Europe Blog
Our views on the Internet and society
Keeping our data centres green and our employees safe
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Internet is a virtual place for most people, but data centres -- the large industrial warehouses filled with servers that power the web -- are anything but. We want our data centres to be both environmentally sustainable and safe places to work, so we make sure that that they meet the highest standards of environmental management and workforce safety. Our three owned-and-operated data centres in Europe - located in
Belgium
,
Finland
and
Ireland
- have now joined our U.S. facilities in receiving
ISO 14001
and
OHSAS 18001
certification.
In order to receive these certifications, you need to say what you’re going to do, then do what you say — and then keep improving. The ISO and OHSAS standards dictate what key elements are required, but it’s up to us to figure out how to follow through. So we’ve developed a comprehensive system of procedures and improvements that our data center teams follow every day.
Each of our data centres is different, so many of the improvements we’ve implemented are specific to local needs.
In Belgium, we use an evaporative cooling system that’s well-suited to the temperate climate. After cooling the servers, water runs through large cooling towers, where much of it is released as water vapor. This process is very energy efficient, but keeping the cooling towers clean and clear of outdoor dust is a time-consuming process. So the team tried a simple fix: they attached screens to the outsides of the towers, which allow air to flow freely but cut down significantly on the amount of build-up. This worked so well that our other data centers have begun to install screens as well.
Screens keep outdoor dust from entering these cooling towers.
In Ireland, we’ve found a way to use excess heat coming out of the server rooms to heat our office space. Hot air that would normally be sent outside through our cooling infrastructure is instead drawn over an air-to-air heat exchanger, where it is used to heat up incoming fresh air for the office area. This eliminates our need for gas heaters in the facility, and, like in Belgium, it’s working so well that we’re considering implementing it at other facilities.
In Finland, where
we cool the data center with seawater
, we want to bring the temperature down before sending the water back into the Gulf. So we built a “tempering hut,” where we manually mix the outgoing warm water with fresh cold water. We’re constantly tweaking the temperature and amount of the cold water to reach the optimal temperature, and we track that data as part of our ongoing efforts to monitor and improve our operations.
The tempering hut, the small building on the far left, is where we cool water down before returning it to the Gulf of Finland.
We want to lead the industry in environmental management and workplace safety, and we’re proud to be the first major Internet services company to achieve these certifications across their entire U.S. and European fleet.
Posted by Joe Kava, VP, Data Centres
Sparking Internet innovation in Slovakia
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Internet represents a powerful engine for export growth, allowing companies who found it difficult to reach foreign markets to do so with a few clicks on a computer. In Slovakia, a small open economy, a recent
Boston Consulting
report entitled
Slovakia’s Online Opportunity
suggests that exports will account for around 30% of the Internet’s contribution to Slovak GDP by 2016.
The
Slovak Alliance for Internet Economy
recently was launched with our help to accelerate this export-led Internet growth. Other members include successful antivirus software exporter
ESET
and venture capital consultant
Neulogy
. We used
Google Hangouts on Air
to organize the Alliance’s launching press conference for the press and general audience. At a separate lunch, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Slovak Republic and Digital Champion
Peter Pellegrini
addressed his pro-Internet message to government officers and public policy professionals via video.
The SAPIE Alliance aims to foster discussion and cooperation among business, NGOs, academics, government and public sector. It already has launched new online platform for startups called
The Spot
.
Stay tuned for more exciting initiatives.
Posted by Ondrej Socuvka, Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager, Slovakia
Celebrating data-driven innovation in Brussels
Monday, April 8, 2013
Update, April 22:
Videos of the innovation forum are now available. Take a look on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Foundation's
website
or below:
We now create as much information every two days as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. And this rich flow is destined to accelerate.
McKinsey
projects 40% growth annually in global data generated. To showcase the potential of data for Europe’s economy and society, we recently teamed up with the
European Institute of Inovation and Technology Foundation
, the
Bavarian Representation to the European Union
and
Euronews
.
