Service Provider

Addressing the shift in customer expectations

In a world where technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, customer expectations are also evolving rapidly. Business-to-business customers in particular demand greater efficiency, faster service delivery, and customized solutions that align with their sustainability goals. Colt, a global digital infrastructure company with a 30 plus years legacy of excellence, understands the criticality of these evolving needs and is committed to addressing them through cutting-edge solutions.

The company distinguishes itself with digital infrastructure spanning over 40 countries and connecting more than 1100 data centers, including major locations in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific region. Colt's customers include Fortune 500 businesses such as Hitachi, Atos, and Brussels Airlines, plus thousands of others. The company's network encompasses 32,000 customer buildings, offering a comprehensive suite of products from Ethernet and IP to VPN and Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) security firewalls. This extensive network features high-density routers based on a Cisco Silicon One architecture and offers end-to-end connectivity with a range of capacities.

Data center customers today are not only well-informed but also expect a high level of control and customization. They require networks that are simple yet efficient, and capable of delivering improved utilization and quality of service. Colt customers demand telemetry data regularly, so Colt is working to provide the ability to autonomously use services to monitor everything on the network.

Bart Janssens, Senior Specialist Packet Architecture with Colt, explains, "Our customers ask us to provide telemetry data from our network and their services so that they can enhance their own monitoring capabilities. It's all about giving them full freedom to consume the data."

Real-time visibility for self-service and revenue generation

With Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance (formerly Accedian Skylight), Colt gains real-time insights into performance, service quality, and service level agreements (SLAs) running across its routed optical network, giving Colt's customers a clear view of their service paths and performance. "For any endpoint in our network, we can see in real time how the packet moves through the core, what the total SLA is, and hop-by-hop how the packet flows from A to B," notes Janssens. "But more importantly, you can preview this on service intent, which means you can review all of that when you want to order a service."

Customers can preview network behavior and SLAs before ordering, and historical data allows for analysis of any service changes, such as latency caused by rerouting. "This is extremely powerful in terms of customer experience," says Janssens. "It helps to avoid tickets as customers can see themselves what happened with their service. This reduces tension and increases customer satisfaction."

Harnessing data to support improved sustainability and efficiency

To meet the dual goals of reducing energy consumption and providing scalable bandwidth, Colt has embraced Cisco Routed Optical Networking. This transformative architecture converges optical and IP networks using Cisco 400G QSFP-DD ZR/ZR+ coherent pluggable optics deployed in Cisco routers and enables the convergence of IP and private line services onto a single layer. Colt deployed high-density Cisco 8201 routers, which leverage Cisco Silicon One architecture, to provide high-density and high-throughput routing with a focus on efficiency and performance. As a result, Colt reported they increased their 400G capacity over 35 times while using a fraction of the energy and occupying minimal rack space. This solution significantly simplifies network operations and reduces costs while meeting customer demands for scalable and affordable services.

With its network generating a vast amount of telemetry data, Colt focuses on not just data collection but also its effective use. Traditional metrics alongside energy consumption data are crucial for calculating environmental footprints. Colt leverages Provider Connectivity Assurance to visualize and manage this data, supporting operational and environmental efficiency.

Since the integration of Cisco Routed Optical Networking, Colt has reported a stunning 97 percent energy savings. This is a result of energy and space reductions from replacing power-consuming transponders with pluggable optics and using the Cisco Silicon One‒based higher-density routers. This cost efficiency also allows Colt to remain competitive with its pricing. With the core European network running on Routed Optical Networking, Colt says it has met its sustainability goals and provided scalability for customers.

Future-proofing the network

With a vision to cover 100 percent of its backbone with Routed Optical Networking by 2025, Colt is on track to provide stable links and meet SLAs with the desired five-nines uptime. Routed Optical Networking is integral for all Colt products, from Ethernet to SD-WAN, ensuring quality and reliability for customers. The network's unique architecture gives Colt a competitive edge, allowing the provisioning of a diverse range of innovative services with unparalleled efficiency.

Why does Colt partner with Cisco?

“It's fair to say in the market lots of organizations have their moment of glory," notes Janssens.
“What is interesting about Cisco is that the moments come again and again. We saw Silicon One come out together with RON [Routed Optical Networking], which allowed us to keep growing. Plus, Cisco is always a partnership—they really listen to the customer."