Virtus Data Centres plots further expansion of Slough colocation site

Colocation provider Virtus Data Centres is expanding its server farm footprint in Slough, Berkshire, with three further data halls planned for its London4 site.

The Slough facility has been part of Virtus’ portfolio since late 2015, when it acquired the site from fellow colocation provider Infinity SDC, and underwent a number of expansions in 2016 and 2017.

The site is also home to the Jisc shared datacentre services initiative, whereby members of the higher and further education sector look to save money by pooling their datacentre infrastructure resources and sharing them with other members of the community.

Jisc is responsible for operating the network that supplies the site, as well as the single supplier framework that organisations use to commission and specify how much space they want to take up.

Upgrade works at the site have previously been overseen by Bouygues Energies and Services (BYES), which has also collaborated with Virtus on the design and build of its London 1, 2, 4 and 5 facilities in Hayes, Enfield and Slough.

BYES has now also been enlisted to carry out the fit-out work for its London4 data halls expansion, as well as an upgrade of the site’s energy connections.

At present, the site encompasses 10,800m² net technical space and has an IT load capacity of 27MW, but is set to soar following this work.

Chris Mosley, project director at BYES, said the company is pleased to be reinforcing its ties with Virtus, adding that the commission is proof of the strong relationship between the two parties.

“The strength of the relationship is testament to our strong team and skills, and we are delighted to be providing ongoing support to the UK’s leading datacentre provider,” he said.

“This contract is further evidence of the success of the collaborative approach we apply to our work, as we always ensure open lines of communication, full access to our in-house design team and our ‘can do’ attitude, which sees us going the extra mile for clients.”

Simon Anderson, construction director at Virtus, said the works are being undertaken in direct response to the growing demand it is seeing for colocation capacity.

“Having worked at the London4 facility over the past two years, BYES was the obvious choice to carry out the power upgrade and data hall extension works needed to meet the growing requirements of our existing customers,” he said.

“In addition, BYES has previously shown that it fully understands the added complications of working within a live datacentre, having completed similar expansion works at other Virtus facilities.”