For the better part of 15 years, Datum has been offering customers business-class data centres and collocation solutions. They recently made the news with one of the most anticipated data centre events in company history: the unveiling of their brand new data centre in Farnborough, Hampshire.

The facility was designed and built by one of the company's partners, Keysource, and will provide the blueprint for Datum's future data centres located throughout the UK. The new Farnborough centre is located in the QinetiQ Cody Technology Park where high-security makes it a very attractive site.

At the grand opening were officials from Datum, Keysource, and QinetiQ. They were joined by more than 100 guests as well as Datum Managing Director Dominic Phillips and Data Centre Alliance (DCA) chairperson Steve Norris.

Norris was quick to point out the fact that the UK's economic future is tied heavily to data. The opening of the Datum facility is yet another example of data centre expansion in the UK. He further went on to laud the company for their commitment to deploying state-of-the-art technology that pushes the envelopes of high-efficiency and best practices.

Phillips, in his remarks, made mention of some of the facilities most important components: it is based on an environmentally intelligent design, it is carrier neutral, and it sets the stage for Datum to meet the needs of its enterprise-level customers well into the future. Phillips says his company will use the new data centre as the blueprint for developing others in the future. The new facilities are projected to be quite distinct from what is normally found in UK collocation.

Keysource was appointed to design and build a scalable facility in four phases, with high levels of availability and an annualised design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.25. The first phase of the project provides an initial 250 rack positions, with an average IT load of 3.5kw per rack, which has been developed to be easily scalable up to 1,000 racks.

The design has utilised Keysource’s approach to Modular Data Centre Infrastructure, which includes its proven Ecofris cooling solution that delivers world class levels of efficiency and performance. This solution has been scaled for future phases using standardised designs without the need for disruption or downtime. The data centre’s mechanical and electrical systems are designed for high levels of resilience including 2N electrical infrastructure, back-up power generation and N+1 cooling.

The site will provide flexible colocation of more than 40,000 sq ft of net technical space for mid-sized to large enterprise clients and IT service providers in a purpose-designed building. In addition, a separate 10,000 sq ft energy centre will be constructed to house all of the backup power including the UPS and generators with a total power capacity of 7.5 MVA to allow for higher density requirements.

The Future Looks Bright

Datum's recent grand opening is just one of several that have occurred in Europe over the last few months. The DCA's Steve Norris is correct in his assertion that data is the future of the UK. More importantly, high-efficiency design is the most essential component that will drive the future of data services.

Companies like Keysource will play a vital role in developing solutions that are scalable without the need for service disruptions or downtime. The design they put in place for the Farnborough data centre will be a test of how well they have implemented their strategic goals for scalability.

As Datum and its partners move on into the future, one thing is certain: they are ready to take their business to the next level. The opening of their new facility puts them in a position to do more for their current customer base and provide secure, efficient, and reliable collocation IT services to new customers.