DataVita has announced plans to expand the capacity of its flagship Fortis data centre in Lanarkshire.
The multi-cloud services provider has invested £8 million to add an extra 400 racks to the data centre, taking Fortis up to 1,500 sq. m. of technical space.
Long-term, DataVita said the expansion opens up the opportunity provide a further 3,000 sq. m. at the facility.
Combined with plans to deliver Scotland’s first metro data centre in Glasgow, the expansion means DataVita will deliver an additional 550 racks of capacity in the Central Belt.
Danny Quinn, Managing Director of DataVita, commented: “The additional capacity at Fortis will ensure we can support more organisations with their IT infrastructure, along with our own growth and plans to make the facility even more efficient in the future.”
The expansion of Fortis is part of the second phase of DataVita’s long-term development of the facility, with the company completing the first phase in 2017.
Fortis is the largest – and only – data centre of its kind in Scotland, supporting critical IT services for an estimated three million people across the country.
The firm took full ownership of the data centre in 2021 as part of a £45 million deal, and plans to further enhance its green credentials by taking it off-grid.
Plans unveiled earlier this year will see the centre generate its own electricity from wind and battery-powered back-up systems.
At present, the facility also leverages ‘free cooling’ technology, which harnesses Scotland’s natural climate to maintain optimum temperatures instead of energy intensive air conditioning and refrigerant units.
Quinn added: “The expansion of Fortis is part of our long-term plan for the facility and underlines our commitment to providing the best and most energy efficient data services to private, public, and third sector organisations across Scotland.
“Sustainability is high on the agenda for IT and that has only become even more the case with energy price increases and the recent hot weather.
“Many companies are now no longer able to accept the cost of running their own data centre services, and the steps we have already taken to use renewable energy and make our facility as efficient as possible has driven more interest in our offering.”
Source: DIGIT