Monster data center heads for Scotland

from ITworld.com:

>>Monster data center heads for Scotland

So what is the industry view of this monster-sized data center?

"The scale, as described, is certainly massive, but Equinix won't comment on competitor's plans," said Eric Schwartz, the President of Equinix in Europe.

"What I can say is that there is a component of our industry that tends to make announcements first in order to try and acquire customers, and then execute. Equinix tends to build first and then execute. If these guys intend to open for 2010, then construction would have to start soon," he said.

So what is the timescale to build a new data center? "From idea to opening, we are experiencing anywhere from 18 to 24 months, but this varies depend on planning permission and power," said Schwartz.

Schwartz pointed out that there are emerging sub categories within the data center industry, catering for differing customers demands. "One segment tends to be nearer people [i.e. closer in], which is where Equinix operates, and the other segment is going further afield," he said. "The further out builds tends to be larger, the closer in tend to be smaller."