Internet service provider Q9 Networks Inc. marked its entry into western Canada with the opening of a data centre in Calgary on Wednesday.
The Calgary facility, the company’s third in Canada, will offer Alberta businesses various infrastructure and hosting solutions for mission-critical Internet applications, according to a company statement. The list of services offered includes managed servers, colocation space, managed firewalls, back-up, load balancing and virtual private networks (VPNs), the company said.
The 22,000-square-foot facility located in downtown Calgary is equipped with multiple power feeds, UPS battery back-up, emergency diesel generators, redundant HVAC systems, and a fire detection and suppression system, the company said.
Q9 operates two other data centres – one in Toronto and the other in Brampton, Ont. The Calgary data centre will work in conjunction with the other centres to provide national customers with added business continuity and disaster recovery options, the company said.
“Calgary, with the second highest number of corporate head offices in the country, was the natural choice for our initial expansion into western Canada,” said Osama Arafat, Toronto-based CEO of Q9, in a statement.
Security is a key component for Q9, so the company provides biometric identification systems, digital video surveillance and on-site security officers to ensure the protection of the facility and customer equipment.
Alberta clients will now be able to access customer care services, including a Web-based portal that provides visibility into their equipment and Q9 service metrics. Both customer and Q9 systems in the Calgary location will be monitored from a local network operation centre, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The company has indicated it may also expand further east, with a data centre possibly in Ottawa or Montreal.
Q9 Networks can be found at http://www.Q9.com.