• About Us
  • Partnership Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy

Data Center Frontier

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing.

  • Cloud
    • Hyperscale
  • Colo
    • Site Selection
    • Interconnection
  • Energy
    • Sustainability
  • Cooling
  • Technology
    • Internet of Things
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Edge Computing
    • Virtual Reality
    • Autonomous Cars
    • 5G Wireless
    • Satellites
  • Design
    • Servers
    • Storage
    • Network
  • Voices
  • Podcast
  • White Papers
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Newsletter
    • Companies
    • Data Center 101
  • Jobs
You are here: Home / Colo / With New CEO and Funding, Central Colo Looks to Expand

With New CEO and Funding, Central Colo Looks to Expand

By Rich Miller - August 3, 2016

With New CEO and Funding, Central Colo Looks to Expand

A look inside the racks and power room at a data center in Sunnyvale, Calif. (Photos: Element Critical)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

As Ken Parent surveys the opportunities for Central Colo in the Silicon Valley data center market, he likes what he sees.

“Silicon Valley is an attractive market if you have supply,” said Parent, the new CEO of Central Colo, which operates a 94,000 square foot data center in Sunnyvale, which has ample capacity space available.

Parent has joined Central Colo as part of an investment from Safanad, a global private equity firm with ambitions in the data center sector. Those aspirations extend well beyond Silicon Valley, as Parent and Safanad say they hope to build through acquisitions.

“The goal is to create a national platform,” said Parent. “We have an asset with considerable upside in Silicon Valley. It’s a great launching point. Once we expand in the U.S., we have designs on being a global player.”

But first, there’s the challenge of selling data center space in Silicon Valley, one of the most competitive markets in the country.

Central Colo was launched last year by industry veteran Arman Khalili, with backing from San Francisco investment firm Industry Capital. Khalili, who previously founded and led Bay Area colo specialist UnitedLayer, will remain on the board of directors of and continue to “dedicate significant time to the growth of CentralColo,” the company said.

Immediate Supply in a Tight Market

Safanad’s investment was described as “significant,” while Industry Capital will remain an investor.

“CentralColo will be well capitalized to support the growth of its current operations in Silicon Valley as well as new locations to meet the needs of the growing client base,” said Craig Kahler, Director of Private Equity at Safanad, who joined the board of CentralColo. “We are thrilled to work with Ken Parent and the rest of the management team.”

Parent was previously the CEO of ByteGrid, which specializes in acquiring data centers with an existing tenant and vacant space, typically using a sale/leaseback model that provided a combination of recurring revenue and upside from leasing vacant space.

The company’s first building is a former Level 3 data center in Sunnyvale, which has 4 megawatts of power capacity in its first phase. Early tenants include Baidu Research and Packet, which offers bare metal cloud services. Parent says the facility has plenty of power and space available in a tight supply market.

Free Resource from Data Center Frontier White Paper Library

UPS systems
High Efficiency Modes of Operation: Path Toward Highest Energy Efficiency Without Load Availability Trade-Off
The most common UPS topology currently used in the industry is double conversion; nevertheless, most UPS suppliers have introduced Eco Modes of operation to further increase the levels of efficiency of the UPS. Download the new paper from Vertiv, which analyzes potential drawbacks of Eco Mode types of operation, further highlights elements to consider when using these modes of operation, and gives a review of field results for technologies like the Liebert Trinergy Cube UPS and more. 
We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

Get this PDF emailed to you.

“I don’t know if there’s another provider in Silicon Valley with more than 2 or 3 megawatts available,” said Parent. “We can deliver up to 4 megawatts very quickly, and then another 4 megawatts in three to six months.”

Parent says Central Colo’s facility can handle high density compute requirements, including research and development operations, which have been moving out of office campuses in Silicon Valley as companies staff for growth and require additional office space.

An aerial view of Central Colo's data center in Sunnyvale.

An aerial view of Central Colo’s data center in Sunnyvale.

Most of the data center industry’s major players compete in the Silicon Valley market, with most based in Santa Clara, where power costs from municipal utility Silicon Valley Power are cheaper than rates from PG&E in most surrounding areas, including Sunnyvale. A number of other players are working to bring new supply to market, but Parent believes the ability to cool high-density workloads will be a differentiator for Central Colo.

“One of the beauties of this project is that we can cool significant densities from 5kW up to 22kW,” said Parent, who said that capability was an advantage in winning the Baidu Research deal.

Safanad has offices in New York, Dubai and London. The company describes itself as an investment boutique that embraces a “weather map” model to detect trends and partner with specialists in emerging growth sectors.

Fully-Funded Growth Strategy

Industry Capital said it welcomes the new investment. “Our partnership with Safanad comes at a great time for CentralColo, as we have laid the foundation over the past year,” said Norman Villarina, Managing Partner at Industry Capital. “Our expansion plans are well supported by Ken joining us as CEO as he not only brings significant expertise in managing and acquiring data centers, but also significant skills in leading the growth of organizations.”

