EvoSwitch has announced it will open its new WDC1 data center in the United States on January 1, 2013. The entrance into the U.S. market was driven by customer demand; WDC1 will open with 27 percent of the first phase already sold to customers.

EvoSwitch has signed a long-term lease for a data center facility in Manassas, VA. Phase One will begin with an initial commitment of 3 megawatts (MW) of critical power with opportunities for expansion. Future build out phases allow for further growth of up to 100,000 sq ft as customer demand requires.

Eric Boonstra, CEO of EvoSwitch, said, “We are truly excited to be one of the first European providers of carrier-neutral data center services to expand into the United States and launch with a secure, scalable facility in one of the most densely interconnected regions in the world. We believe that our brand of innovative and sustainable carrier-neutral colocation will provide an excellent alternative for the many Cloud, digital media and telecommunications companies looking for carrier-neutral data center services. We look forward to successfully repeating our model in the United States. This means focusing on our customers’ interconnection needs by attracting a large base of carriers and other network service providers, preferably around a strong neutral Internet Exchange partner, much like AMS-IX is to us in Amsterdam.”

“Although this is our first international expansion, we see opportunities for international growth similar to those in Amsterdam”, continued Boonstra. “Many of our customers colocate their mission-critical applications on multiple continents; by opening WDC1 we are creating new opportunities to better service these customers, as well as attract new ones,” Boonstra added.

EvoSwitch´s new WDC1 data center is located in Manassas, VA near Washington, D.C., a region that acts as one of the world’s main interconnection hubs for the Internet. The area’s data centers attract a high density of communications, cloud, and digital media companies for colocation and interconnection services; companies that represent key segments for EvoSwitch.

The WDC1 data center in Virginia is LEED Gold certified and DOD- and DCID compliant. EvoSwitch carried out thorough and extensive engineering audits and testing to establish a center that meets the company’s high quality and service delivery standards.

“In Europe we are leading the industry in improving energy efficiency inside the data center. Our AMS1 facility in Amsterdam has a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) score of 1.2. WDC1 is scheduled to operate with a PUE rating of 1.3. As we establish our presence there and grow, there will increasingly be opportunities to improve and strive for the best possible ratings,” said Boonstra.