Vantage Data Centers announced in late March that it had won a bid to secure a deal with cybersecurity vendor Symantec to deploy a multi-megawatt Santa Clara data center.
The deal is the second involving a lab customer for Vantage in recent months, but it will be the company's first ever mixed-use infrastructure project. The agreement includes a mix of lab-style space and traditional 2N space in the California data center, according to Vantage Chief Operating Officer Chris Yetman.
The previous lab-style deal Vantage was involved in was won because the company was able to provide flexible space to accommodate 12 kW per rack in a non-redundant power configuration. Vantage CEO Sureel Choksi explained that there is an increased demand for lab space in Silicon Valley data centers because the rent for office space in the area is growing at a dramatic rate.
While customers have traditionally built IT labs in their offices, this is no longer an economic choice for many firms. These types of clients are not ideal for wholesale providers with uniform space, and wholesale options do not typically make sense for most lab customers because they have to pay for redundancy they do not need. Vantage was able to make a compromise by tailoring the space to Symantec's needs.
"We need to build in a way that accommodates a 2N, or what could be a lab requirement," said Choksi. "While we continue to offer traditional 2N space, we have the ability to tailor lab and production environments. The deal we announced late last year I think created a little bit more visibility in the market."
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