“Our partners have funded our growth strategy and support both our organic growth and strategic asset acquisition plans,” said Parent. “I wanted to make sure I’m teaming up with someone with deep pockets, who understands the size of the checks needed to compete in this space. They understand the global aspects of what we want to accomplish.”[clickToTweet tweet=”Central Colo CEO Ken Parent: Our goal is to create a national platform.” quote=”Central Colo CEO Ken Parent: Our goal is to create a national platform.”]

Parent says the Central Colo team is already in discussions about acquisition opportunities.

“I think there’s a lot of good value-add opportunities for us,” said Parent. “We’re seeing more and more interesting (acquisition) opportunities than I’ve seen before.

While there are many properties for sale, Parent said his team is interested in opportunities in second-tier markets, but will shop carefully for deals that fit their investment criteria.

“Clearly, there are markets we want to be in, but you have to match the market to the opportunity,” he said. “We’re not going to build greenfield, at least right now. We’ll look at any market that may be underserved. We could be pretty substantial in 4 or 5 years, growing a little at a time.”

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Central Colo, Element Critical, Silicon Valley

Newsletters

Stay informed: Get our weekly updates!

Are you a new reader? Follow Data Center Frontier on Twitter or Facebook.

About Rich Miller

I write about the places where the Internet lives, telling the story of data centers and the people who build them. I founded Data Center Knowledge, the data center industry's leading news site. Now I'm exploring the future of cloud computing at Data Center Frontier.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Equipment Longevity & Performance: Why the Bathtub Curve Is Inaccurate

Equipment Longevity & Performance: Why the Bathtub Curve Is Inaccurate Chad Peters, Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Service Express, revisits the Bathtub Curve theory and explains how to track equipment reliability and performance for data-driven buying decisions.

White Papers

data center site

Five Things To Know About Data Center Site Selection

A data center is a long-term investment, and choosing a location requires being sensitive both the needs of the business and the surrounding community.  If selecting a site for a hyperscale facility, get the new special report that explores five rules of the road to keep your business and the surrounding community in perfect harmony. 

Get this PDF emailed to you.

We always respect your privacy and we never sell or rent our list to third parties. By downloading this White Paper you are agreeing to our terms of service. You can opt out at any time.

DCF Spotlight

Data center modules on display at the recent Edge Congress conference in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Edge Computing is Poised to Remake the Data Center Landscape

Data center leaders are investing in edge computing and edge solutions and actively looking at new ways to deploy edge capacity to support evolving business and user requirements.

An aerial view of major facilities in Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia. (Image: Loudoun County)

Northern Virginia Data Center Market: The Focal Point for Cloud Growth

The Northern Virginia data center market is seeing a surge in supply and an even bigger surge in demand. Data Center Frontier explores trends, stats and future expectations for the No. 1 data center market in the country.

See More Spotlight Features

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting

  • MEP Coordinator - Data Center Construction - Ashburn, VA
  • Data Center Facility Engineer - Chantilly, VA
  • Data Center Site Operations VP - Seattle, WA
  • Senior Electrical Engineer - Data Center - Denver, CO
  • Senior Estimator - Data Center Construction - Denver, CO

See More Jobs

Data Center 101

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center 101: Mastering the Basics of the Data Center Industry

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Open Spectrum, brings our readers a series that provides an introductory guidebook to the ins and outs of the data center and colocation industry. Think power systems, cooling, solutions, data center contracts and more. The Data Center 101 Special Report series is directed to those new to the industry, or those of our readers who need to brush up on the basics.

  • Data Center Power
  • Data Center Cooling
  • Strategies for Data Center Location
  • Data Center Pricing Negotiating
  • Cloud Computing

See More Data center 101 Topics

About Us

Charting the future of data centers and cloud computing. We write about what’s next for the Internet, and the innovations that will take us there. We tell the story of the digital economy through the data center facilities that power cloud computing and the people who build them. Read more ...
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

About Our Founder

Data Center Frontier is edited by Rich Miller, the data center industry’s most experienced journalist. For more than 20 years, Rich has profiled the key role played by data centers in the Internet revolution. Meet the DCF team.

TOPICS

  • 5G Wireless
  • Cloud
  • Colo
  • Connected Cars
  • Cooling
  • Cornerstone
  • Coronavirus
  • Design
  • Edge Computing
  • Energy
  • Executive Roundtable
  • Featured
  • Finance
  • Hyperscale
  • Interconnection
  • Internet of Things
  • Machine Learning
  • Network
  • Podcast
  • Servers
  • Site Selection
  • Social Business
  • Special Reports
  • Storage
  • Sustainability
  • Videos
  • Virtual Reality
  • Voices of the Industry
  • Webinar
  • White Paper

Copyright Endeavor Business Media© 2022