Videotron opens 4Degrees data centre in Montréal

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 13, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Videotron today officially opened its new 4Degrees data centre in Montréal. The 4,000-square-metre facility in the heart of Technoparc Saint-Laurent boasts one of the largest server rooms in Québec. The building, designed specifically for data hosting, was constructed at a total cost of $40 million.

Located in Saint-Laurent borough in Montréal's aerospace, life sciences and ICT hub, the data centre has available electrical supply of 16 megawatts to meet the growing data management and processing needs of businesses today. It is Videotron's second 4Degrees data centre, joining the recently expanded data centre in Québec City.

"In an age when big data and cloud computing have become business basics, the opening of the 4Degrees data centre in Montréal is an important step in strengthening Videotron's foothold in the booming data hosting business," said Manon Brouillette, President and CEO of Videotron. "This move equips us to offer businesses a full line of colocation solutions tailored to their needs. We are confident it will further bolster our position as Québec's business telecommunications leader."

"This project fits perfectly into our economic development strategy and our drive to make Montréal a smart city, a hub of innovation and digital technology," said Montréal Mayor Denis Coderre. "The popularity of data centres and cloud computing with businesses and institutions is evident. This project clearly signals that Montréal is creating a supportive environment for the growth of tech businesses."

Meets highest international standards 
Designed and constructed specifically for the purpose of data hosting, the new 4Degrees centre meets the highest international standards. Its spatial configuration is optimized to meet customers' technical needs without compromising on architecture or security.

The Montréal centre is now connected to the Québec City centre via Videotron's fibre optic network. The connectivity will make Videotron the only supplier in Québec able to offer Tier III certified intraprovincial redundancy. Tier III certification from the Uptime Institute in the US is the international gold standard for continuous uptime. 4Degrees' setup therefore gives customers the firmest assurance of data security and business continuity.

The new 4Degrees data centre is also in the process of obtaining Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification. The international standard means 4Degrees' customers will be able to operate their e-commerce solutions in accordance with the most stringent security standards in the industry. Finally, 4Degrees has ISO27001 certification, one of the most widely recognized information security standards in the world.

The building was constructed by a consortium consisting of Kelvin Emtech, a Québec-based engineering firm specializing in data centres, and general contractor Decarel, both past partners of Videotron in the construction of technical facilities.

Videotron Business Solutions: growing fast
The opening of the 4Degrees data centre in Montréal is another example of Videotron's commitment to offering the business community a complete portfolio of products and services. The state-of-the-art facility positions Videotron Business Solutions to make its mark in the colocation solutions market, inside and outside Québec. Videotron Business Solutions already serves more than 60% of Québec businesses, a total of approximately 135,000 business customers, including more than 65,000 in Montréal. It has the highest customer satisfaction rate in the industry and the largest number of customers who would recommend it as a telecommunications provider. As this announcement shows, Videotron Business Solutions is constantly working to make life simpler for its customers.

About 4Degrees 
4Degrees (www.4degres.com) has created the largest colocation data centre in the Québec City area. It is dedicated to providing businesses and institutions with sophisticated, high availability Tier III colocation infrastructure and secure e-commerce payment options (PCI DSS) in the heart of Québec City and Montréal. With an ideal combination of clean hydroelectric power and cold temperatures, Québec is one of the best places in the world to implement a data centre. 4Degrees takes its name from the average annual temperature in Québec City, 4.6°C. Through the use of colder outdoor air, 4Degrees is able to maintain IT equipment at optimal operating temperatures while generating significant energy savings.

Videotron (www.videotron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access, cable telephone and mobile telephone services. Videotron is a leader in new technologies with its illico interactive television service and its broadband network, which supports high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital cable television, and other services. As of March 31, 2016, Videotron was serving 1,722,000 cable television customers, including 1,568,900 Digital TV subscribers. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 1,578,100 subscribers to its cable service as of March 31, 2016. As of the same date, Videotron had 795,700 subscriber connections to its mobile telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 1,304,300 Québec households and organizations. For the eleventh consecutive year, Videotron was ranked as Québec's most respected telecommunications company in the annual Léger survey.

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SOURCE Videotron

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