Aligned Data Centers Applies Cloud Pricing Model to Colocation

Prior to completing construction of a data center in Plano, Texas, Aligned Data Centers, a unit of Aligned Energy, announced it is implementing an elastic pricing model based on the actual amount of energy and space IT customers consume.

Long-term contracts based on assumptions about static power requirements and fixed densities don’t provide customers with enough cost transparency into the hosting services they use, Jason Ferrara, chief marketing officer for Aligned, said.

“We’re bringing the cloud model to the data center,” said Ferrara. “It’s now buy only what you need and pay for only what you use.”

Ferrara noted that IT organizations often don’t know how many users of an application there might actually be one day. As a result, they need access to hosting services that they can use on an as-needed basis.

In contrast, many IT organizations wind up making commitments to a predetermined amount of megawatts that they almost never wind up fully utilizing.

In the case of Aligned, because of its efficient supply chain management processes, it can significantly increase the amount of power available to a customer in as little as eight weeks, which he said compares to several months for other providers.

Aligned is tapping into its existing data center infrastructure management (DCIM) and data center design expertise to move into the data center services sector. The 30 megawatt data center it is building in Plano will enable customers to deploy servers in rows that generate as little as one to 25 kilowatts per rack.

Aligned has also started construction of a larger 550,000 square foot, 65 megawatt data center in Phoenix and says it will soon be expanding its footprint to California, Illinois, Virginia, and New Jersey.