Virtual Infrastructure Professionals (VIP) is to spend $250,000 on creating data storage services in Hastings in the next three months, and will then look for a larger, permanent facility in Hawke’s Bay with a tier 2.5 or higher rating. In a statement announcing the initiative, the company refers to the planned centre as a data storage centre, rather than a datacentre.
VIP says Hastings fibre company UnisonFibre’s fibre network was the impetus for the move. Although UnisonFibre bid for the Hawke's Bay ultra-fast broadband contract, but lost out to Chorus, it has established a fibre loop which serves business customers.
VIP’s national vendor relationship manager Brett Rawcliffe says the company will initially co-locate its services inside UnisonFibre’s Hastings datacentre, but is looking to set up its own datacentre in the region.
The company is also working on plans to establish similar co-locating agreements with operators in Whangarei, Wellington, Tauranga and New Plymouth. Rawcliffe says VIP wants to establish of regionally based datacentres that offer local secure data storage facilities.
VIP CEO Lance Warren told Computerworld in April that the company has plans to set up 17 data storage facilities throughout New Zealand. He said it planned to build datacentres in major cities with tier 4 ratings, which must be certified the Uptime Institute in the US.
Rawcliffe told Computerworld today that VIP has establised a datacentre in Hamilton, and is looking to upgrade its certification to tier 4. It has had its design for the upgrade certified by the Uptime Institute.