Construction Magazine August 2020 | Page 17

BUILDING A GLOBAL DATA CENTRE PLATFORM
BUILDING A GLOBAL DATA CENTRE PLATFORM
This approach , Sharp explains , is the driver behind PlatformDIGITAL , which he says is “ about being entrenched in what each customer needs and truly supporting them on a global basis . This is what directly drove our recent announcement of expanding PlatformDIGITAL with Interxion , adding more value to our customers and deeper reach into Europe and beyond . We have a very different ethos at Digital Realty , where we want to empower our customers and be a true open platform .”
That ethos , as Sharp explains , mirrors the broader evolution of the data centre sector , as well as how companies – indeed , all of us – use data . “ We ’ ve seen a shift wherein customers don ’ t want to be siloed into different products or different services – so , the differences between collocation and scale , for example . Typically , particularly with how rapidly the landscape is changing , you ’ ll see customers may go into collocation and outgrow it very quickly because the economics and the sheer infrastructure they need just can ’ t be provided through a collocation model . From our perspective , it ’ s about building out a robust platform that can manage all of those different fields in a seamless fashion . It ’ s why you ’ ll see us stop talking about collocation and scale , and just talk about ‘ the platform ’.
“ That shift is really dictating the direction of PlatformDIGITAL ,” he adds . “ You don ’ t go to Hertz to rent a car for three years , you know ? It ’ s economics . So , for us , it ’ s always about understanding a customer ’ s requirements around sizing
17 constructionglobal . com