Businesses across the nation are being hit with a new rental crisis - access to datacenter rack space - according to mid-market IT solutions provider Brennan.
New generation power hungry blade servers, large storage disc arrays, combined with a growing demand for data, are placing increasing pressure on datacenters.
In response, Brennan has invested over $3.2 million in a state-of-the-art datacenter in Fortitude Valey, offering Queensland clients co-location and hosting services.
The purpose-built facility, which officially opens on 27 August, is already 50 percent leased with tenants including Terry White Chemists, Australian Water Systems and Bidvest.
The center will house 148 racks and will offer value-added services to tenants. Although there has been strong interest from larger companies seeking 30+ racks in the facility, Brennan has turned them down in favour of its target mid-market companies (that are more likely to require 2-5 racks).
Manufacturing and professional services are the most common industries seeking hosting in the new Brennan facility, with other commercial and corporate clients following suit.
Brennan's Queensland State Manager, Jason Van Eyl, says NSW and Victorian clients have also expressed an interest in leveraging the facility as part of their disaster recovery plans.
"The rising administration costs of running datacenters, with physical constraints as well as the battle to keep systems powered and cooled are pushing businesses to look for more viable solutions to their current problems, such as co-location or a fully managed outsourced solution," he says.
A recent report by IDC Australia states that 30 percent of mid market companies feel that the cost of administering and managing the datacenter has been rising, and is now a significant challenge for their organisation.
In addition, 19 percent of mid market businesses will be faced with insufficient power and cooling in their datacenter in the next 2-3 years.
Van Eyl believes that this trend, combined with growing appetite for data and power will only fuel demand for space in datacenters in the immediate future. Partnering with APC and Sure Power for the build, Brennan's new 450m² facility is served by a 1.5MW supply of power from a dedicated sub station and is designed to provide optimum levels of performance, availability and redundancy.
The design is based around non-stop running and N+1 redundancy to handle live maintenance without interruption to the centre, with all units under comprehensive 24/7 onsite maintenance support. It also features the latest UPS and cooling systems and enhanced security measures including 24/7 video surveillance.
Van Eyl says that Queensland is a key market for Brennan with its high percentage of mid-sized businesses and supportive Government policy towards ICT investment. "We have made a significant investment in building out our operations in Queensland through our acquisition of iExec and TSA Communications, as well as establishing new corporate headquarters for our Queensland operations," he says.
"We will continue to invest in activities which can assist in extending our position in this market and the value we can offer our clients."