“Getting started during the fallout from the dot com crash , we were determined to grow and spend in a very disciplined way ”
SALLY SIMKISS CEO , OPENCOLO
In the beginning , OpenColo relied on other companies ’ data centres for its business operations . “ For the first 15 years , EGI operated out of multiple third party data centres . We found ourselves frustrated with corporate data centres ’ inflexibility as well as opaque and overly complicated billing . It was hard to rapidly grow without signing long-term contacts that could prove risky for a small company like ours ,” Simkiss explained .
However , with corporate data centres increasingly feeling like a bad fit , OpenColo ’ s owners decided it was time to take operations into their own hands . “ Our founders decided that to best control our business and pricing , and meet our customers ’ growing needs , we should own and operate our own data centre ,” Simkiss said .
Turning this idea into reality , though , was no small task . EGI spent four years looking for the ideal location for its new facility . By the end of 2019 , the company completed the design and build process of its very own site , a boutique data centre located in Santa Clara , California , in the heart of Silicon Valley . That data centre operates under the brand OpenColo .
The facility was born from the conversion of a 71,000 sq ft logistics centre which , once fully transformed , housed the data centre itself and company offices . Explaining why Santa Clara was chosen for the location , Simkiss said that it was “ ideal in that the power comes from Silicon Valley Power ( SVP ), which is the most reliable and least expensive power in California . Additionally , our corner of Santa Clara is one of the most fibre-dense locations in the country , with dark fibre from and to almost every major provider . After experiencing the frustration of trying
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