The forum,
Data-Driven Innovation: The New Imperative for Growth,
debated how data can improve the delivery of public services, provide accurate healthcare diagnosis, and generate higher business productivity.
Androulla Vassiliou
, European commissioner for education, culture and multilingualism, and
Neelie Kroes
, European commissioner in charge of the digital agenda, both called for unleashing a Big Data revolution in Europe. "This is the new frontier of the information age," Vassiliou said. "In the current path to stimulate European growth and jobs, there has never been a more critical time to harness the potential of data."
Androulla Vassilou
Alfred Spector
Debate Room
Senior representatives of the education, research, policy and business communities presented compelling evidence of how data could address big societal challenges. Computer-powered DNA sequencing open the possibility of accelerating medical diagnoses. Online college courses could revolutionize education. Google's own Vice President for Research
Alfred Spector
showed how we use data for products such as Google Translate.
Data also is powering entrepreneurs. New online business models make sense out of data include social media power startups such as news organiser
Storify
. Its founder
Xavier Damman
explained how established organisations and top politicians such as BBC, the White House or UK Prime Minister David Cameron use his company’s services to share knowledge from different online data sources, including Twitter, Google+, and traditional media websites.
The concluding panel looked at the ethical aspects of collecting, sharing and using data. Among other examples, they discussed how organizations such as
DataKind
are bringing together data scientists and NGOs to address social problems ranging from dirty water to urban sprawl. While speakers stressed that data-driven innovation is not based exclusively on data about people, they acknowledge, that all data regardless the source and type requires making tough ethical choices.
The Innovation Forum aims to inject data-driven innovation on the Brussels policy agenda. As well as focusing on privacy and data protection, we also need to encourage the unprecedented economic potential of data.
Posted by Sylwia Giepmans-Stepien, Public Policy and Government Relations Analyst, Brussels
Global Impact Awards targets innovative UK entrepreneurs
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Cross-posted with the
Official Google Blog
From
cracking the human genome
to
advancing medical research through computer games
, British social entrepreneurs have a proud history of using technology to make the world a better place.
Last year, we launched the
Global Impact Awards
to support nonprofits using technology to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. We gave $23 million to seven organizations working on projects ranging from aerial technology that protects wildlife to data algorithms that ensure more girls and minorities get placed in advanced math and science classes.
As the next step in the Impact Awards, we’re kicking off our first
Global Impact Challenge
in the U.K., inviting British nonprofits to tell us how they would use technology to transform lives. Four nonprofits will each receive a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as Chromebooks and technical assistance from Googlers to help make their project a reality.
Applications open today, and registered British nonprofits are invited to apply online at
g.co/impactchallenge
. We’ll review applications and announce 10 finalists on May 22. At that point, people across the U.K. can learn more about the projects of the top 10 finalists, donate to the ones they like and cast a vote for fan favorite. On June 3, the top 10 finalists will pitch their concepts to a judging panel that includes us (Matt Brittin and Jacquelline Fuller), Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. The three awardees and the fan favorite will be revealed at the event, which will take place at Google London.
Technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and we’re eager to back innovators who are finding new ways to make an impact. Today we’re starting the hunt in the U.K., but we also know that nonprofits all over the world are using techy approaches to develop new solutions in their sector. Who knows, the Global Impact Challenge might head your way next.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, and Matt Brittin, VP, sales and operations, Northern and Central Europe
Bringing online a venerable Roman Catholic archive
Friday, April 5, 2013
Jesuits have published
La Civiltà Cattolica
without interruptions since 1850, making it among the oldest and most prestigious of Catholic periodicals. The title’s name translates as "The Catholic Civilization" and it offers a dialogue between faith and culture.
Today, at a press conference held at the Vatican, Civiltà Cattolica’s editor in chief
Antonio Spadaro
announced that a large portion of the publication’s voluminous archives were being made available online, thanks to
Google’s book project
. The older, public domain issues long have been available to users of Google Book Search. But now, La Civiltà Cattolica has authorized us to make the complete set of issues, up through 2007 available in full view, worldwide, for free.
