Powerful partnerships, guarantee data centre delivery

Many people have thought about a data centre and network wish list, but few have turned those thoughts into action. Just 3 years ago in 2010, Fenton Bard, with a data centre services background, teamed up with his wife from the banking sector, Madeline Bard and built such a service. At this time, Fenton was uncomfortable with the shift in the market with data centre and colocation service providers pushing their own managed services, in direct competition with many of their Customers. Knowing how frustrating this is for IT Service, Cloud and MSPs he spotted a demand for someone to offer the data centre ‘raw infrastructure’ – nothing more – enabling this Channel to build their own IT estate and services on top.

Combining this demand with Maddy’s ability to deal with the complexities of setting up and managing the property leases that are a key component of SOURCE’s strategy, SOURCE began life in 2010 as a Level 3 Communications Enabled Partner. Fast forward to early 2013, and SOURCE’s data centre philosophy has been vindicated, SOURCE’s turnover having gone from zero to approaching £3m recurring annual revenue in three short, but hectic years. SOURCE now delivers world-class data centre environments in facilities across the south-east, from their preferred partners such as Digital Realty, Ark Continuity, , Level 3, VirginMedia Business and Zayo. Fenton explains: “We set out to simply provide Level 3’s data centre and network services to a select few Customers. SOURCE evolvement means we now secure all our data centres on long-term property leases, meaning SOURCE and our Customers are protected from violent shifts in data centre service costs.”

One of the Company’s earliest customers was Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu and headed up by the South African entrepreneur and Space tourist, Mark Shuttleworth. For those not familiar with the technology, Ubuntu is a leading open source operating system already powering many millions of desktop PCs, laptops and servers across the globe. As the commercial arm of the Ubuntu Project, and working with a close-knit team from the open-source community, Canonical is responsible for delivering regular releases, as well as co-ordinating security, trouble-shooting and providing an online platform for community interaction. A provider of Ubuntu services, Canonical works closely with businesses and individuals alike. Canonical also develops bespoke systems, provides comprehensive support and all the training that’s necessary to get everybody up and running. Operating in over 18 countries, the company continues expanding to support the millions of Ubuntu users around the world.

“SOURCE provides us with arguably the best commercially available data centre environments in London, delivering the security and cost clarity we need for our Global service delivery. SOURCE delivers and manages over 100Gbps of Tier 1 and domestic network services which enable the best experience for our Users updates and downloads.” James Troup, Canonical.

Enabling colocation for the channel
In early 2013, SOURCE established their partnership with of of Europe’s leading distributors ArrowECS. Many resellers are struggling to come to terms with the rapid change in the IT market brought about by the advent of the Cloud and Managed Services, and are looking for help from their distributor as to how they can turn this challenge into a business opportunity. In seeking to help them, ArrowECS has created a data centre and infrastructure management solution, based upon SOURCE’s expertise.

Maddy explains: “ArrowECS have taken on our colocation services within our Digital Realty, Ark Continuity and Level 3 facilities, to enable their resellers the opportunity to deliver hosted services. SOURCE don’t do anything ‘fancy’ – no managed IT services, enabling the ArrowECS resellers the opportunity to create their hosted solutions and deliver to their Customers without threat of competition from their data centre provider. In fact, we guarantee not to offer any services to the end Customer.”

Maddy continues: “We’re delivering raw infrastructure within the most secure, efficient and reliable facilities. Resellers typically take a number of racks (all 47u, 800x1000 as a minimum), plus 32Amp A + B power supplies with the option of utilising SOURCE Internet or domestic network services.”

“ArrowECS and SOURCE provide the Channel true data centre flexibility at a price that allows them to make healthy recurring margins” Maddy Bard, SOURCE.
SOURCE also address the other key concern that the Channel have in dealing with typical “colos” – price. Fenton explains: “With many traditional colos, you sign a 3 year contract at £x per month and, a couple of years down the line, when you want to re-new suddenly the price rockets to double or more leaving you very little alternative but to pay this increase – as moving out is a complex and costly exercise. With SOURCE, we guarantee that, apart from power charge increases which we simply pass through, the contract increase will never be more than five per cent of the preceding years charge. This gives customers a great degree of certainty in terms of managing their costs. This guarantee is unique to SOURCE.”

