[Sydney, AUSTRALIA] Macquarie’s $35m Intellicentre has opened in Sydney, marking the first step in the company’s agenda to take advantage of one of the strongest growing demands in IT&T.
The flagship data centre, opened by the NSW Minister for Information Technology, Kim Yeadon, is designed to tap into the growing demand for data centres and support this with e-business services.
Macquarie said it plans to roll out additional Intellicentres in other Australian capital cities based on customer demand. The company will partner with key applications providers in areas such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The telco plans to offer a solutions-based business model, combined with its data network and DSL offering, to meet the growing demand from enterprises for a value-added IT&T business partner.
Macquarie claims its offer is different to that of competitors due to the completeness of its solution, the value-added nature of its services, its significant infrastructure investment, and the level of control it gives customers.
“No one bundles high speed access, with managed router, extensive reporting, managed firewalls and all the other services we offer,” claimed Macquarie’s chief executive officer David Tudehope. “It is the bundling to form a total infrastructure solution that differentiates us and gives managers the control they have been demanding but unable to get from anyone else.”
Analysts have estimated the Australian Web hosting market at $42 million for mid year 2000, with IDC predicting the market to exceed $105 million by the end of this year.
United States-based telecommunications consultant and e-business commentator, Susan Almeida said Macquarie’s full-service data centre, combining enterprise-grade data network infrastructure with the ability to customise solutions, was the kind of foundation corporations now need.
“The critical factor is not just co-location – often little more than a real-estate service – but providing higher value,” she said. “Without this kind of advanced infrastructure foundation, service providers will not be able to support the next wave of corporate e-business and IT requirements.”
