Ark Continuity, has announced that the first phase of its data centre campus at Spring Park, Corsham, Wiltshire, will open in November 2009. The company says that it will be one of the most secure, available and sustainable data centre campuses in Europe.
Built on a legacy of 50 years of investment in national critical infrastructure, the first phase of Spring Park includes SQ17, a new model for data centre infrastructure, based on standard, scalable, predictable building blocks.
Ten years in development, Ark Continuity’s data centre model will, says the company offer all the benefits of owner-occupation - discrete space and dedicated infrastructure - but on an outsourced, modular basis. Customers have the security of their own technical space and infrastructure, while allowing for future expansion as their requirements grow.
The company says it has developed the infrastructure to provide a sustainable data centre solution from the ground up without compromising availability or security. In addition; with its modular approach, Ark has reduced time to market to 16 - 22 weeks, which it claims is a dramatic shift compared to conventional builds of 52-70 weeks.
Ark has signed up to the EU code of conduct, using best practice from the start. Ark’s design power usage effectiveness (PUE) coefficient at SQ17 is down to 1.45, while the UK average for conventional data centres is 2.2. The rural setting of Ark’s Corsham campus means the proportion of air free cooling is already over 60% (62% in Wiltshire last year). Additional ground free cooling is available by tapping into the cool subterranean environment under the Spring Park campus, which will deliver a design PUE of less than 1.2.
Ark claims that its infrastructure ideally suits the requirements of Government departments and corporates who need to balance security and availability, with a growing demand for lower carbon solutions. This is particularly important in light of the introduction of a new tax regime in 2010.
Jeff Thomas, CEO of Ark Continuity says: “Ark’s experts have spent 10 years researching best practice and technology and this year we will deliver the first phase of UK’s lowest carbon data centre campus. Planning permission has been secured for 93,000m2 of development and infrastructure is already in place to meet the anticipated demand.”
