Struggling UK service provider 2e2 has told its data center customers that they must help fund the cash-strapped company or their services will be shut off. 2e2 filed for administration (the UK version of bankruptcy) last month and has been unable to find a buyer. On Wednesday the administrators laid off more than 600 workers and discontinued many services.
The 2e2 administrators say that given the mission-critical nature of data center services, they want to continue to maintain the infrastructure so customers can migrate their data. That could take as long as 16 weeks, and there's no funds left, so customers are being asked to provide 960,000 pounds ($1.5 million US) just to keep the lights on for another week.
"In order to meet the on-going costs of operating the Data Centres, we will require customers to provide immediate funding to the Companies," administrator FTI Consulting said in a letter to customers. "In the event that funding is not provided, we will be unable to maintain the Data Centre Infrastructure and we will have no alternative, other than to cease all operations without any managed wind-down of those operations."
The 20 largest customers are being asked to provide 40,000 pounds ($62,800 US) each, with smaller customers needing to pony up 5,000 pounds ($7,850 US). The letter doesn't reconcile the disconnect between the one week of additional operations and the claimed 16 weeks needed to retrieve data, and how this will impact migrations.
2e2 provides data center and cloud computing services out of data centers in Gateshead, Reading and Newcastle. For more, read coverage in The Register and CRN UK.
