On September 21 the iconic American firm, IBM, made a joint announcement with the Canadian government about the launch of the IBM Canada Leadership Data Centre. Supported by the local governments of the cities of Barrie and Ottawa, the center is being called Canada’s most advanced computing facility.
The IBM Canada Leadership Data Centre was developed with the “latest advancements in energy efficient data centre management, business continuity, resiliency, security and disaster recovery services.” Te center was established thanks to $90 million injected into the project by IBM as part of its IBM Canada Research and Development Centre network. The center will create 20 jobs in the city of Barrie and the network, with a total $175 million investment, has created 145 new jobs in Canada. The initiative also has government support and Ontario has put in $15 million of its own money. The latest addition to the IBM network is expected to be the back bone of the company’s research and development programs in the region moving forward.
A recent survey showed that 50% of organizations in Canada believe that the top challenges they face include worries of having enough data centre space at their disposal. However, the report also showed that these companies were unable to address this problem because almost 70% of their IT budget is spent on maintenance. This may be a large problem going forward as analysts like IDC predict that the information being managed by firms will increase by 50 times in the next 10 years along with a 49% increase in servers over the next two years. Efficient data centers can help cut costs and IBM’s latest center is a step in that direction.
“Canadian organizations are seeking more strategic ways to increase operational efficiency and position themselves for sustainable growth,” said IBM Canada president, John Lutz. “We continue to invest in smarter infrastructure within Canada because businesses can’t afford downtime with today’s economic pressures. This new facility provides a flexible foundation ingrained in best-practices so we can deliver essential services to help organizations and partners better manage data, reduce operating costs, improve productivity and gain competitive advantage.”
The IBM Canada Leadership Data Centre currently has 25,000 square feet of capacity and it is expected to be increased to 100,000 square feet in the coming months. The setup has a modular design that will show case “productivity and effectiveness in space, energy and data management” to help local organizations.
Patrick Brown, a Parliamentarian from Barrie, described the center’s main goal best when he said that, “This Centre is designed to act as a catalyst for innovative collaborations with researchers and businesses here in Barrie and across southern Ontario. The advanced knowledge coming from the collaborative research and innovation platform funded by our government will be a strategic asset for Canada to advance home-grown innovation on the world stage.”
Source: TechVibes
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