Another QTS Exec Joins Canara

Canara, a recently rebranded company that provides monitoring and predictive analytics for data center backup power systems, continues to add to its executive team.

Helmed by former QTS Realty Trust executive Tom Mertz, the company has added another QTS vet. Chris Oberkfell, formerly vice president of sales operations at QTS, has joined Canara as the chief operating officer.

The addition is the latest step in executive team changes Mertz has been making since he took the CEO role in June.

In July, Mertz brought on board chief business officer Steve Manos, well-known in the industry from his time at Lee Technologies, a data center management services company acquired by Schneider in 2011, and from his frequent speaking engagements.

“Chris has a broad set of experiences in the data center industry and ability to adapt, manage and improve processes to drive business performance," Mertz said about Oberkfell. "With his knowledge of the industry and ability to help organize and develop the team, he is an important addition to the Canara leadership team.”

Batteries are often at fault in data center outages when they don’t kick in as expected. The San Rafael, California-based company’s devices continuously analyze data center UPS batteries to predict when they are going to die, helping avoid unexpected failure. The value proposition is risk mitigation, higher efficiency and more reliable backup power systems.

Canara (formerly IntelliBatt) recently raised $4.25 million in equity from Columbia Capital in support of an aggressive growth plan. Mertz came on with a vision for expanding the leadership.

Canara's customers include large companies such as Barclay's, CenturyLink, Cologix, Comcast, Digital Realty Trust, Equinix, FedEx, PG&E and Sony.