Verizon enables 100G on its network.  Verizon (VZ) announced it will upgrade its IP network infrastructure in select U.S. markets, deploying Cisco’s CRS-3 Carrier Routing System platform. Beginning in the first half of 2012 the CRS-3 routers will extend Verizon’s next-generation 100G capabilities by terminating high-speed connections closer to the ‘edge’ to enable growth where traffic demand is the greatest. The CRS platform also plays a key role in Verizon’s network evolution strategy to IPv6, by providing the flexibility to support the anticipated wave of IPv6 services while continuing to expand and sustain IPv4 services. “We’re constantly seeking to improve the Verizon IP network to support traffic growth, improve performance and increase functionality,” said Ihab Tarazi, vice president of global IP and transport planning and technology for Verizon. “Upgrading the network using Cisco’s CRS-3 platform provides better scale and expanded capabilities that support traffic growth areas such as broadband access and content delivery.”

ViaWest selects HP  3PAR.  HP announced that ViaWest has selected HP 3PAR Utility Storage, based on HP Converged Infrastructure, to stay ahead of competition as a cloud services provider. HP 3PAR Utility Storage will power the ViaWest KINECTed Storage solution, a new managed cloud-storage service for customers seeking more efficient data center strategies. “At a time when exponential data growth is placing unrealistic demands on our clients’ legacy systems, tighter IT budgets have prevented companies from investing in the latest storage solution functionalities,” said Jim Thompson, vice president, Product Management, ViaWest. “The functionality and scalability of HP 3PAR systems has helped ViaWest to meet the needs of those clients and deliver reliable, flexible and affordable cloud storage services.”

Power Assure and ABB collaborate. Power Assure and ABB announced that ABB will integrate Power Assure EM/4 data center energy management software in the ABB Decathlon Data Center Enterprise Management (DCEM) product and services offering. Together the two software services will deliver real-time monitoring, analytics and automation, allowing IT to make appropriate adjustments in response to facility-side energy demands. “By integrating Power Assure EM/4 software solutions, ABB can offer our customers a new level of automated control over their operations,” said Eric Olson, ABB product manager for Decathlon. “Decathlon links IT capacity with cooling and power capacity to move processing where it needs to be to reduce costs, ensure business continuity and improve quality of service.” ABB is an investor in Power Assure.

Fusion-io and IBM selected by Front-safe.  Fusion-io (FIO) announced that backup and archiving solutions provider Front-safe has integrated Fusion ioMemory-based IBM High IOPS Adapters into its Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) cloud solution to power performance improvements. The TSM cloud solution offered by Front-safe provides automated backup and recovery, with reporting and dynamic invoicing. “Conventional SSDs did not provide us the capacity we needed. We chose the Fusion-io powered IBM High IOPS Adapter because it gave us the highest performance with our existing hardware,” said Geirr Halvorsen, Front-safe Senior Systems Engineer. “The savings were enormous. We are now able to fully utilize the processors in our TSM servers. This allows us to cut our server footprint, and accompanying floor space, power and cooling costs, by two-thirds.  At the same time, we’ve increased the speed of database backups and tasks like inventory expiration jobs, which makes our servers more responsive. Our customers have noticed the difference.”

ViaWest opens Richardson Texas data center.  ViaWest has announced the grand opening of its new data center facility, Synergy Park, located in Richardson, Texas. This new addition will bring the total number of data centers that ViaWest owns and operates to 22, with a total of 500,000 square feet of raised floor space. ViaWest services will be offered in the new facility, which boasts disaster recovery office space, 24×7 on-site support and access to top network providers. “We are thrilled to debut our new flagship facility in the Dallas area,” said Roy Dimoff, Chairman and CEO of ViaWest. “We have a long history and a strong presence in the marketplace and our recent investment in Synergy Park reflects our belief in the growing opportunity in the Dallas area.”

