EvoSwitch

EvoSwitch is a data-centre and colocation brand based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and associated with the privately owned Ocom Group. Its business is centred on providing facilities where customers can house servers and network equipment, connect to telecommunications carriers and internet exchanges, and support cloud, virtualisation, hosting, and other internet infrastructure workloads. The company’s principal Dutch facility is located in the Waarderpolder area of Haarlem, a location that places it within the Amsterdam-region connectivity and data-centre ecosystem. The Haarlem site has also had a public-interest role in internet infrastructure. It hosted a Wikimedia Foundation point of presence used as a web-cache location for European traffic. The arrangement was described as an in-kind contribution valued at €300,000. This relationship illustrates EvoSwitch’s positioning not only as a commercial colocation provider, but also as a participant in the wider interconnection infrastructure on which major online services depend. EvoSwitch expanded its geographic footprint into the United States during the early 2010s. In 2012, it announced a long-term lease for WDC1, a data-centre operation in Manassas, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. Rather than constructing an entirely new facility, EvoSwitch established the site by leasing three one-megawatt data halls at the COPT6, or PowerLoft, data-centre campus. The location was selected to reach customers and network providers in Northern Virginia, one of the major American data-centre and connectivity markets. The company identified potential business relationships with providers including Verizon and Sidera Networks and positioned the site to compete in colocation, interconnection, cloud, and virtual-services markets against providers such as Savvis, Terremark, and Equinix. Environmental efficiency has been part of EvoSwitch’s stated commercial proposition. The company promoted a target Power Usage Effectiveness rating of 1.3 and described the Haarlem data centre as carbon neutral. These claims and targets were intended to differentiate its facilities in a sector where electricity consumption, cooling efficiency, and emissions are important considerations for customers. The company also developed relationships with internet-exchange and connectivity intermediaries. In January 2014, the Virginia facility began exchanging traffic with LINX NoVA, an internet exchange associated with the London Internet Exchange. EvoSwitch also maintained an agreement with IX Reach. Such arrangements support the company’s role as an interconnection venue, allowing customers to reach networks and services through exchange platforms and connectivity partners rather than relying only on conventional transit. Available reference material does not establish EvoSwitch’s founding year, founder, current executives, financial performance, or present-day facility portfolio beyond the documented Dutch and Virginia sites. The brand is therefore best described as a privately owned infrastructure-services operator whose documented development involved a Dutch core facility, a US expansion, internet-exchange connectivity, and an emphasis on efficient and lower-carbon data-centre operations.

EvoSwitch developed as a privately owned data-centre and colocation business associated with the Ocom Group. The available reference material does not provide a verified founding year or identify a founder, but it places the company in Amsterdam and identifies the Haarlem facility as its principal Dutch site. The Haarlem data centre is located in the Waarderpolder area and forms part of the Netherlands’ broader internet, hosting, and connectivity infrastructure. A notable aspect of the Haarlem operation was its relationship with the Wikimedia Foundation. EvoSwitch hosted a Wikimedia point of presence at the facility, allowing the foundation to use the site as a web-cache location for traffic from Europe. The arrangement was presented as an in-kind contribution valued at €300,000. This gave the facility significance beyond ordinary commercial colocation: it became part of the delivery architecture for a widely used public knowledge service. EvoSwitch’s documented international expansion occurred in 2012, when the company announced a long-term lease for a new US operation called WDC1. The site was located in Manassas, Virginia, close to Washington, D.C., and within the Northern Virginia data-centre market. EvoSwitch created the facility by leasing three one-megawatt halls at the COPT6, also known as PowerLoft, data-centre site. The campus was located in the Innovation Technology Park associated with George Mason University. By using leased halls, EvoSwitch could establish a regional presence without the reference material indicating that it built a wholly new standalone campus. The Virginia expansion was intended to support colocation and interconnection services for customers operating in a dense telecommunications and technology market. EvoSwitch expected the location to facilitate commercial relationships with network providers such as Verizon and Sidera Networks. It also described the site as competing in cloud-computing and virtual-services infrastructure with established operators including Savvis, Terremark, and Equinix. Operational efficiency and environmental performance were incorporated into EvoSwitch’s marketing. The company planned for a Power Usage Effectiveness rating of 1.3, a measure used to describe how efficiently a data centre converts power into useful IT work. The Haarlem site was advertised as carbon neutral. These characteristics formed part of a differentiation strategy in an energy-intensive industry where customers may consider power efficiency and environmental impact when selecting a facility. Connectivity partnerships further shaped the company’s development. In January 2014, EvoSwitch’s Virginia data centre began exchanging internet traffic with LINX NoVA, an internet exchange connected with the London Internet Exchange. The company also had an agreement with IX Reach. These relationships supported the value proposition of placing infrastructure in a facility with direct access to networks, exchanges, and carriers. The supplied sources do not document later ownership changes, financial results, a complete facility list, executive leadership, or a verified current operating footprint. On the evidence available, EvoSwitch can be characterized as an Ocom Group-associated, privately owned data-centre brand that expanded from a Dutch base into the United States and competed through colocation, interconnection, network access, and efficiency-oriented facility design.

