Gen-i to spend $10.5m on new Christchurch data centre

Gen-i says the new data centre is in some cases a response to growing demand for cloud computing services, and anticipated demand from the Ultrafast Broadband fibre roll-out.

It will complement Gen-i’s two existing Christchurch data centres in Hereford Street and Hillmorton. Gen-i Australasia CEO Chris Quin says the investment is part of Gen-i and Telecom’s ongoing investment in the Canterbury region as part of the rebuild focus. "We are committed to contributing to the success of Christchurch as the major business hub in the South Island. Our investment in the new data centre and ongoing commitment is designed to help our Canterbury customers scale their ICT capability to meet changing market demands and re-build their businesses," he says. Paul Deavoll, Head of Gen-i South Island, said Gen-i has seen increased demand from Christchurch customers looking to relocate their infrastructure to Gen-i data centres in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes. "Several of our Christchurch customers are after all working from temporary premises and are relying on us to house their ICT infrastructure in secure, robust and resilient data centres at competitive prices," says Deavoll. Gen-i’s existing 14 data centres are co-located in Telecom’s Exchange building infrastructure. IDC ranks Gen-i as number one for data centre earnings in New Zealand, the Telecom division says, with 31.7% marketshare while the first half of 2011.