Global Switch London North

Colo-X analysis

Global Switch have about 20 large-scale ‘direct’ customers in London 1, or North building as it is now known. Some of these have been present since the building was opened in 1999 – for example, Level3 (now Lumen). Because of the building’s age, power density is light by modern standards. But on a per-rack basis it can be improved simply by reducing the rack density (i.e. fewer racks, more power per rack) and in 2020 Global Switch upgraded a dedicated suite of 1300 sq m to 2kW/sq m. Its main tenants include KCom, Level3, British Telecom and Swisscom.

While not the main focus of Global Switch, some colocation rack space is available as full racks or quarter or half rack options, either directly from Global Switch or via some of their tenants.

Network choice is fairly good despite the low number of direct customers. This reflects the age of the site and the fact it is about 500m to the west of Telehouse.

While this is a retrofit building, the site was completely gutted to deliver three massive floor plates with huge slab heights. Site security is good as Global Switch own the whole building, thus perimeter security is in place and on-site parking is available.

Global Switch London North facility description

Global Switch London North is a retrofit of the former Financial Times printing works which first opened for data centre use the heigh of the “dot-com” boom in late 1999. After the FT vacated the building it was acquired by developers in the late ’90s whose original idea was to make it into a multiplex cinema! However, they were then persuaded that, with Telehouse sold out and the telecom boom just beginning, a data centre might be a better idea.

At the same time, Global Crossing had landed their trans-Atlantic cable system AC1 in Cornwall and were rapidly digging up the A303 to bring the new subsea system into London and looking for somewhere to terminate the system. As a result, Global Crossing became the first tenant in the new facility, initially taking one-third or 60,000 sq ft of space, and Global Switch was born.

This data centre is generally sold in large suites, typically as a lease, to large clients. These include carriers such as BT, Global Crossing/Level3/Lumen or managed service providers. That said, Global Switch have, on occasion, sold colocation racks and cages – often where they have some fitted-out space handed back to them.

Connectivity options are good reflecting the longevity of the site and its proximity to Telehouse located a few hundred yards to the east (see our annotated map of the Global Switch and Telehouse campuses).  PeeringDB lists nearly 40 AS numbers as of March 2021.

Power though is relatively light on a per-rack or square-metre basis – typically at 10Amps/2kW per cabinet, the downside of the age of the facility. But in 2020 a large suite in North of 1300 sq m/15,000 sq ft has been refurbished and now offers a much improved density of 2kW/sq m and a PUE of 1.2 that is more comensurate with the market today.  This is a significant density upgrade from the original 500W/sq m!  There is clearly scope to continue to do this as tenants free up specific areas at the end of leases.

Retail colocation solutions can be found, either racks or part-racks (1/4 or 1/2).

Technical stats