Earlier this year IBM, in conjunction with China-based Range Technology, announced plans to build the world’s largest data centre. Construction on what will be a 6.2-million sq ft facility is under way and should be completed in 2016. The data centre, located in the city of Langfang, is designed to deliver cloud computing services to the Hebei Province, a region bordering the northern China metropolises of Tianjin and Beijing.

TelePacific Communications, a provider of integrated voice and data telecommunications services in California and Nevada, has announced it has completed the acquisition of Orange County Internet Xchange, a dedicated provider of carrier class colocation services.

OCiX operates a 10,000 sq ft SAS 70 Type II certified facility located in Santa Ana, California. TelePacific plans to expand the facility to 18,000 sq ft in the near future.

Source: Sacramento Bee

21Vianet Group, the largest carrier-neutral Internet data centre services provider in China, has announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2011.

Net revenues increased by 125.2% to RMB210.6 million (US$32.2 million) from RMB93.5 million in the prior year comparative period. -- Adjusted EBITDA increased by 246.8% to RMB43.0 million (US$6.6 million) from RMB12.4 million in the prior year comparative period.

Source: American Chronicle

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Data centre operator Teraco Data Environments has secured a further R158m in funding. The financing includes both equity and debt, with the World Bank’s International Finance Corp and the Development Bank of Southern Africa providing R80m in senior debt.

The financing will be used to support Teraco’s growth, with its Johannesburg data centre to be expanded to three times its current size and two new facilities opening in Durban and Cape Town.

Source: Tech Central

IT outsourcing is set for major growth, according to a new report by Prof Joe Peppard of Cranfield School of Management, which was commissioned by Irish-owned I.T. Alliance. Peppard suggests there is a pent-up demand in the marketplace for technology which will cause the global tier one outsourcing firms themselves to increasingly look to trusted outsourcing partners.

NextDC founder Bevan Slattery has unveiled plans for the company's Brisbane data centre to provide interconnections with state and local government fibre networks. Speaking at a function hosted by Hall and Wilcox Lawyers this week, Slattery stressed that NextDC would win on quality and carrier-neutrality, just as Pipe Networks had when up against the big telcos in the fibre market.

OnX Enterprise Solutions has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Technology Solutions Group from Agilysys, a leading provider of innovative, enterprise-class IT solutions. The US$474 million-revenue Technology Solutions Group business was purchased for US$64 million by OnX. OnX Enterprise Solutions, an industry-defining designer and operator of mission-critical computing environments, is based in Toronto, Canada, with offices in the United States and Europe.

A question mark is hanging over Hewlett-Packard's commitment to build a NZ$60 million data centre in the Waikato after the company repeatedly declined to respond to speculation from within the computer industry that it had shelved the initiative.

General Motors Co. will invest US$130 million on the campus of its Warren Technical Center for a new enterprise data centre. GM Vice President and Chief Information Officer Terry Kline said the "state-of-the-art" Information Technology Operations and Command Center will be a the hub for monitoring the Detroit automaker's technology data from around the world.

WAN-optimization start-up Infineta has raised US$15 million in a Series B funding round for its product that speeds traffic flows between data canters and optimizes bandwidth utilization.

The latest investment comes from Rembrandt Venture Partners, Alloy Ventures and North Bridge Venture Partners, and the company has now raised US$30 million in two rounds.

Source: Gigacom

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Telefonica is close to buying Acens, a Spanish company that specialises in cloud computing, for about €75 million, Spanish media reported, citing unidentified people close to the negotiations.

Acens is controlled by Nazca, a private-equity firm, and is present in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao; Telefonica plans to use it to merge more than 100 data centres throughout the world into six, of which two will be in Europe and two in Latin America.

Source: Bloomberg

Global leti%9fim, an information technologies and telecommunications subsidiary of Turkey’s Yldz Holding, aims to become a regional data saving hub with fresh investments totalling 12 million Turkish Liras, according to its top executive.

Seattle’s Sabey Data Center Properties has bought a 1-million sq ft tower in New York City for US$120 million from M&T Bank and Taconic Investment Partners and plans to convert it into a data centre. The Intergate Manhattan building was once home of Verizon. Sabey plans to convert it into a data centre serving multinational companies and other firms looking for server space in New York City.

Equinix, a provider of global data centre services, has announced plans to build a third International Business Exchange data centre in Amsterdam, just six months after the official opening of AM2, the second IBX in the same market, indicating strong demand for Equinix data centre services.

PPL, working through the permitting process, will develop a 115,000 sq ft data and operations centre in Upper Macungie Township. If all goes smoothly, ground will break in the fall.

The centre will be built on a 12-acre site near Route 100 and Interstate 78, about 10 miles west of PPL's international headquarters in downtown Allentown. Completion is pencilled for late 2012.

 Source: Citybiz

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Google officials are moving forward with a US$600 million data centre project in Pryor that’s expected to bring in dozens of jobs to the state. Google will eventually employ 100 at the facility in the MidAmerica Industrial Park, Matt Dunne, a spokesman for Google, said.

unit Citi Venture Capital International will acquire the company for US$307 million in cash. CVCI will pay US$7.75 per share for Ness, 17.6% over the company's closing price on Nasdaq on Thursday.

