90% of its 500 Carbon Neutral cabinets at EvoSwitch Data Center already filled
Leaseweb, the largest corporate hosting provider in the Netherlands that counts Starbucks among its corporate clients, has identified a strong Carbon Neutral market demand. Last year, Leaseweb put 500 racks into use at once in the new carrier-independent and Carbon Neutral Data Center EvoSwitch (www.evoswitch.com). There is a great deal of interest in Green Hosting, with 450 cabinets filled already.
Leaseweb manages a total of 1,500 cabinets and more than 11,000 servers located in five different data centers. In addition to the carbon neutral EvoSwitch data center, Leaseweb manages servers in InterXion, TelecityRedbus 2, Schuberg Philis and EasyNet. This forms the internet infrastructure that businesses use to host websites and software applications. Leaseweb’s hosting network accommodates millions of websites. “Of course it is difficult to know in advance whether customers will be interested in a new data center,” says Con Zwinkels, Managing Director of Leaseweb. “Particularly when it concerns a “green” data center. Although it’s a new addition to the market, we haven’t really had to work hard to convince customers of the commercial benefits it can provide.”
Arguments: corporate policy, electricity bill and performance
“Our cabinets in the relatively new EvoSwitch data center have proven to be popular with all kinds of businesses,” says Zwinkels. “You see that large enterprises in particular are opting for Emission Neutral providers that match their goals for corporate social responsibility. These larger companies have included “green purchasing” in their corporate policies. Smaller companies appear to be interested mainly in the lower electricity bills that come with green data center services, with which they can easily save 20 % on their energy costs. We are hearing this argument more and more, especially now that energy prices are soaring.”
Green Outlook for 2008
If the customers” current demand for “green” data services continues, Leaseweb will have to increase the number of cabinets at EvoSwitch considerably in 2008. “I think we may already have to double the number of cabinets in 2008,” says Zwinkels. “Fortunately we have plenty of room to grow at EvoSwitch.”
EvoSwitch is currently the only “green” data center in the Netherlands. In the second quarter of 2008, the total capacity of EvoSwitch is expected to double from 2,000 to 4,000 m2, with the potential to grow to 9,000 m2. The new rooms in the data center will have more energy capacity per cabinet than at most data centers: 4 to 5 KW. Zwinkels: “That is double the capacity usually offered in the market. Our customers will certainly be interested in this increased energy capacity, because this will enable them to use the cabinet space more intensively and thus more efficiently.”
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About EvoSwitch
EvoSwitch (www.evoswitch.com) is a carrier-neutral, “green” data center (CO2-neutral). Located in the Amsterdam region, it has an area of over 9,000 square meters in which businesses can safely accommodate their IT infrastructure. The data center has a total capacity of 10 Megawatts, with a growth potential of up to 20 Megawatts. With this power capacity EvoSwitch can guarantee that its customers will always have enough energy. EvoSwitch has 30 employees, including engineers who proactively manage customers” equipment. EvoSwitch operates on a completely climate-neutral basis. In cooperation with the Climate Neutral Group, we invest in worldwide projects to restore the CO2 balance in the atmosphere (www.climateneutralgroup.com). Companies that place their equipment at EvoSwitch can show that they are using a climate-neutral data center by placing the logos of our partner program The Green Fan (www.thegreenfan.com) on their websites.