The carrier hotel at 111 8th Ave in New York, acquired by Google from Digital Realty Trust
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Data center construction was in full swing throughout 2010, as companies scrambled to meet the rapidly growing infrastructure demands of enterprises around the world.
There was a noticeable increase in data center buildouts and expansions, particularly when compared to 2009 — the year the recession really started taking its toll across all industry sectors, bringing many data center projects to a standstill.
Wholesale data center operator Digital Realty Trust was certainly near the forefront of all this.
In April, the company announced it was building out over 170,000 square feet of new turn-key data centers in five markets.
This would include over 53,000 square feet of data center space in Northern New Jersey, 34,000 square feet of space in the London metro area, nearly 30,000 square feet of space in Northern Virginia, over 22,000 square feet of space in San Francisco, and about 33,000 square feet of space in the Dallas metro area.
Then just two months later, the company announced it was acquiring five data centers in california, Arizona and Virginia from Rockwood Capital/365 Main.
The major acquisition would add another 919,000 square feet of data center space to its already massive footprint.
In the July 2010 issue of WHIR Magazine, Liam Eagle profiled Digital Realty Trust and its unique strategy of acquiring international facilities and leasing out the properties to other IT companies.
Terremark was another major player that found itself busy developing new data centers. In May, the company purchased 27 acres of land directly adjacent to its data center campus at the Network Access Point of the Capital Region.
Just a month prior, the company began constructing its third 50,000 square-foot data center at the campus, before completing the
The company opened its NAP of Amsterdam campus in June, which offers 25,000 square feet of colocation space within a facility inside the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Area.
In November, Terremark announced its plans for 2011 to expand its NAP do Brasil facility in Sao Paulo, expand its fourth floor of its flagship Miami data center, the NAP of the Americas, expand its Santa Clara data center in the first three months of 2011, and revealed plans to build a fourth data center at its NAP of the Capital Region in Culpeper, Virginia.
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft were all actively developing their own respective data centers in 2010. HOwever, environmental organization Greenpeace criticized all three companies in March for operating data centers that rely on “heavy” use of coal power.
Google began construction on a high-profile project in Finland in September where it is transforming a former paper mill into a massive data center.
The company also announced in September it was acquiring carrier hotel 111 8th Avenue in Manhattan and eventually closed the deal in December.
In February, Yahoo opened a new 180,000 square-foot data center in La Vista, Nebraska.
In September, Yahoo opened an energy-efficient data center in Lockport, Niagara County, New York. The building’s design was inspired by heat management techniques used in chicken coops.
Then just one month later, it began construction on a new data center that uses chillers in Avenches, Switzerland, which is scheduled to open in 2012.
Microsoft announced in August it would soon open an advanced data centers in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
In October, Apple said it was nearing the completion of its $1 billion data center, which is located on 225 acres of land in Maiden, North Carolina.
The year also brought along data center projects from some of the Internet’s most-frequently visited website.
Online auction site eBay opened a new $287 million data center in South Jordan, Utah in May.
In January, social network Facebook began construction on a 117,000 square foot data center in Prineville, Oregon in an effort to meet its explosive growth.
In August, the company said it would double the size of the data center, well in advance of completing the first phase of the building.
Microblogging site Twitter began constructing its own, custom-built data center somewhere in the Salt Lake City area in an effort to improve its service.
Finally, PEER 1 opened its new data center in Toronto, Canada, which will serve as the company’s flagship facility. In a seven-part WHIR TV video series, PEER 1 gave an in-depth tour of the ongoing construction process – from its early beginnings right up to the facility’s official opening.
No related posts.