Fortress adds $29.1 million in 2nd quarter.  Fortress International Group (FIGI) announced that the company was awarded new contracts totaling $29.1 million during the second quarter of 2011. New facilities management projects were awarded, including a $450,000 annual staffing contract to develop an operating and maintenance plan, a $2.8 million battery service project, a $1.1 million data center maintenance contract, $1.3 million in annual recurring contracts and a $400,000 UPS upgrade. “We achieved strong bookings across all three areas of our business during the second quarter, which has the company well positioned as we head into the second half of the year,” said Thomas P. Rosato, CEO of Fortress. “We are particularly pleased with the continued growth of our Facilities Management business, as these recurring revenue customers provide us with stable, predictable revenue and help drive gross margin expansion. We continue to grow our F/M (facilities management) business through a combination of new project awards along with extensions and expansions of current work with existing customers. Technology industry leaders continue to recognize the diverse capabilities and added value Fortress brings to theFacilities Management arena. We have made great progress in the development of our F/M business and this remains a key area of focus for the Company as we move forward.”

QTS selected by Barefoot Technologies. QTS (Quality Technology Services) announced that it has been chosen by Barefoot Technologies Corporation, a leading online vacation reservations company, to replace the company’s current colocation environment and provide a new cloud-based solution using QTS Virtualized Infrastructure (QVI). QVI is a cloud solution that delivers a fully-managed virtualized IT infrastructure solution with scale, security, visibility and control. “QTS didn’t try to sell us a product, but instead helped our company craft a solution that best enabled us to meet the demands of our customers,” said Ed Ulmer, vice president of U.S. operations – Barefoot. “QVI offers the benefits of virtualization with the security and control we required, while helping us avoid the need for capital intensive technology refreshes. QTS’ custom solution meets our current needs and promises to easily scale to meet our future growth.”

Logicalis acquires Netarx. Logicalis Group announced that they have acquired Netarx, a Michigan company that provides IT professional services. UK-based Logicalis has been building a global company and strengthens their U.S. presence with a $34 million acquisition of Netarx, who serves customers throughout Michigan and Arizona. The acquisition will also provide Netarx clients with access to Logicalis’ outsourced services, cloud computing and data center management solutions across the United States.

Equinix selected by TeliaSonera.  Equinix (EQIX) announced that IP network and managed services provided by TeliaSonera International Carrier, a global provider of cross-border IP and managed services, are now available to customers in 25 of its International Business Exchange data centers in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.  Leveraging Equinix allows TeliaSonera’s customers to locate their assets and applications close to their target markets. “As a leading global IP carrier we are conversant with the specific needs and growing requirements of the online content industry for the provision of ‘always-on’ services, and data centers play a vital role here,” said Erik Hallberg, President of TeliaSonera International Carrier. “Not only does Equinix offer industry leading colocation, power and cooling solutions, its global platform of data centers enables us to easily extend the reach of our best-in-class IP solutions.”

ViaWest adds HP 3PAR storage. ViaWest announced the addition of a new managed storage solution, the first service to be introduced under ViaWest’s KINECTed brand. The product portfolio features cloud-based storage and computing services for businesses of all sizes pursuing more efficient computing strategies. Featuring HP 3PAR storage arrays the new product will combine high-speed fibre channel with large volume SATA drive.  Roy Dimoff, Chairman & CEO of ViaWest explains, “by combining dynamic file allocation with multiple storage technologies, KINECTed Storage gives customers an unbeatable combination of performance, management ease and low costs.”

AboveNet connects to The Bunker. AboveNet (ABVT) announced that it will soon be connected to the Montgomery Westland Data Center known as The Bunker.  AboveNet will be providing the data center’s customers with access to its private, optical network and extensive fiber footprint for high bandwidth connectivity from the facility in Montgomery to business hubs in Houston and the top metro markets in the U.S. and Europe. Enterprise and carrier customers at The Bunker will have access to metro Ethernet, WDM, Long Haul and IP transit services from AboveNet as well as connections to more than 450 data centers. “Businesses continue to move mission-critical applications to data centers to handle data intensive applications such as multimedia transfers, data replication and disaster recovery,” said Jymme Gomez, chief executive officer, Westland Bunker. “We are pleased to connect to AboveNet’s high performance network to offer the bandwidth services and routes to meet the Westland Bunker customers’ communications needs.”

