Equinix has announced that it will be doubling its biggest facility in Britain, flagship centre in Slough with plans to spend a total of £26m on the upgrade despite the recent Brexit results.
Despite pre-referendum warnings that investment in data centres, the banks of computer servers that companies use to store, process and send data would be hampered by Britain’s recent vote to leave the EU- The company has continued its commitment to upgrade the ‘LD6’ facility.
Michael Winterson, managing director of Equinix services said: “We knew the referendum was looming when we made the decision but the key drivers for demand will still be present for us. There have been periods of financial instability before and throughout that we’ve continued to invest in the business and build new data centres.”
The results of the referendum have since led to fears that data centre providers like Equinix will change focus on continental Europe, as European companies and British business operating abroad are forced to store data in their surroundings.
The world's biggest colo player made a total investment of £2.35bn when it acquired British data centre company Telecity last year.
The Brexit warnings included possible new laws which state that where data must be stored and how it is sent across borders may have to be agreed along with European laws stating that personal data about EU citizens must be stored only within the EU.
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Winterson later added that London will continue to remain a “nerve centre” for data flows after Britain leave the EU.
London remains the biggest hub for data centres in Europe, accounting for near to half of total usage on the continent.
Read a previous interview by CBR with Eric Schwartz, EMEA president at Equinix.
