Startup Watch: In this part of Data Economy’s special on the startup scene in the data centre and cloud spaces, Dutch company Asperitas talks immersed technology.
Headquarted in Haarlem, Amsterdam, Asperitas is working on Immersed Computing since 2014.
The company doubled the team and strengthened the management team at the beginning of 2017. Asperitas will be launching its first product, the AIC24, based on the Immersed Computing concept internationally in London this March.
The Dutch cleantech start-up focus is on the European data centre and cloud market. Their technology and experience centre is part of their HQ, open for interested parties to experience Immersed Computing.
Soon more live showcase locations in various data centres will be open for public, the first one is expected to be in the UK.
Data Economy (DE) spoke to Maikel Bouricius (MB), marketing manager at Asperitas, to discuss the company’s current and future work in the data centre space.
DE: What is your 30s elevator pitch?
Maikel Bouricius, marketing manager at Asperitas
MB: Asperitas has one mission: greening the data centre and cloud industry by introducing Immersed Computing.
Immersed Computing is a concept driven by sustainability, efficiency and flexibility. Asperitas will be launching the AIC24, the core element of the complete and integrated solution portfolio with Immersed Computing for data centre and cloud providers as well as HPC environments.
Since 2014, Asperitas has worked on validating and developing Immersed Computing. Building on existing liquid immersion cooling technologies by adding integration of power and network components, improving cooling physics with a strong focus on design and engineering for usability, Asperitas has developed a complete and integrated solution which can be effectively utilised in most, if not all, situations.
DE: What problems are you trying to solve?
MB: It is quite simple, the energy footprint of the cloud and therefore datacentre industry is growing rapidly, as advanced digital infrastructure is increasingly part of all industries.
We need to think drastically different about how we design, build and maintain digital infrastructure and datacentres for cloud services.
Efficiency improvement of existing infrastructure based on air cooled environments is not enough, we believe a disruption is needed.
If you want to run your cloud in a green, efficient and clean manner, every day and everywhere, Immersed Computing is a great innovation for your business.
DE: How did the idea of creating the company come along?
MB: This is a story very illustrative for our company as we are all about shifting boundaries, engineering and forward thinking.
The founders of Asperitas (pictured at the top) are sailing fanatics, and have been exploring the world on a sailing ship a few years ago. They came up with the idea while being on an around the world journey.
Back in the Netherlands they started the development of modular datacentres with immersed computing for the maritime industry ships at first. This evolved in a more advanced and general applicable immersed computing concept.
This development went into a turbo mode when several development partners came on board. ADSE is an engineering & design firm specialised in high tech and aircraft engineering, Brink is a well-known specialized manufacturer from the Netherlands, and the University of Leeds is an authority on immersed and liquid cooling research and development.
We have been working very close together with innovative solutions providers, like Schleifenbauer and Perf-IT, we experience the collaborations as they are extended parts of our engineering team.
We received support from Netherlands Enterprise Agency during the development phase, as they expect our solution to have a great impact on the sustainability of the data centre and cloud industry in the Netherlands and beyond.
DE: What is your target audience?
MB: Immersed Computing has a great potential and benefits for various users. But specifically, it is ideal for cloud environments, HPC and edge computing. If you are seriously interested in reducing the energy footprint of your IT by 50% or more we have a solution for you.
If you are looking for a solution to increase the density of your data centre, we can offer 5-10 times as much density compared with an air-cooled cloud data centre.
Currently we are running an advanced pilot with our technology in collaboration with the Vienna Scientific Cluster, in Austria. But our main target audience is the cloud industry.
DE: What have been the biggest learning curves since starting the company?
MB: The learning curve has been a positive one, there is a wealth of knowledge and specialised expertise available when you have a good idea.
We have seen great support and partnerships develop in the last 1.5 years, since we really started Asperitas with the product in mind which will be launching in March.
DE: What is the roadmap for the company in the next 12 months?
MB: Our focus is fully on the launch of the AIC24 now. It is an exciting and dynamic time for us as we notice the expectations are high. We have been showing various prototypes and sharing our story earlier which have been received with a incredible amount of enthusiasm.
We believe the AIC24 is even better, as it is really developed from an usability perspective.
Maikel Bouricius, Marketing Manager at Asperitas, will be presenting a brief introduction of the company and Immersed Computing concept at the Finance and Investment Forum, on January the 26th in London, as one of the innovative start-ups selected by the FIF.