Ness CEO Sachi Gerlitz described the acquisition as a new beginning said that he believed the company would continue to operate. He said "In my opinion in another four years the company could be in line for a renewed public offering."

Source: Globes

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French IT services provider Prosodie has acquired website hosting specialists Internet-Fr and Level IP. France-based Internet-Fr and Italy-based Level IP are positioned in internet application hosting.

The sector of activities covered by these two entities will offer an addition to Prosodie's outsourcing division. Internet-Fr manages two data-centres that will complement the four production sites that Prosodie manages.

Source: Telecom Paper

ARI, a provider of technology-enabled solutions that help dealers, distributors and manufacturers, has reported results for its third quarter ended April 30, 2011. The Company posted a significant increase in operating income, net income and earnings per share, as well as organic growth in revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

National data centre service provider, CoreLink Data Centers, has announced today it has named CB Richard Ellis as the exclusive leasing agents and national service provider for its 81,000 sq ft suburban Chicago Data Center located at 800 E. Business Center Drive in Mt. Prospect, IL.

Source: Sacramento Bee

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Cisco has announced that it has developed the ICT master plan for the Jazan Economic City, a 100-million sq m "smart city" project on the Red Sea. The Cisco team worked alongside JEC developers Malaysian MMC and the Saudi Bin Laden Group to create the network architecture plan that will connect the city and provide smart services.

DataBank Holdings, a Dallas-based data centre operator, and Avista Capital Partners, a private equity firm, have announced that Avista has acquired DataBank from Freeman Group, a private investment firm. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

DataBank provides managed data centre services to over 80 customers, including several Fortune 500 enterprises. DataBank's existing data centre facilities are located in the former Federal Reserve Bank building in Dallas' downtown central business district.

Source: PR Newswire

H & R Real Estate Investment Trust and H & R Finance Trust announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Amongst the facts they stated, that Subsequent to March 31, 2011, H & R REIT acquired an 80,000 sq ft data centre in Lithia Springs, Georgia for a purchase price of U.S. $60.8 million. The property is leased for 20 years to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP;

Source: American Chronicle

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Telstra is set to build a new 2000 sq m data centre in Melbourne as part of its A$800 million, five-year Cloud services agenda. The expenditure will also include modernising the facilities at existing Telstra data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, expanding the telco’s enterprise applications, launching an online partner portal, and enhancing T-Suite software-as-a-service capabilities.

Telstra's chief operations officer, Brendon Riley, said the new Melbourne facility will increase its data centre capability by more than 40% and provide Cloud requirements for "many years to come".

Technoparc Montréal and Canix Colo have announced the launch of a TIER III data centre, the first of its kind in Quebec. Designed for a maximum of three clients, this new centre redefines colocation for organizations that need an IT room ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 sq ft.

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has announced the successful installation of the first Tier IV data centre with Saudi Telecom Company (STC) - the national provider of telecommunication services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A Halifax telecommunications company has reached a deal to buy a rival firm, also located in the city’s downtown. Internetworking Atlantic has announced that it will be acquiring AirFire Telephone and Data. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. AirFire provides a variety of services similar to those offered by Internetworking Atlantic, including Internet access and data centre services.

After announcing its strategy for devices last week, Chinese network equipment major Huawei India is now looking to tap opportunities in the enterprise services space. The company has launched its cloud computing services, whereby it will provide platform based on the cloud to its telecom service providers that will give them service agility and help them launch applications in a more cost-effective manner.

Melbourne-based data centre provider, NextDC's strategy to be the country's largest operator has come one step closer with the unveiling of more details about its tier three M1 facility set to be completed in November 2011.

Responding to recent press speculations, British telecommunications firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide has confirmed that its board considered and rejected the approach received for its Global business. "The Board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc notes the recent press speculation in relation to an approach for its Global business. The Board has considered and rejected that approach," the company said in a statement.

The Land Transportation Office is preparing the bidding for the contract to provide information technology and interconnectivity services to agency. According to LTO chief Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres, the formulation of a comprehensive terms of reference for the IT contract will be on top of her priority list.

Web hosting provider The Netregistry Group has announced it has acquired the customers and assets of Australian web hosting provider Distribute.IT as well as its subsidiary Click n. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Barrister Place Building downtown and the Phoenix Sky Harbor Center will become the home of a multimillion-dollar data centre and bioscience hub that will link disjointed sectors of the health-care industry to more efficiently care for patients and develop medical breakthroughs. The Phoenix City Council has struck a deal with an organization headed by health-care visionary Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong to bring the supercomputer project to Phoenix.

A third of IT managers and users in the travel sector are "unsure" that their disaster recovery plans would work successfully after a technology failure. UK data centre hosting firm City Lifeline interviewed 105 attendees at this year’s Travel Technology show to measure disaster recovery plans in the travel industry.

Next Generation Network Solutions (NGNS), a Bahrain-based provider of customised network solutions, plans to launch a range of products and services to cater to business organisations of any size and background.

