Compass Datacenters Earns Uptime Institute Design Certification For Truly Modular™ Architecture

DALLAS, Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass Datacenters has attained the Uptime Institute Tier III Certification of Design Documents for the first two wholesale standalone data centers based on its Truly Modular™ Architecture. After a comprehensive review of Compass Datacenters' data center design, Uptime Institute has certified the design for Durham, North Carolina and Franklin, Tennessee as having all of the elements required to deliver Tier III Concurrently Maintainable performance and reliability.

"This is exciting news for Compass and for our customers because it means our base data center design has been certified by Uptime Institute, the most respected authority in the data center industry for design standards that deliver high performance and reliability," said Chris Crosby, Founder and CEO of Compass Datacenters. "Our customers spoke and we listened: By working with Compass, customers can get their own hardened Tier III, LEED Gold modular data center wherever they need it to be. They no longer have to go to one of the top six datacenter markets to get a facility of this caliber, which is a game changer for the data center industry. This validation of our design provides us with a platform that can easily comply with Uptime Institute's climate-dependent requirements to achieve Certifications in the markets where our customers want to locate their data centers in the future."

"Uptime Institute is proud to have worked with Compass in the development and evaluation of the TMDC product's design. This is a great example of the benefits that come from collaborating with Uptime Institute and adopting our industry-leading standards for facility design Tier III compliance provides Compass customers with the independent verification of truly 24 x 7 capability with no blind spots or excuses," said Julian Kudritzki, Senior Vice President of Uptime Institute. 

Crosby added, "It has become a sham that providers claim to 'meet Tier III or IV' without a Certification. Our industry is mature enough to be defined by the standards that it uses, and to imply that a facility meets the Uptime Institute standards when it has not been certified does a disservice to customers. We believe that our customers deserve, and want, more than a false choice. That's why we are providing them with the level of reliability assurance that they've asked us for by ensuring that every single Compass project includes formal Uptime Certification. Our goal was to design a product that can be easily Tier III Certified regardless of the location. We have worked closely with Uptime Institute to accomplish that, and we offer our appreciation and thanks to the Uptime team for their collaboration and support. Our solution is a standards-based design that addresses the needs of customers and gives them a Tier III facility that can be built exactly where they need it to best support their business. Each market we enter will go through a review process in order to ensure its certification for that environment."

As a further demonstration of enterprise-grade availability, every Compass data center will also go through formal Uptime Institute Facility Certification.* This completes the belt and suspenders of the Certification process.

Compass Datacenters' wholesale standalone solutions are built using its patent-pending Truly Modular Architecture to provide companies with a hardened, Tier III- Uptime Institute Certified, LEED Gold data center wherever they need it. The centerpiece of Compass' design is the CompassPod™, which provides 10,000 square feet of columnless raised floor space supported by 1.2 MW of electrical power with 2N power distribution. The facilities delivers a PUE of 1.2 - 1.5** or lower at loads as low as 25 percent. CompassPods are contained within, and protected by, the CompassStructure™, a hardened, energy-efficient, highly-secure structure for the facility's mission critical IT systems. The CompassPowerCenter™ provides the UPS (2N) and switchgear (2N) equipment required to ensure uptime and reliability. Each facility includes a dedicated CompassSupport™ module that provides to meet the needs of operational staff and logistics for data center operations, including a security center, lobby, office space, loading dock, break area and restrooms. The IT space is easily expandable without the need for risky in-building construction, and facilities can be branded with customers' own logo and color scheme. For more information about Compass' data center product, download the white paper here: www.compassdatacenters.com/compass-university.

*At customer election.

**Depends on climate.

About Compass Datacenters
Compass Datacenters builds and operates standalone data centers using its patent-pending Truly Modular™ Architecture, which provide customers with dedicated wholesale solutions where they need them. The innovative design of its facilities make it possible for Compass Datacenters to deliver state-of-the-art solutions for customers anywhere in the United States, serving the vast majority of companies that are not located in the few markets where geographically-constrained data center facilities are currently concentrated. For more information, visit www.compassdatacenters.com.

SOURCE Compass Datacenters