Fortrust, a Denver-based data center provider that uses IO.Anywhere modules by IO to build out data center capacity, is now offering wholesale data center space. Until now, the company has only leased retail colocation space in its facilities.

The news comes about one week after the company announced the appointment of IO's SVP David Shepard to the role of SVP of sales and marketing. Shepard's job now is to lead the positioning of the two companies' combined solution in the market.

Fortrust offers data center space in Denver, Phoenix and Edison, New Jersey. In addition to IO modules, the company also provides space in traditional colocation cages.

“Enterprises are outsourcing their data centers more than ever before, and they want a provider that is a partner, not a landlord,” Shepard said, commenting on Fortrust's entry into the wholesale market. He appeared to have been referring to the traditional landlord-tenant relationship incumbent wholesale data center players, such as Digital Realty Trust, CoreSite or DuPont Fabros, among others, have.

But the incumbent wholesalers have been breaking out of that mold over the past few years. Nearly all of them have added retail colocation offerings, and some of them have diverse wholesale portfolios that range from simply providing a powered building shell to fully built-out data center suites.

Compass Datacenters, also a fairly recent comer to the wholesale market, is also shying away from the habit of referring to data center customers as tenants. Compass CEO and co-founder Chris Crosby told us the company did not want to give its clients a “diminished feeling” the word “tenant” was associated with.

Compass also sells its data centers in addition to leasing them, which is another reason not to use the T-word.

Fortrust is owned and funded by the Magness Group of Companies. Group chairman Gary Magness' estimated net worth of US$1.6bn earned him a spot on the Forbes billionaire list.

Forbes describes him as a “cattle rancher” who inherited his fortune from his late father Bob Magness. His father was the founder of cable TV company TCI, which AT&T annexed in 1999 for $54bn.

In addition to his data center business, the younger Magness owns numerous Colorado ranches, invests in oil, gas, cattle and real estate, according to Forbes.