365 Data Centers Targets SMBs, Ditches Colo Contracts

The "Main" may be gone, but the data centers remain. 365 Main has rebranded as 365 Data Centers, and is sharpening its focus as a provider of colocation services to the small business sector.

As part of that shift, the new 365 Data Centers is skipping the traditional multi-year service agreement, and offering its colocation services on a "commitment free" month-to-month basis.

365 Main took its name from the company's initial property, an iconic San Francisco colocation center, which was sold to Digital Realty in 2010 along with four other properties. In 2012, 365 Main co-founders Chris Dolan and James McGrath resurrected the brand by acquiring 16 data centers from Equinix, seeing an opportunity to create a "national player with a local focus." Last year 365 Main added an Evocative data center in Emeryville, Calif., giving it 17 facilities.

Dolan and McGrath have since moved on, and a new executive team has come on board to launch the new brand and refine the focus. The new CEO is John Scanlon, a veteran of Internap and Yipes Communications. Chief Marketing Officer Keao Caindec worked with Scanlon at both those companies.

Their goal is to optimize their offerings for small businesses, making colocation as user-friendly as possible. Small businesses are typically seen as candidates for cloud services, especially software-as-a-service offerings. But 365 Data Centers believes there's an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses that have regulatory compliance requirements, and may be interested in created private clouds or hybrid clouds in colocation centers.

Caindec says small businesses are good candidates for colo - if it can be made accessible to them. "The big name colocation and data center providers are focused on the enterprise, and it leaves SMBs and the channel out in the cold," he said. "We think there's a gap there, and we want to address that."

That's the impetus behind 365 Quick Start, which offers pay-for-use colocation service, offering online sign-up and commitment-free terms. That's a change from common practice of two-year or three-year contracts for colocation agreements. 365 Data Centers isn't the first service provider to offer these terms, as CyrusOne last year introduced an "express" offering with month-to-month terms and online ordering. 365 is convinced that a different approach is required to boost adoption of colo space by small businesses.

"We are reinventing the customer experience into one that fully meets their needs and reflects the way business is done in the rest of the technology realm," said Scanlon. "365 Quick Start is our first proof point of that. SMBs want to take gradual steps into the cloud and we are dedicated to supporting them with local presence and national reach, providing services that facilitate a hybrid cloud-like model."

Scanlon said the contract-centric nature of the data center business is tied to a real estate model, driven by the priorities of real estate investment trusts (REITs) and the desire for predictable future revenue for investors and analysts. He asserts that stickiness in the colo business is driven by exceptional service, rather than a detailed contract.

Scanlon says 365 Data Centers hopes to leverage its presence in the central business districts (CBDs) in many of its markets. He says the company is working closely with economic development agencies to create startup-friendly environments to support urban tech incubators.

"Our data centers sit inside cities, which is unlike the large national providers, which have largely built outside the city in greenfields. We see the data center as a cornerstone in the revitalization of our cities."

Availability of 365 Quick Start
365 Quick Start is immediately available for purchase online. To purchase or learn more about 365 Quick Start, please visit: 365datacenters.com/quickstart.

About 365 Data Centers
365 Data Centers provides secure and reliable colocation services that offer an easier way to scale business growth and connect to the cloud. Through its 17 U.S. data centers, 100% uptime SLA, and national network of carriers and content providers, 365 Data Centers offers flexible pricing models that let customers pay as they grow with no long-term lock in. Services are secure and tailored for small and mid-sized businesses, telecom carriers and cloud service providers. We partner with businesses, technology leaders and community leaders to build technology centers that enable economic growth. With 365 Data Centers as a local provider, driving business growth just got easier. For more information, visit 365datacenters.com.