Canberra adds Equinix to data centre panel

The Federal Government has beefed up its whole-of-government data centre panel, adding Equinix and two other operators into the mix.

New data centre options available to agencies were Equinix (Alexandria, NSW), Australian Data Centres (Mitchell, ACT) and Enterprise Data Corporation (Mitcham, VIC).

These facilities joined the Canberra Data Centre, TransACT, iSeek (Brisbane), Global Switch (Sydney) and Datacom (Sydney) on the panel.

Equinix Australia managing director Darren Mann told iTnews that the company would service new Australian Government customers from the almost-completed first phase of the Sydney3 facility.

"With our Sydney3 site opening in June, we're well placed to meet immediate needs of Federal and for that matter State government agencies," he said.

"Customers will begin installing equipment in Sydney3 in early June after the site is handed over to us by our construction firm.

"The expansion for us to a third site was triggered by increased demand from current and new customers in the finance, cloud, enterprise and internet content sectors, in particular."

Canberra has been pursuing a strategy to consolidate ageing data centres of Federal agencies into a small number of big centres.

The strategy was designed to save $1 billion in future costs but was also expected to be lucrative for the panelists.

Special Minister of State Gary Gray also today revealed a separate panel of firms that agencies can use when moving into a newer, larger data centre.

That panel consisted of Colliers International Project Services, Dell Australia, Dimension Data, Fujitsu Australia, Hewlett Packard and The Frame Group.

"While it is not a frequent occurrence, moving between data centres can be a complex exercise," Gray said.

"Most agencies have limited experience in undertaking such an activity.

"The companies on this panel will work with agencies to plan and execute such moves ensuring minimal impact on services to the Australian community."