CTEX Becomes First Uptime Institute Certified, Multi-Tenant, Tier-IV Data Center In Latin America And The Caribbean

Company achieves Tier-IV design certification for the first of its four highly advanced data centers.

WILLEMSTAD (CTEX) — Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX), N.V., became the first and largest multi-tenant data center in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve the Uptime Institute Tier-IV design certification for the first of its four data centers.

CTEX’s state-of-the-art, facility is 57,000 square feet, boasts carrier neutrality, and is located on the island of Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean.

The Uptime Institute, Inc. (Institute) developed a four-tiered classification system that is recognized worldwide as the benchmarking standard to compare various data center facilities across the world. The Institute’s system has been in use since 1995, and has become the default standard for the data center industry. The Institute currently provides Tiered Certifications in more than 41 countries. The Tier IV certification is the highest and most stringent certification to meet, making it the most reliable and safe option for companies requiring a high-level of critical systems and infrastructure availability.

Anthony de Lima, CTEX’s CEO said, “We’re honored to be the first Tier IV Uptime Certified data center in the region. Our facilities incorporate the critical infrastructure needed to ensure fault tolerant operations and extreme security. For regional customers who require zero down-time, access to a comprehensive eco-system of industry solutions, and advanced security– having access to the world’s newest Tier-IV data center in Curaçao, means they no longer have to use data centers thousands of miles away in the US, Canada, Europe or elsewhere. The certification is yet another testament to our commitment to providing the most advanced technology solutions in the region.”

CTEX is gaining prominence as a major technology hosting and disaster recovery hub for companies located in Latin America and the region. The company is positioned to be a key enabler of the region’s business renaissance.  CTEX is already working with many companies in the Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Government, Transportation & Logistics, Utilities and Telecom industries located in Colombia, Trinidad & Tobago, Panama, and Venezuela. The company is already providing customers with advanced Cloud solutions leveraging a state-of-the-art computing fabric jointly developed by VCE™, VMWARE®, CISCO and EMC™. The company’s entire power and cooling infrastructure was designed from the ground up in partnership with Schneider Electric.

“We are pleased and proud about the Uptime Institute’s certification of CTEX as a Tier IV Cloud and Collocation data center,” said Jorge Cortes, VP Latin America, ITB Schneider Electric. “Through hard work and a strong commitment, we were able to build a solid partnership with CTEX. Our teams worked together from the early business planning and design stages, through to providing consulting and project oversight throughout build out. This certification formally acknowledges the breadth and depth of innovation, security, and functionality that CTEX has built into its world-class data centers.”

Mr. de Lima continued, “We did not select Curaçao by happenstance, but through careful planning and an exhaustive search. Curaçao is the perfect location for our Tier-IV data centers.” Curaçao is situated outside the traditional hurricane belt and away from major seismic fault lines. Even so, the Tier-IV data center is designed to withstand level 3 earthquakes and exceeds level 5 hurricane safety standards. The facility is directly interconnected with five major international subsea fiber cables. New submarine cables are being deployed to land directly inside a state of the art submarine fiber landing station located safely inside the data center. This provides added connectivity security for customers. Being part of the Dutch Kingdom, the island has long been recognized as being a politically neutral jurisdiction with strict privacy laws based on European conventions.  It makes Curaçao an ideal location for business operations.

The CTEX data center has already been recognized by industry professionals and organizations, such as the Datacenterdynamics, which awarded CTEX in November 2012 for incorporating the most advanced design and engineering standards of any data center in Latin America and the Caribbean. The CTEX data center facilities will enter production in October this year.

About CTEX

CTEX delivers highly advanced technology solutions to business and government customers by leveraging Tier-IV and LEED certified data center and Internet exchange facilities. The company serves multiple industry segments including Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Governments, Transportation & Logistics, Healthcare, Manufacturing and others. Customers benefit from leveraging an advanced eco-system of proven partner solutions. Customers can build private computing environments or leverage CTEX’s highly advanced and scalable Cloud fabric. CTEX offers seven core solutions: Cloud Solutions, Security Management, Managed Services, Network & Collocation, Archival & Storage and Disaster Recovery. For more information, go to: www.ctexpartners.com.

About the Uptime Institute

Uptime Institute, an independent division of The 451 Group, provides education, publications, consulting, certifications, conferences and seminars, independent research, and thought leadership for the enterprise data center industry and for data center professionals. The Uptime Institute is an unbiased, third-party data center research, education, and consulting organization focused on improving data center performance and efficiency through collaboration and innovation. The Uptime Institute serves all shareholders of the data center industry, including enterprise and third-party operation, manufacturers, providers, and engineers. In 2009, the Institute was acquired by The 451 Group, a technology-industry analyst company focusing on the business of enterprise IT innovation.www.uptimeinstitute.com.

About Schneider Electric

As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructures, Industries & Machine Manufacturers, Non-residential Buildings, and Data Centers & Networks and in Residential. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the Group’s 130,000 plus employees achieved sales of 22.4 billion euros in 2011, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy. For more information, visit www.schneider-electric.com.