• 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 / Network / Netrality Eyes Expansion, Sharpens Focus on Connected Carrier Hotels

Netrality Eyes Expansion, Sharpens Focus on Connected Carrier Hotels

By Rich Miller - February 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

Netrality Eyes Expansion, Sharpens Focus on Connected Carrier Hotels

The meet-me room inside the Netrality carrier hotel at 401 North Broad in Philadelphia., circa 2019 (Photo: Netrality)

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Netrality has new owners, but remains focused on building out a national network of connectivity-rich carrier hotels in major metros. Only at an even larger scale.

“The business remains the same,” said Josh Maes, the Chief Operating Officer for Netrality. “We’re going to continue to focus on adding dots on the map and bringing data centers into our portfolio.”

Netrality will have more resources to put behind that strategy as a result of its acquisition by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP) in August. Macquarie is an Australian firm that invests in major infrastructure projects, which has a depth of financial resources and operating experience.

“Having the Macquarie team behind us is incredibly helpful,” said Maes. “The infrastructure investors moving into this space is validating this strategy.”

Netrality operates carrier hotel buildings in Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City and St. Louis. Carrier hotels are multi-tenant data centers located in the central business districts of major cities, serving as critical connectivity hubs.

The company, named for its focus on networks and neutrality, is creating advanced meet-me rooms in each property to enable customers to easily exchange network traffic. The existing management team continues, including Maes and CEO Gerald Marshall. Netrality recently announced the addition of Amber Caramella as Chief Revenue Officer.

Amber Caramella, Chief Revenue Officer at Netrality.

Prior to joining Netrality, Caramella served as Senior Vice President of Sales at Zayo, where she built the company’s global data center vertical team. She brings vast industry experience, previously holding a variety of sales and leadership roles at Level 3 Communications (now CenturyLink), XO Communications and Allegiance Telecom.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining the Netrality team,” said Caramella. “I look forward to contributing to its success.”

“Amber’s wealth of industry knowledge is the perfect complement to our C-suite as we venture forward on an aggressive path of growth, both organic and via acquisition,” said Marshall.

Cornerstones of the Internet Economy

Netrality was launched in 2015, with a vision for acquiring carrier hotels and upgrading their interconnection infrastructure to boost the flow of data between carriers, network operators and content specialists. Carrier hotels became the early cornerstones of the Internet economy, and some of the most successful properties in the colocation industry. A key piece of the business model is the meet-me room, a common area where providers can make connections between their networks.

Free Resource from Data Center Frontier White Paper Library

cloud service providers
Pro Tips and Best Practices: Physical Layer Strategies for Cloud/Managed Service Providers
Successful Cloud Service Providers and Managed Service Providers need to be out in front of everything in their managed data center spaces – ensuring uptime, bandwidth, and operational/cost efficiency today, with the flexibility and scalability to adapt and expand on the fly. Physical layer and  infrastructure is the foundation on which those services are built. Get the new data center ebook from Siemon that explores pro tips and best practices for physical layer strategies for cloud and managed service providers, from zone cabling in the colocation data center to high speed interconnects in the data center.
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.

Netrality’s formula is a real estate strategy built atop the enduring power of the cross connect – the physical connection between networks that knits the Internet together

The company sees plenty of opportunity to both build and buy. On the organic growth front, Netrality is adding tenants and continuing improvements to the Meet-Me Room and building infrastructure at its properties.

“We’re seeing growth and building out new capacity in all of our markets,” said Maes. “Demand has been super strong everywhere. There’s a really interesting opportunity with 5G platforms.”

Indeed, the emergence of 5G wireless and smart cities that integrate information technology into the fabric of city life, using analytics and sensors to better manage cities and make urban life safer, more efficient and sustainable. The long-term future for smart cities brings together the Internet of Things, BigData, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars to change the way we live and do business in major urban centers.

Acquisitions on the Roadmap

That’s the sweet spot for Netrality’s offerings, which include colocation, powered shell, and wholesale data center solutions. Its portfolio includes six data centers in five markets: 210 North Tucker and 900 Walnut in St. Louis, 1102 Grand in Kansas City, 1301 Fannin in Houston, 401 North Broad in Philadelphia and 717 South Wells in Chicago. Some of the buildings are large enough to have their own zip codes.

Acquisitions are also part of the Netrality playbook, and an area where Macquarie’s sponsorship brings the ability to finance growth.  MIP is part of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) which manages $129 billion in assets, including 155 portfolio businesses.

Macquarie is also a major investor in Aligned Energy, providing the financial resources to help the company expand its data center footprint and executive team, and innovate in data center construction and sustainability.

It is bringing similar capabilities to Netrality. In addition to hiring Caramella, the company recently appointed Phill Lawson-Shanks, the Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Energy, to the Netrality board of directors.  His 25-year career spans leadership roles at EdgeConneX, Virtacore, Alcatel-Lucent, Savvis (now CenturyLink), MCI (now Verizon Digital Media) and Compaq.

“I am pleased to join Netrality’s board of directors and look forward to leveraging my experience to help guide the company’s vision to create a more robust platform of distributed point of network interconnection and strategic on-ramps,” said Lawson-Shanks.

Marshall said Lawson-Shanks’ “extensive background in data center infrastructure, network architecture and cloud solutions will be invaluable for the next phase of growth for Netrality.”

LinkedinTwitterFacebookSubscribe
Mail

Tagged With: Carrier Hotels, Macquarie, Netrality

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.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Voices of the Industry

Fit for the Edge: Modular Data Centers

Fit for the Edge: Modular Data Centers Jackie Pasierbowicz, Director of Sales and Marketing at TAS explores the dramatic rise of multiple markets for edge computing and the benefits of a modular data center strategy.

DCF Spotlight

The COVID-19 Crisis and the Data Center Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic presents strategic challenges for the data center and cloud computing sectors. Data Center Frontier provides a one-stop resource for the latest news and analysis for decision-makers navigating this complex new landscape.

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

White Papers

disaster recovery

Far Enough to be Safe, Close Enough to be Fast: A Field Guide for Adding Geographic Diversity to Your Disaster Recovery Plan

Mission-critical IT operations can be impacted by disasters that are both naturally occurring, such as pandemics, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, floods or wildfires – as well as those that are man-made, including cyber attacks, terrorism or the inadvertent failure of infrastructure systems like power grids. Get the new report from Databank that highlights how physical distance is one of the first considerations in designing or selecting a disaster recovery solution.

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.

Newsletters

Get the Latest News from Data Center Frontier

Job Listings

RSS Job Openings | Peter Kazella and Associates, Inc

  • Navy Electrician / Navy Mechanic - Redmond, WA
  • Electrical Commissioning Engineer - Ashburn, VA
  • MEP Superintendent - Data Center - Dallas, TX
  • Construction Project Manager - Data Center - Dallas, TX
  • Data Center QA / QC Manager - Huntsville, AL

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
  • White Paper

Copyright Data Center Frontier LLC © 2021