The development of the 2nd phase will double existing capacity. At present, 2,000 m2 of the available 9,000 m2 are ready to house customers’ equipment. Before long, that will be 4,000 m2. The same amount of infrastructural equipment will also be added on top of the existing infrastructure. Two 2.5 MVA transformers are currently being used, but soon this will be four. In addition to the two existing UPS’, two new ones will be put into use, each with a capacity of 2 MVA. Another eight emergency power generators, including a double reserve set, will be added in addition to the two existing ones of 1.5 MVA.

Increased energy capacity per cabinet
The new rooms will have a greater power and cooling capacity than is customary in many datacenters. Cabinets will be able to use 4 to 5 KW on average, which is double that of the usual capacity within the market. Rosenthal: “It is commonly known that the cabinet space in a datacenter often can not be optimally used due to restrictions in power and cooling facilities. With 4 to 5 KW, customers can utilise the space in cabinets within EvoSwitch far more efficiently. This also enables the use of blade servers.”

Stronger than expected growth
“Roughly 35% of the first phase has been utilised by now”, says Laurens Rosenthal, Innovation Director of EvoSwitch. “New customers have arrived incredibly quickly. We have even attracted customers from England, Germany, the United States and Cyprus as well. The interest in EvoSwitch is actually greater than anticipated. Many customers indicate that the green aspect of EvoSwitch is important for them. If customer growth follows the same trend, the first phase of EvoSwitch will be completely full in six months. That is why we are commencing with the second phase in the meantime. When the first phase is full, the second phase will be delivered, enabling us to continue meeting growing customer demand.”

Investment: 7 million euros
The development of the 2nd phase is a capital-intensive undertaking. EvoSwitch is investing no less than 7 million euros in the construction thereof. “Setting up a high-quality datacenter environment required a substantial amount of money”, says Rosenthal. “This is also one of the reasons why we opted for a phased approach. But even in phases, huge sums of money still need to be invested. Thankfully this is enabling us to grow in step with customer demand. The current investment reveals how confident we are about the datacenter services market. Demand is huge, especially because investments in new datacenter space were not made on time. This already should have occurred three years ago, but financers were afraid to invest more money in datacenters following the dip in the telecommunications market.”

Existing customers will barely notice the development of the 2nd phase since these activities will occur within a space that is physically completely separated. Rosenthal: “Many customers have indicated that the expansion actually gives them a safe feeling. The current problem in the Amsterdam region is that everyone within datacenters is encountering limits in relation to floor space and energy capacity. We, on the other hand, do not have to contend with that problem since we still have more than enough space to expand up until 9,000 square metres and an energy capacity of 20 Megawatts.