On Monday 9 May 2016, Luxembourg signed an agreement with the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) for the provision of a data centre to the NSPA over a period of five years.
The agreement was signed between Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Étienne Schneider, and NSPA director general, Mike Lyden. Produced with the support of the Centre des technologies de l'information de l'État (CTIE), the data centre project will provide Luxembourg with secure infrastructure functioning as a backup to the information system at the NSPA headquarters in Capellen.
The data centre is expected to be operational at the end of 2016. The financial efforts for the installation, operation and maintenance of the data processing centre for the NSPA will be taken into consideration to meet the increasing international commitments of Luxembourg state defence.
“The project is the culmination of extensive consultation with Host Nation Luxembourg since early 2015," explained General Manager Mike Lyden. "From project conception, we have been honoured to be able to work closely with Luxembourg Centre Des Technologies de l'Information de l'Etat (CTIE) and Ministry of Defence to scope the requirement for this data centre."
The data centre project launched today will include a first implementation phase to prepare the physical site which will last into the fall. This will be followed by an installation and testing phase.
"Whenever possible, we invest in the defence effort so that it can directly benefit the Luxembourg economy," commented Étienne Schneider at the signing ceremony. "The establishment of a data centre can both support a key technology sector and consolidate the presence of an important NATO structure in the Grand Duchy by providing NSPA with a highly secure IT back-up."
Established in Luxembourg since 1968, the NSPA brings NATO support activities in logisitics and procurement into a single structure and provides multinational solutions. Nearly 900 people work at the NSPA site in Capellen, 80% of which live in Luxembourg.
The news followed the announcement earlier today that Luxembourg will withdraw its defense presence in Kosovo under the NATO KFOR mission.
Photo by Direction de la défense (L-R): Mike Lyden, NATO Support and Procurement Agency director general; Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence; Patrick Heck, director of Defense
