Roundup: Q9, CENX, The Bunker, Savvis

Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the data center and hosting industry:

Q9 opens Toronto data center. Q9 Networks (Q9) announced the opening of its sixth data center in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).  The 240,000 square foot, $125 million facility was announced last summer and due to strong demand, two phases were built instead of the single phase originally planned.  Including the new Toronto-area facility, Q9 has nine operational data centers  with a 10th scheduled to open in April 2011 in Kamloops, British Columbia. "We are unique in the industry for having an exceptional in-house data centre design and build team," says Q9 Chief Executive Officer, Osama Arafat. "This significant competitive advantage allows us to quickly respond to changing customer needs and deliver capacity in very aggressive timeframes, without compromising quality or reliability. In this case, we completed the build-out in less than six short months."

The Bunker completes power upgrade. The Bunker Secure Hosting announced the completion of a power upgrade project at its data center in Ash, Kent. The £2 million (~$3.2 million) project provides The Bunker with an infrastructure for 4,500 KVA, sufficient capacity to supply the entire data center, of which 1,500 KVA is being currently used. Further benefits from this upgrade are the availability of dual feeds and up to 32 amps per rack.

CENX launches MemberLink.  Carrier Ethernet Exchange provider CENX announced MemberLink, a new Inter-Exchange Service exclusively provided by CENX Members. The service facilitates connectivity between CENX Exchanges by integrating and advertising pre-tested, pre-configured links between CENX members. These inter-exchange links are 100 percent operated by independent transport providers, such as CFN Services, who is the first member to provide this inter-Exchange function.  “This new and innovative service addition to the CFN Product Roadmap not only enhances the CFN Low Latency Global Platform, but also manages all of the quality of service and provisioning issues faced in creating an end-to-end Carrier Ethernet service,” said Russell Logan, VP of Distributed Networks at CFN Services.

Savvis partners with Bharti airtel. Savvis (SVVS) and hosted IT solutions for enterprises, and Bharti airtel Limited, a global telecommunications company, announced today the two have joined forces to launch a major new strategic managed hosting and cloud computing initiative in India. Bharti operates in 19 countries across Asia and Africa and will house Savvis' wide range of managed hosting and cloud services to enterprises operating in or expanding to India. Additionally Bharti airtel will resell Savvis managed hosting and cloud services to India-based clients. "India is a huge potential market that requires the scale and local reach that only airtel with Savvis' enterprise-grade cloud platform can deliver," said Jim Ousley, chairman and CEO of Savvis. "Our global clients have been asking us for capabilities in India, and partnering with airtel enables us to provide the quality facilities and support both our clients and theirs require." Jim Ousley was interviewed on CNBC's Fast Money recently, addressing the Terremark acquisition and whether Savvis would stay independent.