Switch and Data Adds Storage Offerings

July 11, 2001 -- Carrier-neutral colocation provider Switch and Data announced today that it has teamed with Storage @ccess Technologies Inc. to offer managed storage services in Switch and Data's network of 34 data centers.
The agreement allows Switch and Data to offer data management services to its colocation customers, and also manage the high-speed connections between numerous fiber-optic networks and Storage Access.
Switch and Data has only recently moved into managed services, adding expanded tech support and network synchronization services largely in response to customer demand.
That demand is likely to increase in coming months, according to new research released today by The Yankee Group.
"Hosting has performed strongly for the past several years due to physical undercapacity," said Andy Efstathiou, a program manager at the Yankee Group, a Boston consultancy focused on telecom and Internet services.
"Today there is enough physical capacity, but a strong undercapacity in services," Efstathiou added. "Ultimately, we believe that successful hosting providers will be focused on managed hosting services, not physical plant.''
Storage Access' suite of services help customers manage and protect the skyrocketing amount of corporate data. The services are remotely hosted and delivered via the Storage Service Provider (SSP) model, with end users purchasing storage services for a monthly fee.
"This agreement with Switch and Data accelerates our ability to market to both end users and providers in key metro areas throughout the United States,'' said Jonathan Castleman, president of Storage Access. "Switch and Data is well established in each of the major cities that are critical to our initial roll out of services."
"The Storage Access suite includes the type of services our customers demand,'' said Steve Janzen, senior vice president of sales for Switch and Data. "Storage Access solutions eliminate the expense and drain on resources resulting from the storage and management of larger and larger amounts of corporate data, allowing our customers to focus on core competencies instead of on managing data.''
Tampa-based Switch and Data manages a national network of carrier-neutral, colocation shared telecommunications infrastructure facilities.