XDSL, a local Internet Service Provider has expanded its data centre with an additional 600m2, bolstering its existing data centre facility.  This  will enable the provider to expand its service offering in the network and infrastructure space. These include a carrier-neutral co-location service, along with hosting, Disaster Recovery (DR), wholesale products for other ISPs, hosted services and super-fast broadband fibre Internet connectivity.

As a carrier-neutral hub, the data centre will provide interconnections with multiple carriers and ISPs, offering customers a choice of carrier for the best possible pricing. XDSL will also offer value added services such as competitive Internet pricing out of the data centre on the WACS and SEACOM cables for ISPs and wholesalers. The data centre is connected to all of the major fibre infrastructure rings in South Africa.

For corporate customers who already make use of XDSL’s super-fast fibre broadband services, DR services are offered with no additional charge for connectivity. Corporates pay only for the co-location space, using their existing connectivity within the data centre and for offsite backup and redundancy.

Says Danie Fourie, Director at XDSL: “This product is a first in the South African market. Traditionally, for backup and DR services, ISPs will charge for Internet connectivity at the company’s premises, as well as at the data centre, and then charge separately for a link between the two sites. This makes DR an expensive exercise. We are removing this barrier to entry and making DR far more affordable and cost-effective.”

Customers will be able to take advantage of high-speed broadband fibre and XDSL’s MPLS network, creating a platform for cost effective data backup and recovery, with the ability to mirror environments in multiple data centres for additional failover capabilities. XDSL will also provide access links through the data centre to ADSL, Diginet, 3G, satellite, microwave and fibre, offering a range of connectivity options to customers.

“We feel that there is a massive gap in the market for better pricing and value added services on solutions such as disaster recovery. Our aim is to open up the market and create a more competitive environment in this space. Our products and solutions are aimed at the corporate market, and with this new data centre we will be able to offer additional services to our existing customers as well as focus on gaining new customers with our expanded solution offering,” Fourie concludes.

The new XDSL data centre is currently operational and fully functional.