C7 selected by Hubbard Radio.  C7 Data Centers announced the signing of a multi-year colocation agreement with St. Paul-based Hubbard Radio, LLC. As part of the agreement C7 will provide Hubbard Radio with data center space, power, bandwidth and personnel services. “Working with C7 has been a satisfying experience and our team is very impressed with their facilities and services,” stated Mark Preston, Vice President Digital Media for Hubbard Radio. “C7’s team of professionals continues to meet our needs at reasonable rates.”

NSA building supercomputer center.  The National Security Agency is designing a new $895.6 million supercomputing center to be constructed at its Fort Meade, Maryland headquarters. Said to be ‘state-of-the-art’ and mindful of energy efficiency, the unclassified specs say the facility will be completed by December 2015. The government specification documents also indicate a $246.4 million 2012 request for the Utah Cybersecurity data center under construction. The supercomputing facility lists security features at an estimated $15.1 million and $21.7 million on perimeter control. In fiscal year 2012 they are asking for $84.7 million, including $35 million for planning and design.

ViaWest opens Portland data center. ViaWest announced the grand opening of its 21st enterprise-class data center, located in Portland, Oregon. Opening ceremonies on May 12th will celebrate the compay’s second data center investment in the region for the facility to be called Hillsboro II. “ViaWest continually invests in its data centers, technology, and people. We are very excited to expand both our investment and our local involvement in the Portland area,” said Roy Dimoff, Chairman & CEO of ViaWest. The new data center features fully redundant high-density power and chiller configurations, 24×7 on-site support, and access to top network providers.

NxGen names President and CEO. NxGen announced that it has named Elizabeth A Fetter as President and Chief Executive Officer. NxGen recently unveiled the NxPower electrical room module, where a 1MW room was deployed in five days. Fetter previously served as president and CEO of three technology companies and other positions at strategic consulting, telecommunications and software services companies. “We are an innovative company that requires the innovative leadership that Liz has shown time and time again,” said Barry Nelson, a member of the NxGen Modular Board of Directors. “The mission critical market is highly technical and dynamically evolving. As NxGen’s technical innovation penetrates the marketplace, Liz has the experience and vision necessary to lead us to the forefront and continue to expand our market share.”

NEXTDC expands to Western Australia.  NEXTDC announced that the company has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire vacant land in Perth, Australia where they intend to construct a purpose-built data center facility. “Perth is a strategic location for NEXTDC and after a comprehensive evaluation of a number of alternative sites in Perth, we have selected this site due to its location and access to significant power and other infrastructure that we trust will be validated through the formal due diligence process to be conducted over the next two months,” said CEO Bevan Slattery.

The ViaWest expansion follows the Denver-based company’s acquisition by Oak Hill Capital earlier this year.With the acquisition, ViaWest will increase its footprint to seven data centers encompassing approximately 120,000 square feet of usable raised floor in the greater Salt Lake City area.

“SingleEdge has demonstrated strong growth and a high level of customer satisfaction,” said Roy J. Dimoff, ViaWest’s Chairman & CEO. “Following the completion of our acquisition of Consonus, we felt that acquiring SingleEdge would solidify our emphasis in this region and best position ViaWest to meet the growing demand of the Utah market.”

SingleEdge’s assets include a 14,700 square foot data center facility. Bob Newman, ViaWest’s Senior Vice President & Utah General Manager will be working closely with SingleEdge president Chris Call in overseeing the integration of SingleEdge.

“The acquisition by ViaWest will offer both our customers and our employees significant growth opportunities,” said Call.

With the acquisition of SingleEdge, ViaWest now operates 20 data centers spanning a 5 state footprint which includes Colorado, Texas, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.

“Consonus has been at the very heart of the Utah data center business for years” said Roy Dimoff, ViaWest’s Chairman & CEO.  “ViaWest’s acquisition of these data centers, including their marquee customers and dedicated professional staff, significantly increases our service capabilities in the Utah market.  This is an excellent opportunity for ViaWest to deliver essential services to a discerning and growing customer base.”