This powerful price promise is built on the fact that Source secures all its data centre environments on long-term property leases, allowing it to offer extremely flexible contracts, from one day to over 15 years.

Connected channel
Key to any data centre deployment not only for the Channel but for their end Customers is swift, cost-effective network solutions.

SOURCE is an accredited Level 3 Communications Enabled Partner (master reseller). Level 3 is one of only six true Tier 1 Network providers in the world. Ranked as one of the most connected Internet Service Providers (ISPs) their expanding assets have solidified their position as one of the largest IP transit networks in North America and Europe. Thanks to the partnership, SOURCE delivers IP and network services throughout Europe, north America and Latin America. SOURCE provides direct, non-aggreagted peering enabling access to the full range of Level 3 services and technologies together with their highly regarded team of technical and engineering staff. By incorporating Level 3 services, Source can enable swift and efficient data centre deployments.

Source also offers domestic network and connectivity solutions from VirginMedia Business, Zayo and Vodafone (following their purchase of cable and Wireless). Using SOURCE’s ConnectNow service, allows Customers to benefit from SOURCE’s considerable network assets connecting over 50 UK data centres at 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps within just 15 working days and just 5 working days for Level 3 Internet services with port speeds of 100Mbps, 1Gbps and 10Gbps available at all SOURCE enabled data centres. Little wonder that ArrowECS was so keen to base its data centre and infrastructure management solution around SOURCE. Fenton comments: “We don’t compete with them or their customers, rather we enhance the products they sell. A reseller buys hardware and software from ArrowECS, then has to put this somewhere. So, we’re helping resellers to become managed service providers and also educating them around this opportunity.”

Fenton continues: “With networks, for example, resellers rarely have the opportunity to make any margin – they just introduce their customer direct to, say, BT, who also offers managed services, so there’s a very real danger they might actually lose customers this way. With us, they can access the network at a better price, and sell on this access, and can then add value. For example, they might want to offer firewalled Internet access.”

The little touches are not overlooked. An organisation buys a rack from SOURCE, and, automatically, it is given first refusal on the rack next door. SOURCE can also help resellers with the contractual side as resellers transform themselves from the one-off hardware and software sales to the recurring revenue model of managed services.
And, in an industry that, although maturing rapidly, is still relatively young, Fenton is keen to stress that SOURCE is committed to the long term with their underlying assets on 15 year leases.

The company continues to grow delivering over 30kW of incremental services on average each month, and recently added a PCI-compliance offering to its portfolio – providing PCI compliant environments upon request and assisting customers in obtaining PCI compliance. Fenton characterises the data centre market as divided up into three broad categories: ‘cheap and cheerful’, mid tier and the high end, with all manner of offerings available within each of these. He believes that SOURCE has found a strong niche, offering a ‘Rolls-Royce’ service at a ‘Ford Mondeo’ price level, but is aware that the UK market as a whole is vulnerable to a couple of potential threats. First up, the ‘big boys’ are coming across the Atlantic – Fenton mentions CyrusOne, DuPont Fabros and CoreSite as just three US giants looking to make further moves into Europe. Secondly, the continuing volatility of power prices in the UK – upwards being the hallmark – means that PUE and facility efficiency is becoming paramount.

SOURCE have identified power costs as one of the key issues for today’s computing demands, which is why SOURCE have deployed additional facilities within the Government grade data centres in Ark’s Farnborough site. This green-field build is based on air-cooled technology and guarantees a PUE of sub 1.25. Whilst there are challenges For now, Fenton is confident that Source is the ‘data centre for the Cloud’, but giving customers the reassurance that ‘we won’t ever build our own Cloud’. www.sourceplc.com