How can the data center industry deal with more data migrating to the edge, along with the continued relentless growth in internet traffic? Building bigger data centers is certainly part of the answer, but so is providing a greater diversity of data center interconnections and more high-performance, low-latency on-ramps to cloud services.
QTS Realty Trust is doing all of the above, as it has embarked on a major data center expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and recently forged a long-term deal with Amazon Web Services for AWS to deploy its infrastructure in QTS’ “mega” data centers in Chicago, Atlanta and Piscataway, New Jersey. The latter is part of the company’s aim to expand its connectivity ecosystem by providing more robust alternatives to traditional metro interconnect facilities that often are constrained beyond their limits.
Regarding the AWS agreement, Sean Baillie, EVP of Global Connectivity for QTS Data Centers, told Fierce Telecom via email that the move addresses the growing need “to decentralize core infrastructure."
He added “QTS and AWS share a vision to deliver diverse connectivity hubs and ubiquitous, low-latency network access that is now at the forefront of business strategies for network, enterprise and hyperscale organizations. As investment in digital infrastructure grows so does the need to secure scalable space/power and decentralize the networks required to support this trend. Legacy interconnection hubs were not built to the scale needed to support where the market is headed.”
Baillie said both colocation customers and network operators need scale and neutral interconnection. Under the long-term, multi-megawatt agreement, QTS will provide AWS with high-density colocation in its data centers that serve as key ingress/egress points for AWS customers and partners accessing AWS services.
There is probably more to come on this. Baillie said “[These three markets] are unlikely to be the only markets where these deployments are pursued. QTS will continue its support of these efforts by providing scalable space/power to all types of network operators, diverse connectivity for enterprise and hyperscale colocation including carrier-neutral interconnection, access to the world’s largest IP networks, multiple dark and lit fiber providers, diverse entrance facilities, and access to the world’s largest cloud providers.”
QTS’ agreement with AWS and its separate expansion in Dallas-Fort Worth and other markets comes after the company last year was acquired in a $10 billion deal by investment firm and asset manager Blackstone.