International infrastructure investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners has announced the launch of NexSpace, a new edge data centre platform.
In collaboration with local developers, this strategic platform is poised to target regional cities and towns across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, collectively known as the “DACH” region.
NexSpace will create new, energy-efficient data centres to provide services to clients across the DACH region.
NexSpace is positioned to take advantage of opportunities created by the growing demand for data storage capacity close to end users, at the “edge” of digital networks. NexSpace’s data centres will be focused on facilitating regional corporate customers’ IT outsourcing programmes, as well as those organisations particularly sensitive to the speed of retrieving data (low latency use cases) and its location for computing and storage services.
The NexSpace platform is anchored by a newly built, energy-efficient facility in Heidelberg, Germany, which is now operational and ready to service the science and technology hub of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. InfraRed will invest to deliver the first phase of NexSpace’s growth plans, prioritising organic greenfield development, and will work closely with the platform’s management team to create a regional leader in the edge data centre market.
Stephane Kofman, Head of Capital Gain Funds at InfraRed Capital Partners, said: “This investment reflects our continued belief in the essential role of data centres as a critical piece of infrastructure to facilitate the digitisation of societies and economies worldwide. The regional small and mid-size corporate market and edge opportunity is a fast-growing pocket of the sector, requiring scale-up capital to serve its ambitious needs. Germany is ideally suited to this strategy, thanks to its large but regionalised economy and substantial base of ‘Mittelstand’ enterprise customers.”
Holger Sievers has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of NexSpace and will lead the efforts to establish the platform capabilities. He brings over 30 years of experience in the German IT sector, with a track-record of delivering sales and growth, with a focus on customer service. He led msg services for more than a decade and also held various senior positions at IBM and INFO AG.
Holger Sievers, Chief Executive Officer at NexSpace, said: “I am delighted to partner with InfraRed and our other shareholders to develop NexSpace as we strive to deliver on the exciting opportunities in this market. Having witnessed firsthand the evolution of the sector over the past three decades, I believe that the edge opportunity represents the next stage of growth for the data centre industry. With a focus on greenfield development of new, energy-efficient facilities, I have no doubt that NexSpace is well placed to succeed.”
Click here to receive CRE Herald’s weekly newsletter, news alerts and insights!
