SunGard Availability Services Enhances Power Capability and Adds 8,000ft² of Data Centre Space to Meet Increased Demand for Managed Hosting and Cloud Services
London, UK: 14 December 2010: SunGard Availability Services, the pioneer and leading provider of Information Availability services, has today announced an expansion in power and space capabilities at its West London Technology Centre (LTC). The availability of an extra 8,000ft² represents a substantial addition to SunGard’s existing portfolio of highly resilient data centre space, which now totals over 260,000ft² spread across the company's four, geographically diverse UK locations.
Driven by both the rapidly increasing demand for managed hosting and, more recently, cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions, this expansion will allow more businesses to move their IT costs towards an operational expenditure (OpEx) model. SunGard’s shared services approach makes data centre space available at a fraction of the cost of any one company trying to buy, resource and power its own dedicated facility. It also addresses the concerns of many businesses that space and power supplies in the capital will be inadequate as data usage continues to rise.
“Finding good quality data centre space with sufficient and reliable power resources around London continues to be an issue for many businesses based near the capital and in its surrounding areas. With this expansion of our London Technology Centre, we’re able to provide a cost efficient way for businesses to handle the growing complexity of today’s IT environments,” said Keith Tilley, managing director UK and executive vice president Europe for SunGard Availability Services.
Steve Wallage, managing director, Broad Group Consulting commented: “The growing data needs of business are driving the search for more highly robust, secure and resilient data centre space in the UK and especially in and around the capital. While the notion of cloud computing infrastructure being anywhere is attractive, most businesses wish their data to remain in the region in which they are based. With data centres costing £5-7.8m per 10,000 sq ft to build and fit-out, is this really the best use of company resources? Adopting a managed services approach from third party providers that can guarantee the resilience and availability of data can therefore be very attractive.”
SunGard’s LTC offers businesses a resilient and secure environment in which they can create and host their own IT environments or take advantage of SunGard’s enterprise-class cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service solution. The centre is part of SunGard’s interconnected network of data centres which gives customers the option to spread their IT processes across the UK to help ensure they always stay connected to their customers. SunGard’s LTC not only delivers the full range of hosted and managed services but also includes backup and recovery services for systems – whether physical or virtual – allowing businesses to maintain productivity in the face of disruptions.
When LTC was launched in 2003, data centre usage reflected a 50:50 support spilt between managed hosting and recovery services. Today that ratio stands at 85:15 – reflecting how ongoing innovation has addressed customers’ evolving Information Availability demands. Continual investment in the latest server technologies combined with the expansion of the site has helped enable the delivery of recovery services from a proportionally smaller footprint. By using such technologies, SunGard has been able to continue delivering award-winning recovery solutions without compromise, whilst also increasing the space dedicated to its hosted IT and cloud services
“SunGard’s years of experience and expertise in Information Availability continue to attract customers needing high quality, resilient data centre space as part of a flexible, cost-effective solution,” said Tilley. “This expansion will help relieve the pressure on existing infrastructure and resources in and around the capital as a result of growing needs as well as the upcoming Olympics.”