“We are pleased that our customers and employees are now going to be part of the ViaWest family, and would like to express our sincere gratitude to them for their contribution to the success of Consonus,” said Nana Baffour, Executive Chairman of Consonus Technologies. “We are confident these customers will continue to receive the same high level of offerings and support from ViaWest that they have become accustomed to.”

Heading up the consolidation for ViaWest will be Bob Newman, ViaWest’s Senior Vice President & Utah General Manager, and a former IT Director at the LDS Church.  Bob will be managing all aspects of the integration of the business and customer base, as well as the day to day operational elements.

“With the acquisition, we will have over 50 employees in Utah, and we only see that number growing in the near future,” said Bob Newman.  “Salt Lake City has deep technology roots and a great business community that drives innovation.  ViaWest’s expansion in the market demonstrates our intent to support that innovation, and partner in the technology community’s growth.”

Interxion partners with France-IX. Interxion announced that France-IX, the largest Internet exchange in France, is now operational in its Paris data centers. France-IX has made arrangements to migrate PANAP and SFINX Internet Exchange traffic to France-IX, making it France’s largest exchange, carrying in excess of 100 Gigabits per second of traffic.  “Unlike London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, Paris had no single, large-scale, neutral Internet Exchange until now – a situation which has meant that many carriers chose not to exchange traffic in Paris,” said Franck Simon, Managing Director, France-IX. “Although many IXPs were present in Paris, there wasn’t really a strong place for peering. France-IX addresses and resolves these issues, providing a technically advanced and highly professional neutral exchange enabling Paris to join the front rank of Europe’s Internet interconnection hubs.”  With over 70 percent of French Internet exchange traffic, France-IX will add to the Interxion portfolio of 18 leading public Internet Exchanges in Europe connecting at Interxion facilities.

TelecityGroup and AMS-IX expand partnership. TelecityGroup announced that AMS-IX has installed its first extension point at TelecityGroup’s Amstel Park data center.  With 60 percent growth in traffic through AMS-IX the infrastructure expansion was built to enable higher level of peering and connectivity options. “To ensure we can provide the most effective platform, we need to offer customers our peering options from a diverse range of premium colocation facilities,” said AMS-IX CEO Job Witteman. “TelecityGroup’s Amstel Business Park is one of the most advanced data centres in Europe, and through our long-term relationship with the company, we know the level of security and connectivity its facilities provide.”

CoreLink completes SAS 70 Type II audit. CoreLink Data Centers announced it has received a SAS70 Type II audit for its nationwide data centers.  “CoreLink Data Centers’ attention to detail, strict process culture and relentless focus on customer service enable us to offer maximum reliability, security, and stability for our customers,” said Michael Duckett, President of CoreLink Data Centers. Last month CoreLink relocated its headquarters to Mount Prospect, Illinois and brought their new Chicago data center online.

ViaWest announces new Vice President. ViaWest announced the selection of Paul Gerrard as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  “Paul is a great addition to our executive management team,” said Roy J. Dimoff, ViaWest CEO & Chairman. “He has a solid record of success and the indispensable industry experience we need to help us truly focus our efforts in a competitive marketplace.”  Prior to ViaWest Mr. Gerrard was the senior vice president of sales for SunGard’s western region.

Martin to Manage Latisys in Orange County: Latisys said Thursday that it has strengthened its data center operations team by adding Robert Martin to manage the firm’s growing data center operations in Orange County. In his role as Data Center Operations Manager at Latisys, Martin will manage day-to-day operations for the firm’s existing data center in Irvine, California (OC1), and will also manage operations for Latisys’ new 93,000 square foot, Tier 3 data center facility (OC2) which is currently under development. Martin brings to Latisys more than a decade of data center operations experience – most recently managing operations for Savvis’ Irvine, California facility, where he was responsible for managing large-scale mission critical IT infrastructure for some of Orange County’s leading enterprises and service providers.