Civilta Cattolica held a press conference today at the Vatican
The issues have been scanned from libraries around the world, ranging from the University of Michigan to Oxford to the Bibliotheque Municipale de Lyon. Examples are this
issue
from 1976 and this
one
from 2007.
The online archives illustrate La Civiltà Cattolica’s and church history. Easy access will allow researchers and readers to probe the publication’s much debated positions and influence on issues ranging from anti-semitism to the Second Vatican Council reforms.
This is only La Civiltà Cattolica’s latest initiative to engage its readers through the Internet. It is reaching out through all forms of social media, from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter. During today's press conference, Spadaro explained that sharing of the publication's digital content represents an important step forward in reaching global audiences of all ages.
We’re delighted to help offer access to such an important digital resource.
Posted by Giorgia Abeltino, Public Policy & Gov't Relations Counsel, Italy
Helping journalists stay secure in Somalia
Friday, April 5, 2013
Journalists around the world face security risks. Journalists in the war-ravaged country of Somalia face particular danger. According to the
Committee to Protect Journalists
, last year was the
deadliest year
on record for a country with a long history of press killings:
12 journalists
were killed in the line duty. The threat of violence has driven more journalists from Somalia into exile than from any other country in the past year.
Somali journalists protesting the death of one of their colleagues - Human Rights Watch iimage
In a bid to help improve Somali journalists’ personal safety, Google supported the Committee's project translating its
Journalist Security Guide
into Somali.
While the guide is designed for a global audience, a veteran Somali journalist reviewed the material for local relevance. It is our hope that many Somali journalists will find it useful in their day-to-day work. The entire Somali guide can be read, printed, and downloaded
here
. The Committee will also organize for tutorial sessions on the content in partnership with Somali journalist associations.
Just last week, the Committee reported that two gunmen waited near the home of a young Somali journalist,
Rahmo Abdulkadir
. The 25-year-old Rahmo had just left an Internet café in Mogadishu around 9:30 p.m. on March 24 with a friend when she was
shot
and killed. Her companion was not harmed.
Let’s hope that this deadly narrative can be stopped.
Posted by Ory Okolloh, Google Policy and Government Relations Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa
Helping French business go online with Google for Pros
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Internet generated more than 700,000 jobs in France between 1995 and 2010, according to a
2011 McKinsey study
. Through 2015, McKinsey estimates that the web’s digital contribution will grow to 5.5 percent of GDP, and that 450,000 additional jobs will be created.
In order to help reach - or better yet, surpass these goals - we recently launched a new program called
Google pour les Pros
. It aims to help 100,000 small French businesses get online by the end of this year.
Google coaches at the Unami Tea House in Lille
Many traditional French businesses continue to hesitate going online, fearing that it will require large investments, lots of time, and fancy skills they lack.
Google pour les Pros
aims to overcome these hurdles by providing an "on the ground" coach who provides personalised training.
We first tested the
Google pour les Pros
concept in the south of France. Results were encouraging enough to launch a full-fledged program in the north of France, around the region’s major metropolis Lille. This region has faced a dramatic economic transition, from fading heavy industry to new, modern services.
The 16 Google coaches we are deploying there are young university graduates. In the coming months, they will go from shop to shop, office to office, to propose their services, free of charge. Our partner in this ambitious operation is the
Greater Lille’s Chamber of Commerce
, which brings together 52,000 businesses. We will deploy coaches in other French regions throughout the year.
As we urge Lille’s bakeries, butchers, and other small businesses to get online, we already can point to success stories such as the
Unami tea house
. Owner Jean-Benoit Bourel opened an e-commerce site that enables him to export its products to the international market. "Now we sell in Marseille, Italy, Belgium, and in Russia," he says.
In a time of economic challenges, the Internet can help France regain its economic competitiveness - and its traditional strong small businesses win many new markets.
Posted by Clement Wolf, Communications, France
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