MONTREAL – Bell has begun construction on a new data centre in the National Capital Region which is scheduled to begin operation in late 2012.
The new Tier 3 Certified data centre will provide Bell customers in the Ottawa area with co-location, managed hosting and next-generation cloud computing services, such as software as a service and hosted unified communications. Designed to meet LEED Gold standards, the 82,000 square foot (7,600 square metre) building will use green hydro power on a grid separate from most users in the region and deploy redundant utility components.
"The National Capital area market, with its unique mix of high tech giants and government departments, has been struggling to keep up with the demand for high-end, secure data centre space," said Stéphane Boisvert, president of Bell Business Markets, in the announcement. "This facility will help meet the demand for top-tier data hosting with an exceptionally green, cost-effective facility that supports the development of world-class technology solutions and provides high-speed access to one of Canada’s leading Cloud providers."
Bell said that three customers have already signed long-term co-location contracts worth a total of nearly $100 million for the new data centre.
