LuxConnect And Volta Data Centre Alliance Links London And Luxembourg

A partnership has been agreed between co-location providers Volta Data Centres and LuxConnect, with the aim of simplifying their clients’ expansion across two popular European hubs, in London and in Luxembourg.

The deal also provides extra security for clients as the data hosting services industry deals with challenges such as the restructuring of the EU and its regulations in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The two companies’ clients are able to more easily expand across two strategic locations as a result of the agreement. Capacity fluctuations in the two hubs will also be better dealt with, the companies confirmed at a ceremony in the Luxembourg Embassy in London.

State support

Volta operates a 91,000 sqft data centre on Great Sutton Street in central London, a site that was the former European headquarters of Reuters news agency. Volta announced an expansion of its data halls to a third floor in May 2016.

LuxConnect currently operates four multi-tier facilities in Luxembourg, which taken together total 158,000 sqft of white space. LuxConnect is a private company owned and established by the Luxembourg State, given the aim in 2006 of kick-starting the country’s digital economy.

BT, Level 3, Cogent, Verizon and Colt are present in data centres owned by both Volta and LuxConnect.

Data latency between Volta’s London centre and Luxembourg is 0.8 seconds, Volta’s managing director Jonathan Arnold told TechWeekEurope, the alliance allows clients to choose to enter into a contract with either Volta or LuxConnect, or sign one single contract with both, Arnold said.

Unexpected Brexit upturn

Tom Kettels, LuxConnect’s chief business development officer, told TechWeekEurope that representatives of both companies saw the value in linking two of Europe’s financial centres, although the alliance was not influenced by Brexit.

He said that although much remained to be decided after the vote, he did not predict drastic changes to the current state of trade.

“The UK will stay a very competitive market. If you want to be present in Europe you have to of course be present in the UK.”

Arnold nonetheless said his company has seen a “two-to-three-fold increase” in the number of enquiries since the result of the Brexit vote was announced. This unexpected rush of interest could benefit both companies in the newly announced partnership, with many enquiries expressing an interest in purchasing colocation space on the continent.

“Prior to our alliance we would have told prospective clients who have been asking about European sites to go and do their own due diligence – now we can say go and speak to LuxConnect.”

There is potential for the alliance to expand into another similar data centre in a new country, he said. For the short term, the two companies are concentrating on filling available space in their own facilities.

“Volta and LuxConnect both have space available for customers to move into immediately. We’re hoping the alliance is going to fill our respective facilities,” Arnold said.

“We’ve got 400 racks available. We’ll hopefully in the next 18 months be on our next floor, fit that out and fill it.”

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