Deal Wire: Horizon, iland, Savvis, Rackspace

Horizon Data Center Solutions has secured a new multi-year contract for data center services with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), which operates retail stores that sell tax-free items to U.S. active duty, Reserve and National Guard personnel, military retirees and their families. The contract, which will provide secure disaster recovery and business continuity, is estimated at $47 million, according to Horizon.

VMware hosting specialist iland Internet Solutions will take 1,500 square feet of space in CRG West’s Wilshire Annex data center in Los Angeles, adding to a California service footprint that includes existing space in Tustin, San Diego, San Francisco and Oakland. "The Wilshire Annex location joins a growing list of other iland Hubs located in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Dallas, Houston, and London," said Scott Sparvero, CEO of iland Internet Solutions. "We strategically select the cities that have a growing demand for bandwidth-intensive services and applications, and we select key, state-of-the-art buildings within these cities, such as CRG West’s Wilshire Annex, to house our hubs according to the highest industry standards."

Managed hosting provider Savvis, Inc. (SVVS) has announced a strategic alliance with GTSI Corp., a leading provider of information technology solutions to the federal government. Savvis will become GTSI’s preferred provider for a wide range of managed hosting and IT infrastructure services for the federal agencies that outsource their IT services to GTSI. “We needed a strategic IT infrastructure provider who could support the growth in our managed IT services sales model,” said Bill Weber, GTSI’s Senior Vice President of Programs and Services. “After an extensive assessment of service providers, we selected Savvis as the preferred provider based on their IT infrastructure services expertise, strong government experience, and flexible services offering.”

Rackspace Hosting, (RAX) has announced an agreement to provide IT hosting services to SupportSoft Inc., (SPRT), which develops software that automates the resolution of IT problems. Under the agreement, Rackspace is providing a Windows-based web environment that runs on a heterogeneous hosting model consisting of a Platform and Managed Hosting combination. “Rackspace is able to offer us the highest level of uptime, which is critical to our and our customers’ success” said Anthony Rodio, chief operating officer, SupportSoft. “Thousands of global customers depend on SupportSoft and support.com to provide always-on service."