bar high - and be able to substantiate it with various certifications."
The incorporation of sustainability into LCL's strategy adds value because Arcadiz's clients have increasing demands concerning sustainability. “The demand is loudest in the Netherlands, where ISO 27001 (information security) was required for governments and large enterprises well ahead of their Belgian counterparts. They are now also required to achieve measurable objectives such as ISO 14001 (environmental management), along with a minimum score from EcoVadis.”

Solar panels

With 150 solar panels on the roof powering electric cars and air conditioning, the overall ecological impact of Arcadiz primarily comes from carefully chosen suppliers. Marc Vandeputte: "We are building an efficient infrastructure with fibre optic cable, minimising consumption per transported bit. For this, we rely on suppliers who demonstrably prioritise sustainability, something our customers demand. LCL's pursuit of a PUE (Power Usage Efficiency) of 1.3, for instance, supports our market value."