What the NGD Acquisition Means for Vantage Data Centers and Its Customers – A Q&A with Sureel Choksi

Following its announcement of the acquisition of Etix Everywhere (Etix) and its expansion into five data center markets across Europe in February of this year, Vantage Data Centers (Vantage) has just announced another strategic acquisition in Europe. This acquisition brings Next Generation Data (NGD) into the Vantage Data Centers family.

NGD is a data center provider operating Europe’s largest data center campus in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales. Coupled with the acquisition of Etix, which included a hyperscale data center campus under development in the Frankfurt region, and land purchases for planned hyperscale data center campuses in Berlin, Milan, Warsaw and Zurich, the NGD acquisition effectively doubles Vantage’s portfolio from six data markets to 12 and rapidly expands the company’s footprint into the EU.

We sat down with Sureel Choksi, president and CEO of Vantage Data Centers, to discuss why the acquisition of NGD makes sense for Vantage right now, why a data center in Wales is a smart investment for the company, and what Vantage customers can expect as a result of this acquisition.

Interview with Sureel Choksi

Data Centers Today (DCT): Why is the acquisition of NGD a smart strategy for Vantage Data Centers today – especially following so closely behind the acquisition of Etix?

Sureel Choksi: Our acquisition of NGD is another important step in our expansion across Europe. A number of our customers are looking to grow their businesses in the European market. This acquisition accelerates our expansion and enables us to serve new and existing hyperscalers, cloud providers and enterprise customers looking to partner with an established and trusted data center partner as they grow into that geographic region.

Much like Etix, the acquisition of NGD expedites our growth and secures a foothold in both the U.K. and EU much more quickly than if we had attempted to only acquire land and build data centers ourselves. This means that we’re ready and able to grow with our customers as their businesses cross the ocean and expand into a new continent.

DCT:What about NGD made it the right company for Vantage to acquire?

Sureel Choksi: NGD operates the largest data center campus not just in the U.K. – but in all of Europe. The data center campus that Vantage adds to its portfolio through this acquisition offers a tremendous amount of capacity with room for expansion – which will give us and our customers increased flexibility and scalability.

The NGD acquisition gives Vantage the opportunity to expand existing client relationships and better serve the emerging hyperscale, cloud and enterprise markets in Europe, and specifically in the U.K. And it will do so rapidly by drastically accelerating our time to market.

DCT: What about Wales and the U.K. made it desirable to Vantage? What about this region makes it a good data center market?

Sureel Choksi: NGD’s data center is in the Cardiff Capital Region in South Wales, which is home to the Welsh government and inside the U.K. Tech Corridor. It’s also conveniently located next to two large metropolitan areas. It’s just two or three hours from London and less than an hour from Bristol.

It’s also just a few miles from the M4 and major airports, making it easily accessible for customers. As the London M25 area gets more congested, hyperscalers are looking for capacity just outside that hub.

The area is ideal for building a cloud region for the U.K. Customers will benefit from the area’s low latency to London – which is less than 1.5 milliseconds. The data center is located in close proximity to the U.K.’s Supergrid, which ensures connectivity to reliable power at scale. Combined, these attributes deliver competitive power costs and excellent fiber connectivity – which are essential for any data center.

DCT: What kind of demand signal is there from hyperscale companies for data center space in this region?

Sureel Choksi: We see the industry changing and customers increasingly needing higher-density, scalable capabilities in a shorter timeframe. These customers value location, total cost of ownership and connectivity along with sustainability, and NGD gives us a strong advantage in the market.

As the industry continues to grow, there is a greater need for large-scale data centers in strategic locations around the globe, including this region of the U.K. The area around London is one of the most in-demand data center markets, and this data center campus in Wales will help us to meet that demand.

This 180MW campus has existing capacity and the ability to scale quickly. When we apply our unique approach to building and expansion, we’ll accelerate bringing additional capacity online and further cement our position as a major provider in the global data center market.

DCT: What does this acquisition mean for NGD’s current customer base? How will this acquisition impact their data center operations?

Sureel Choksi: Vantage plans to continue providing quality space, consistent connectivity and support to NGD’s customers. In fact, we feel that NGD customers will appreciate our commitment to operational excellence, which is a philosophy and practice that we share with NGD.

Most importantly, the acquisition means opportunity for NGD customers. Similar to how the acquisition enables our customers in the U.S. to grow with us across Europe and the U.K., NGD customers now have access to data center campuses operated by a trusted and experienced partner in North America. This opens the door for them to more easily and seamlessly grow their businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

DCT: What is the plan for the existing NGD team? Will they continue working with Vantage?

Sureel Choksi: The knowledge, experience and ability of the team at NGD were key factors that attracted us to them. They have an incredibly strong team in the U.K. led by NGD’s CEO Justin Jenkins.

Going forward, Justin will serve as chief operating officer for Vantage Europe and president of Vantage U.K. Under Justin’s leadership, the team will be the bedrock on which we continue growing our operations in the U.K. and Europe as we scale to meet customer demand.

For additional information about Vantage Data Centers’ U.K. campus, click HERE.