Among the offerings will be a state of the art data centre facility, which will ensure world-class platforms for dedicated or shared hosting, enabling safe and secure data storage and backup. NGNS is to further provide business continuity and disaster recovery services, with the capacity to offer remote backup solutions both locally and globally.

Zayo, a provider of bandwidth infrastructure services and carrier-neutral colocation, has announced that it will be expanding its fibre network inCincinnati,Ohioas part of an agreement to deliver services for one of its large wholesale customers.

Several miles of new network will be added as a result of this expansion. These newly built miles will add to Zayo’s existing network in theCincinnati’s central business district and surrounding area. As part of the expansion, Zayo will double its on-net building count inCincinnatiand will bolster the route diversity.

Network and connectivity service provider Sidera Networks several days ago that it has extended its premium quality fibre optic network to well known DuPont Fabros Technology web hosting data centre in New Jersey, US.

The tenants at NJ1 now have access to financial exchanges and carrier hotels through Sidera’s Xtreme Network. DuPont Fabros’ NJ1 web hosting data centre is a network node on Sidera’s network and is connected to 111 Eighth Avenue and 165 Halsey Street.

Source: Great Responder

StrataScale has announced its expansion into a data centre building, owned and operated by its parent company in Northern Virginia. The company has been making marked progress in North California and the data centre addition is the latest accomplishment based on StrataScale’s sales projections and corporate goals.

CoreSite Realty, aUSprovider of data centres, has announced the company has been selected by Silicon Valley Power as a 2011 Energy Innovator award winner. In addition, CoreSite was awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute at the first of its four plannedSanta Claracampus data centres.

Microsoft is making its biggest move into the mobile, Internet-accessible world of 'cloud' computing this week, as it takes the wraps off a revamped online version of its hugely profitable Office software suite. The world's largest software company is heaving its two-decade old set of applications into an online format so that customers can use them on a variety of devices from wherever they can get an Internet connection.

Cushman & Wakefield has been awarded the repositioning and agency leasing assignment for the Class A corporate campus located at 300 & 400 Puritan Way in Marlborough, Mass. Owned by Fidelity Investments, 300 & 400 Puritan Way is a two-building 750,000 sq ft corporate campus located just off I-495's Exit 23C. As well as offices, the campus offers data centre infrastructure, multiple cafeterias and a fitness centre.

To accommodate its growing customer list, Access Northeast, a data centre managed services provider in New England, has completed building a new 10,000 sq ft raised floor project and also signed a long-term lease for another 40,000 sq ft of space.

This additional space will enable Access Northeast to enhance the existing data centre space in Marlborough to nearly 25,000 sq ft. The new lease provides a future road map for the continued growth of the company's Parthenon Cloud platform, as well as their colocation service offerings, in a contiguous 70,000 sq ft footprint.

Involta has announced plans to build and operate a 20,000 sq ft hardened enterprise data centre in Duluth, Minnesota. While final approvals from local agencies are still pending, design of the facility is currently underway.  The high-security colocation data centre will house mission critical computer systems and related components for healthcare organizations, businesses, government and educational institutions.

UK Grid, a provider of carrier neutral colocation solutions, has announced that its expansion work at one of their Manchester data centre facilities, known as ‘Manchester One’ at Synergy House on Manchester Science Park, has been completed.

The Benaroya Company, Real Property Investors and O'Keefe companies have joined forces to acquire, develop and operate data centres. The three companies have been partners on a variety of commercial projects over the past 25 years. These projects have included the acquisition and development of data centres, high tech business parks, office buildings, industrial parks and shopping centres.

Nasza Klasa has successfully moved all its servers to the ATM's Telehouse Poland. It took 7 months to migrate the social network company and was one of the most advanced operations of this kind so far carried out on the Polish IT market. The migration did not reportedly cause any interruption in the supply of services.

iovation, which protecting online businesses from fraud and abuse, has announced the addition of a new data centre in Seattle, Washington. The new facility will enhance iovation’s high availability solutions and provide the additional capacity necessary to manage growing customer demand in all of the vertical markets that it serves.

Australia’s ‘dirty’ energy sources and carbon tax debate could be deterring international cloud service providers from establishing on-shore data centres, according to Gartner analysts.

Gartner research vice president Marcus Blosch believes multinational IT service providers are concerned that electricity costs could become prohibitively high should a carbon tax be introduced. Australia was found to be among “high-emission intensity countries” that uses fossil fuels to generate the majority of its electricity, according to a report Gartner published earlier this year.

Brisbane's Dedicated Servers has bought competitor Burst Networks for an undisclosed sum. Burst, run by a former employee of Dedicated Servers, operates virtual private servers from Dedicated Servers' Brisbane data centre and the Vocus data centre in Sydney.

Dedicated chief Jon Eaves told iTnews that about 70% of Burst's services ran on infrastructure owned by Dedicated. He said about 20 Burst servers would be shifted into Dedicated's data centre in Brisbane. Burst's servers in Sydney would remain in the Vocus Sydney data centre.

Source: IT News