Peak 10 selected by Ultramatics.  Tampa Florida based Peak 10 announced it will be providing data center solutions to Ultramatics, a systems integrator and IBM Premier business partner. The Peak 10 Tampa campus will boost bandwidth for Ultramatics and provide the company with a second enterprise-class facility. “As a fast-growing and customer-focused organization, it is essential that we have our data secure and readily available,” said David Riek, the vice president of Ultramatics. “Peak 10’s ongoing investments in infrastructure and customer support systems, like the Pathfinder portal, set them apart and will provide us with reliable communications, connectivity and availability for our customers. We are most impressed with Peak 10’s unparalleled high level of expertise and flexibility.”

Interxion reports second quarter results. Interxion released its unaudited numbers for the second quarter of 2010, period ending June 30. Revenue increased by 19 percent to 50.4 million pounds ($77.1 million), and a net profit of 4.0 million pounds ($6.1 million) was reported. Further details on the second quarter report can be found on the Investors page of the Interxion web site. Interxion recently opened its sixth Frankfurt data center, bringing their total footprint to 28 sites.

ViaWest hires new Senior VP.  Colocation and managed services provider ViaWest announced the hiring of Bob Newman to head Service Delivery. As the Senior Vice President of Service Delivery, Newman will manage all operational assets including provisioning, business controls, quality assurance, internal systems, customer support, and product development. Newman holds a degree from the University of Florida and previously worked for Infocrossing and the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.  “Bob has a long history of success, and we know he’ll apply that experience to help ViaWest accomplish our goals in both our current and future growth plans,” said ViaWest COO Nancy Phillips.

Peer 1 completes SAS 70 and CICA audits. PEER 1 Hosting (TSX:PIX) announced that it has successfully completed two independent audits of its selected controls, processes and procedures in compliance with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICA) Section 5970 for the period from January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. “By completing both SAS 70 Type II and CICA 5970 audits, we are providing a level of transparency and validation to our customers that we have the processes and safeguards in place to protect their assets and data,” says Jad Jebara, VP, Finance and IT, PEER 1 Hosting. Areas covered in the SAS 70 Type II audit included corporate strategic planning and organization, human resources, operations and monitoring, change management, performance and capacity, system security, configuration management, problem and incident management, data and backups, and facility management.

“This expansion was driven by continued requests for growth capacity by current customers, as well as increased demand from prospective customers,” said Steve Prather, ViaWest’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Development. “With several recent infrastructure and network augmentations, we were already in position to quickly respond to the demand. We have experienced consistent quarterly growth in Utah, and specifically in Salt Lake City. This capacity addition is a good representation of our continued commitment in this market.”

In addition to the three Utah facilities, ViaWest’s national footprint also includes four enterprise-class data centers in Denver, six in the Dallas area, as well as one in Austin, Las Vegas, and in Portland, Oregon. In April ViaWest was acquired by Oak Hill Capital, in partnership with the company’s management team.

The new data center, which is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year, will be the Denver-based company’s 16th data center, giving it a raised floor footprint than 260,000 square feet of data center space in Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and Oregon. The company has grown through acquisitions of Fortix and Dataside.

“We recently completed the acquisition of Dataside in March of 2008, and the construction of our sixth Dallas-area data center is a testament to our market value and momentum,” said Roy Dimoff, Chairman and CEO of ViaWest. “This latest facility speaks to the company’s strength in the industry, and with the caliber of employees and staff we have in every region, I am confident we can continue to drive aggressive growth, quarter after quarter.”

In addition to the six Dallas-area data centers, ViaWest’s national footprint also includes four enterprise-class data centers in Denver, two in Salt Lake City, as well as one in Austin, Provo, Las Vegas, and Portland, Oregon.

ViaWest becomes the latest Infomart tenant to expand its operations at the distinctive 1.2 million square foot carrier hotel in Dallas. Other data center providers who have expanded within the Infomart include Softlayer, Architel and Switch & Data. The building, which is owned by DCI Technology Holdings, is among the beneficiaries of strong demand for Dallas data center space.