NTT Com’s RagingWire Data Centers is to build a new facility in the ‘Data Center Alley’ of Ashburn, Virginia.

The company plans to invest $160 million on its 245,000 sq ft (22,761 sq m), 16 MW Ashburn VA3 data center. The first of a potential six buildings on the 76.5 acre site, it is scheduled to be available by the end of 2017.

A RagingWire data center
A RagingWire data center – RagingWire

Rage for the machine

“The Ashburn VA3 Data Center raises the bar for data center colocation in the largest data center market in the world,” George Macricostas, CEO and founder of RagingWire said.

“VA3 offers mission-critical performance, flexible configurations for hyperscale cloud and enterprise deployments, exceptional customer amenities and global integration with NTT Com’s growing portfolio of over 140 data centers around the world.”

Tetsuya Shoji, president and CEO of NTT Com, added: “NTT Communications is proud to be investing in RagingWire’s VA3 Data Center and Ashburn Data Center Campus.

“Virginia is the top data center market in the world and a strategic location for NTT Com as we expand our data center capacity. RagingWire’s VA3 Data Center will be a key platform for the NTT family of companies to deliver global information and communications (ICT) solutions that enable our customers to digitalize their businesses.”

Also in Ashburn are RagingWire’s existing VA1 and VA2 data centers, with all three set to have a footprint of over a half million square feet of space and 44.4 megawatts of power.

The company said that its investment is “significant for the Virginia economy not only for the jobs it creates, but also because it supports the exemption from the Virginia Sales and Use Tax on qualified equipment purchases by RagingWire and its customers.”

These savings in tax revenues “encouraged companies to establish or expand their IT and business operations in Virginia,” presumably then creating tax revenues.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said: “Thank you to NTT Communications and RagingWire for this major investment in the Ashburn VA3 Data Center, and their commendable economic growth in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“Virginia is the top data center market in the world. Together, NTT and RagingWire are bolstering Virginia’s leadership in the data center and high technology sectors, supporting a diverse economy in the Commonwealth, generating tax revenues, and creating valuable job opportunities. I recently met with company executives in Tokyo on my Pacific Rim Marketing Mission, and look forward to strengthening this important relationship as we build the new Virginia economy.”