(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — IT research and analyst, the 451 Group (www.451group.com), announced on Thursday it has acquired IT think tank and professional services firm Uptime Institute (www.uptimeinstitute.org). The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Uptime is perhaps best known as the developer of the Tier Classification System, which is the industry standard for comparing the uptime of data centers.
The organization was founded nearly two decades ago by Kenneth G. Brill. With this latest acquisition, Brill will now step back from his managerial and operational leadership duties to provide strategic guidance and act a global spokesman for the organization.
W. Pitt Turner, IV, who currently leads Uptime Institute Professional Services business, has been named the executive director of Uptime Institute.
Turner will report directly to the 451 Group CEO Martin V. McCarthy, who also serves now as chairman of Uptime Institute.
“We are delighted to welcome Ken, Pitt and the 25 other staff of Uptime to join the 85-plus professional staff here at The 451 Group,” says McCarthy. “The Uptime Institute has a global reputation for integrity, independence and innovation in the areas of data center availability – uptime – and IT energy efficiency. For almost two decades, the proprietary insights of Uptime have served the most demanding data center end-user organizations, including most Fortune 100 companies, as well as leading US government organizations.”
As an independent technology-industry analyst company, the 451 Group focuses on the business of enterprise IT innovation, providing insight into the market.
Th firm also operates Tier1 Research (www.t1r.com) as an independent division, which analyzes the financial and industry developments that influence the hosting, communications and Internet infrastructure sectors.
With the acquisition, the 451 Group will ensure that Uptime Institute Professional Services continues and expand its Tier Program, which could be updated as early as next fall, in an effort to provide greater transparency and education.
