Interoute makes multi million euro investment in new Ghent data centre to meet European enterprise demand

Interoute, owner operator of Europe's largest cloud services platform, today announced the significant expansion of its Ghent data centre, which can now accommodate up to 8000 servers for hosting and colocation. As European businesses continue to place more and more of their data and applications in the cloud, demand is rising for European data centres that help enterprises comply with European data regulations. Interoute is strengthening its data centre portfolio in order to meet this growing need for a resilient and reliable European data centre network, with its state-of-the-art Ghent data centre. Situated in the heart of Flanders, Belgium, the upgraded data centre will help Interoute to meet the demand for its growing VPN and colocation business, which is already being used by the likes of Domo, Van de Velde and Eandis the Flemish natural gas and electricity distributor.

Interoute’s Ghent data centre has been fitted with cutting edge, high-tech security to ensure the upmost level of protection. Entered through a mantrap with biometric fingerprint control access, it has 24/7 remote security via Interoute’s Amsterdam data centre. The building is now also monitored by multiple high definition cameras, both internally and externally. ISO 27001 certified and with an excellent Power Usage Effectiveness classification of 1.4, the expanded data centre is ideally placed to cater to the needs of the growing number of biotech and green energy enterprises in Belgium, for whom business downtime is not an option. Businesses using the Ghent data centre will also benefit from Interoute’s large connectivity portfolio, which includes MPLS, Internet Access, IP Transit and Ethernet services. The Ghent Data Centre is directly connected to other Interoute Data Centres including facilities in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Frankfurt through Interoute’s pan-European network. Disaster recovery and business continuity are also incorporated, with the ability to direct services to both the Interoute Brussels and Oostkamp Point of Presence (PoP) data centres if required.
Jan Louwes Executive Vice President Enterprise Solutions, Interoute, commented: “As European enterprises grow the need for European data centres which can host and secure critical data and applications, within European national boundaries is increasing. This new data centre in Ghent gives customers a highly resilient, secure facility with ultra-low latency fibre optic connectivity into Interoute’s pan European network.

Jan Dezutter, Sales Director Interoute Belux, said: “With the investment in the Ghent Data Centre Interoute shows it is committed to the Belgian market and the growth we are seeing in Data Centre and Cloud based services here. With the Ghent Data Centre directly connected to other in regional Data Centres in Brussels and Oostkamp, we are ideally placed to fulfil all technical and service requirements for Belgian companies looking for a federated or twin data centre strategy.”

Peter Demoor, IT Manager for Van de Velde, said: “It was a logical choice for us to move parts of our server park into the powerful and highly secure Interoute Ghent Data Center and run our business from there. We have been an Interoute customer for many years, and we know that Interoute’s continued investment in its Data Centers and pan-European network ensures that we can do what is best for our business now and in the future.”