Moscow-based data center DataSpace has become the fifth data center in the world to achieve the Uptime Institute’s Tier III Gold certification for availability and sustainability.

The 9.5MW DataSpace site, located in central Moscow, is the first data center in Russia to get the Institute’s Tier III Certification of Operational Sustainability–Gold, and indeed the first outside the US, which has three such sites, and the UK, which has one.  

Uptime top ranking
The Uptime Institute’s Tier system grades the availability of a data center, while the operational sustainability classification - Bronze, Silver or Gold - denotes its long-term sustainability.

DataSpace has offered data centers in Russia since 2009, and got Tier III certification for its design documents in 2010, followed by certification of its actual facility, built by Hewlett Packard, in 2011.

Pitt Turner, executive director emeritus of Uptime Institute and senior certification authority said: “As in the previous stages of certification, we found the DataSpace team to be extremely prepared and committed to operational excellence.”

A team from the Uptime Institute analyzed 60 factors of DataSpace’s procedures and operational structures, including personnel training, maintenance, facility features and location, before Turner travelled to Moscow to present a plaque to Fred Dickerman, DataSpace VP of operations.

“Having now completed all stages of Tier III certification, DataSpace will continue to move forward to a new level of quality of services and reliability for our clients,” said Dickerman.

Research firm IDC estimates that the Russian data center market was more than US$456 million in 2013 - with certified data centers taking 12.4% of that.