Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) says its will open a new data centre in Calgary in January and expand its Edmonton data centre to tap a “significant growth opportunity” in Western Canada.
They will be part of a newly created unit, Rogers Data Centres, which has 14 locations in nine cities across Canada including Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.
“Our new data centre offerings in Alberta present a significant growth opportunity in Western Canada’s business-to-business market,” said AJ Byers, president of Rogers Data Centres.
Byers had been president of Blackiron Data, which Rogers acquired in April from Primus Telecommunications for $200 million cash.
At the time, Blackiron had eight data centres across Canada in five major cities — Toronto, Ottawa, London, Vancouver and Edmonton.
Rogers later acquired Pivot Data Centres and Granite Networks in two deals announced in September, for a total of $161.25 million in cash.
Pivot, which cost Rogers $155 million cash, had three data centres in Calgary and Edmonton at the time and planned to open two more locations in the following months. The consolidation of the Blackiron, Pivot and Granite within the new unit will help Roger — best known for consumer-oriented wireless, cable and media businesses — to expand in the business sector.
The data centres have specialized space and infrastructure to provide various IT services for small- to medium-sized businesses.
“In the past year, Rogers Business Solutions has taken significant steps to build and strengthen our position as a leader in data centre services in Canada,” said Terry Canning, senior vice-president for Rogers Business Solutions.
“Combining data centre services with our extensive fibre network, and full suite of voice and data solutions allows us to enable businesses across the country to innovate and evolve in a dynamic and fast-paced market.”