IBM Opens First SoftLayer Data Center in Canada

IBM Cloud Computing announced the opening of a new SoftLayer data center in Toronto to meet the growing demand for hybrid cloud solutions that encompass open integration, data control and industry expertise.

The data center follows recent launches in London and Hong Kong, and is part of IBM Cloud’s broader $1.2 billion investment aimed at extending its cloud services capabilities in Canada and throughout the world.

The facility is the first SoftLayer data center in Canada, giving customers a cloud services provider with a local presence that can deliver bare metal and virtual servers, storage, and networking, all in one integrated platform. Basing these services in a local facility meets the needs of Canadian customers that require in-country data residency, such as financial institutions, public sector organizations, and many large enterprises.

The Toronto data center offers the portfolio of SoftLayer’s cloud services. It has capacity for more than 15,000 physical servers and is built like other SoftLayer facilities, which are based on a POD (Performance Optimized Data Center) concept. The facility connects into SoftLayer’s global network via a network Point of Presence (PoP) located in Toronto.

“Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America, and a vital financial and technological hub – not only for the province of Ontario but for all of Canada,” said Lance Crosby, SoftLayer’s CEO. “We have hundreds of existing Canadian customers that can now have SoftLayer services deployed closer to home, and thousands of customers that will take advantage of the facility to get closer to end users in this market.“

The company’s Canadian customer base includes financial services, insurance, retail and public sector organizations as well as Canadian start-up companies, members of the SoftLayer Catalyst start-up program.

Catalyst provides start-ups with credits for any SoftLayer cloud infrastructure (including servers, storage, and networking), executive mentoring, as well as engineering resources.

Enrolled Canadian start-ups include Mnubo, Epilogger, Brika, Greenoffon, Zilyo, TeachIt, maegan and kiwiwearables.

Catalyst also has established relationships with Canadian accelerators and incubators including GrowLab, Communitech, Ryerson University Digital Media Zone (DMZ), JOLT, founderFuel, Extreme start-ups and TheNext36 as well as those affiliated with the Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE).

“We are very excited to see SoftLayer open a data center in Toronto, as we are now expanding our customer base in Canada,” said Brenda Crainic, CTO and co-founder, maegan. “We’re looking forward to host all our data in Canada, in addition to SoftLayer’s easy-to-use services and great customer service.“

SoftLayer begins taking orders and delivering services in the Toronto data center. New orders for services in the facility are eligible for $500.00 off the first month for a limited time.