Pivot Data grows as off-site storage demand rises
A $30-million expansion project announced Wednesday by Calgarybased Pivot Data Centres is being driven by the rapid rise in “technology outsourcing” in Alberta.
At one time, every company had its own on-site data centre to house servers, storage and networking capacity. But a growing number of businesses are looking to save money and time by hiring third-party data solution providers who operate off site, in what is known as a “co-location” data centre.
Pivot operates two of these in Calgary and one in Edmonton, each of which occupies about 40,000 square feet. Inside the secure facilities are private storage suites that are suitable for housing the IT hardware of major corporations, as well as shared spaces for smaller businesses.
“For the last five to 10 years, there’s been more and more of these facilities being designed by third parties like ourselves,” said Michael Koury, president and CEO of Pivot.
“Technology is advancing, things are changing, and (in-house) data centres are filling up. So rather than clients spending significant capital dollars to invest in their own, they’re looking to redirect those capital funds to projects that are more core to their business.”
He said Pivot has been growing at a rate of 25 to 30 per cent annually in recent years. Its client base is made up of about 100 businesses and organizations, large and small — from energy companies and telecommunications providers to government agencies.
The expansion — $15 million at one of the Calgary centres and $15 million at the Edmonton centre — will provide extra square footage as well as additional megawatt capacity for Pivot clients.
Koury said many businesses use off-site data centres as a kind of disaster contingency plan.
“The risk profile is one consideration,” Koury said. “We mitigate the risk.”
Another major player in the Calgary co-location field is Q9 Networks Inc. The Toronto-based company has 12 data centres in three provinces, and opened its first data centre at a downtown Calgary site in 2002. Since then, it has opened two additional sites in suburban Calgary, the most recent of which has significant expansion capability.
Telus and Bell also operate data centres, as do a number of smaller players.
Koury is confident demand will continue to grow.
“Canada’s probably 10 years behind the U.S.,” he said. “If you look at the growth of data centres in the U.S., it’s absolutely exploded. And we’re now seeing a very similar trend in Canada …. So the future looks pretty good for where we’re headed.”