Latisys Completes Chicago Expansion

The interior of the Latisys data center in Oak Brook, Illinois, which has recently been expanded.

Latisys has completed an expansion of its Chicago data center, adding 9,000 square feet of high-density raised floor space, the company said today. Latisys has also accelerated the second phase of the expansion project, which is currently underway and will add an additional 13,000 square feet of space to the 86,000 square foot Oak Brook, Illinois facility in the third quarter of 2009.

The company said that 70 percent of the new expansion space was pre-sold, and the Oak Brook facility now houses approximately 70 managed hosting and colocation customers. Latisys has roughly doubled the size of its Chicago employee base since the beginning of the year and expects to add additional staff over the next six months.

Managed Data Becomes Latisys

Managed Data Holdings has changed its name to Latisys, consolidating three regional managed hosting and colocation operations into a single national brand. The company’s  recent acquisitions – Intelenet in the Los Angeles market, Data 393 in Denver, and Stargate in Chicago – will be folded into Latisys, with a new web site serving customers from all three markets.

“We’re taking the logical next step in the evolution of our company,” said Peter Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Latisys. “We are an emerging national services provider designed to meet customer needs for colocation and IT management solutions. And our strategically located data centers in different geographical regions let us provide cost-effective disaster recovery solutions.”

The name Latisys (pronounced LAT-eh-sis) combines the words “latitude” and “information systems,” which the company says reflects its national reach and breadth of services.

Managed Data Hires Syska for Expansion

The int.stargate.comerior of the Stargate data center in Oak Brook, Illinois (Stargate.com)

Managed Data Holdings continues to invest in expanding and upgrading the data center facilities it has acquired. The company has hired Syska Hennessy Group Construction, Inc. to design and build a major expansion of its recently acquired Stargate data center in Oak Brook, Ill. The 13,000 square-foot expansion will add approximately 7 megawatts of critical power to the facility, enabling Managed Data to provide a full suite of managed services at the facility.

The addition will give the Stargate center 29,000 square feet of raised floor space, with Managed Data projecting a full build-out of more than 65,000 square feet of usable space during 2009.

Managed Data Holdings (MDH) was founded in June 2007 by Catalyst Investors and Great Hill Partners. It has moved quickly to build a footprint in the managed hosting sector, acquiring three providers and quickly expanding their data center capacity. Here’s a recap:

• October 2007:MDH buys managed hosting Intelenet in Irivine, Calif and adds 12,000 square feet of new space.
• January 2008:MDH acquires Denver colocation and managed hosting company Data393 and accelerates a planned 10,000 square foot expansion. 
• August 2008:Managed Data buys Stargate in the Chicago market and starts a 13,000 square footexpansion.  

Managed Data Buys Stargate Chicago Center

Managed Data Holdings (MDH) continues to buy up data center and managed hosting properties. Today the company said it has acquired Stargate, which operates a large data center in Oak Brook, Illinois. The deal is the third acquisition for MDH, which previously bought Intelenet of Irvine, Calif. and Denver area colo provider Data393. Terms were not disclosed.

The Stargate acquisition continues the strong deal activity in the data center and managed hosting sector. Earlier this week the private equity firm ABRY Partners bought Q9 Networks, marking its third deal in the industry in the past year.

Managed Data Holdings said it expects to continue investing in infrastructure upgrades for the 86,000 square foot facility near Chicago, which was originally developed by Exodus and will continue to operate under the Stargate brand. MDH has funded expansions of the data center infrastructure for Intelenet and Data393 as well. 

“As the demand for high density data center space grows, we are committed to meeting those demands by increasing cooling and power capacity within the facility,” said Evans Mullan, COO of Managed Data Holdings. “These capacity increases, along with the full suite of managed services, including virtualization already available in our other data centers, will benefit current and future customers by providing both increased efficiency today and a clear growth path for future requirements. We will continue to deliver top shelf customer service to our existing customers at the center, and we’ll use our hands-on service approach to convince Chicago area business customers that our data center is the place to be.”

Managed Data Continues Building

Remember how Managed Data Holdings (MDH) accelerated the data center buildout at Intelenet, which it acquired in October? MDH is now following a similar strategy with its latest acquisition, colocation specialist Data393, which announced Tuesday that it is accelerating the addition of 10,000 square feet of data center space in its Denver facility. The company said the expansion is targeted specifically at meeting the growing requirements of its existing customers, and will be completed by April 2008.

“The demand for colocation and managed hosting continues to grow at an attractive rate,” said Brett Jones, General Manager of Data393. “We’ve heard from our current and potential customers about their needs for higher density power and cooling to support blade technology. Simultaneously, we are accommodating more growth space as businesses consolidate computing infrastructure from their offices to our data center. Our investment meets those needs with increased power and cooling while delivering greater options for tailored colocation bundled with high touch managed services.”

Private Equity Buyout for Data393

Managed Data Holdings, a data center holding company formed by two private equity firms, has bought Denver area colocation and hosting provider Data393, the companies announced this week. The deal, which will help Data393 expand its data center infrastructure, illustrates continuing interest in the data center sector from private equity firms.

This is the second acquisition for Managed Data Holdings (MDH), which was founded in June 2007 by Catalyst Investors and Great Hill Partners, and bought Irvine, Calif. provider Intelenet Communications in October. MDH’s strategy is to invest in data centers in Tier I and Tier II markets in the U.S. to meet enterprise demand for managed hosting, colocation space and disaster recovery services. Catalyst’s interest in the hosting sector dates to mid-2006, when it acquired Aplus.net.

The Data393 transaction fits a profile also seen in the CyrusOne deal in July - a private equity firm buys a provider that has an existing facility, customers and expertise, but may need deeper pockets to expand its data center infrastructure.