The hosting industry was shaken up by the news that H5 Data Centers, the co-location and wholesale data center company, are opening an expanded data center in downtown Seattle. To make sense of this news, let’s dive deep into the what, the who, and the why of this announcement. We’ll discuss how this data center will be at the cutting-edge of the web hosting industry, and why Seattle is at the center of the tech advancement. Finally, we’ll try and predict what’s next for this subsection of the web hosting industry.
H5 Data Centers’ New Facility
In June 2017, H5 Data Centers announced the opening of their expanded data center and carrier facility at 1000 Denny Way, in South Lake Union, Seattle.
This 293,000 square foot data center is located in the Seattle Times Building, just a few blocks from Seattle’s telecoms hub, The Westin Building. It’s adjacent to Amazon’s Seattle corporate campus, right in the heart of Seattle’s tech community.
The building has been used for telecommunications for a number of years, holding carrier gateway sites and interconnection facilities, but this expansion by H5 Data Centers takes it to the next level.
The new facility will be one of the most interconnected and efficient data centers in Seattle. More than 40 on-site carriers and networks will provide connectivity.
It’s connected to the area’s biggest metro fiber providers, with multiple fiber entry points. This facility was already serving as an XO long-haul fiber access node, and Level 3’s Seattle Gateway. It will continue to function in this way after expansion.
It will also be one of the most secure buildings in Seattle, with biometric and key card access controls, mantraps, 24/7 monitored digital cameras, and an early smoke detection system. This level of security provides peace of mind for the big businesses relying on H5 Data Centers to carry their digital assets.
About H5 Data Centers
H5 Data Centers is a national co-location and data center provider to enterprises across the US. It’s privately owned, with 1.5 million square footage of data centers across the country, including in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Phoenix, and San Jose.
All of the major telecoms companies are carrier partners with H5 Data Centers, including DIRECTV, Verizon, and AT&T. H5 Data Centers offer carrier-neutral data center services, offering access to as many local, national and international carriers as their clients need.
Already this year, H5 Data Centers bought a 333,000 square foot data center in Cleveland, with a plan for expansion. They also recently constructed a new facility in Phoenix and completed another expansion in Cincinnati.
H5 Data Centers is named as a homage to the H4 watch, built in the 18th century by British watchmaker John Harrison. It enabled sailors to calculate longitude so they could navigate their way around the world. H5 sees itself as part of the next generation of inventors, increasing our understanding of the world.
Why is H5 Expanding?
H5 Data Centers CEO, Josh Simms, explains, “1000 Denny Way serves a critical role in the Seattle interconnection ecosystem as networks seek reliable and scalable alternatives to the Westin Building”.
As Seattle, already one of the global tech centers, grows at an even faster speed, The Westin Building, shouldn’t have to take all of the strain. There has to be an alternative, and H5 Data Centers’ new facility goes a long way to providing that.
For H5 Data Centers themselves, this expansion gives them a new dimension of service they can offer to their enterprise customers. It’s a great spot to choose for colocation. Seattle has some of the most inexpensive and green power supplies in the US. 1000 Denny Way is also in a great position to connect with the Westin Building and the rest of Seattle.
H5 Data Centers can now offer fully constructed, managed, and maintained data center services for Seattle’s exploding tech sector.
Why Seattle?
Seattle is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world. Amazon, of course, is the largest, but RealNetworks is also based there, and search engine optimization giant, Moz.
Josh Simms again, “Seattle is one of the top areas for global interconnection and peering with international communications traffic traversing from North America to Asia. H5 Data Centers new data center space will help bolster the size and resiliency of the Seattle interconnection landscape.”
The Future of H5 Data Centers
This expansion shows that H5 Data Centers are industry leaders in the co-location and data center sector, with vision and innovation to match. The new data center is totally at the cutting edge of data center innovation, ready to serve any advanced IT operation with whatever services they need. may For inter-connectivity, efficiency, and security H5 Data Centers has placed itself as a leader in the pack.
H5 Data Centers will be planning future expansion and seek further new sites across the US as they continue to innovate.
At Web Hosting Sun, we’ll keep you updated with all future developments with H5 Data Centers, and all the other players in this industry.