• 2014

  LINX NoVA interconnection begins at WDC1

  [1]EvoSwitchen.wikipedia.org

  The Virginia site began exchanging traffic with LINX NoVA, broadening its internet-exchange and interconnection capabilities.

• 2012

  WDC1 expansion announced in Manassas

  [1]EvoSwitchen.wikipedia.org

  EvoSwitch announced a long-term lease for three one-megawatt halls at the COPT6, or PowerLoft, data-centre facility in Manassas, Virginia.

• Haarlem data centre becomes part of European internet infrastructure

  [1]EvoSwitchen.wikipedia.org

  EvoSwitch operated a data centre in Haarlem’s Waarderpolder area, establishing the documented Dutch base of its colocation and connectivity activities.

• Wikimedia Foundation point of presence hosted in Haarlem

  [1]EvoSwitchen.wikipedia.org

  The Haarlem facility hosted a Wikimedia Foundation point of presence used as a European web-cache location through an in-kind support arrangement.

Privately owned, connectivity-oriented data-centre and colocation infrastructure provider with an emphasis on interconnection, carrier access, operational efficiency, and lower-carbon facilities.

• Data-centre services

  Colocation services

  EvoSwitch provides data-centre space and associated power and infrastructure for customers that need to deploy servers and network equipment outside their own premises. The documented Haarlem and WDC1 facilities support the brand’s role as a host for internet, cloud, virtualisation, and enterprise infrastructure. Specific service tiers, power commitments, security features, and service-level terms are not provided in the reference material.

• Network services

  Interconnection services

  Interconnection is a central part of EvoSwitch’s documented positioning. Its facilities connect customers with carriers, networks, internet exchanges, and connectivity intermediaries. The WDC1 site’s relationship with LINX NoVA and the company’s agreement with IX Reach illustrate the use of exchange and partner connectivity to improve access to internet traffic and service providers.

• Data centre · 2012

  WDC1

  WDC1 is EvoSwitch’s documented Northern Virginia data-centre operation in Manassas. It was established through a long-term lease of three one-megawatt data halls at the COPT6, also called PowerLoft, facility. The site was intended to serve colocation and interconnection customers in the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia market and to compete in cloud and virtual-infrastructure services.

• Data centre

  Haarlem data centre

  The Haarlem data centre in the Waarderpolder area is EvoSwitch’s documented Dutch facility. It has been described as carbon neutral and associated with a planned Power Usage Effectiveness rating of 1.3. The site also hosted a Wikimedia Foundation point of presence used as a European web-cache location.

• Wikimedia Foundation in-kind infrastructure support

  Europe · Netherlands

  EvoSwitch supported the Wikimedia Foundation by hosting a point of presence at its Haarlem data centre. The installation served as a web-cache location for European traffic, and the contribution was described as in-kind support valued at €300,000.

  Outcome. The Haarlem facility became part of the delivery infrastructure for Wikimedia services in Europe.

  Source
• Carbon-neutral Haarlem positioning

  Netherlands

  EvoSwitch marketed the Haarlem data centre as carbon neutral and highlighted a planned Power Usage Effectiveness rating of 1.3 as an efficiency-related selling point.

  Outcome. The environmental and efficiency claims formed part of EvoSwitch’s differentiation in the data-centre market; the supplied sources do not document an independently verified campaign result.

  Source

• 2014

  Add LINX NoVA traffic exchange at WDC1Strategy

  Background

  A connectivity-oriented data centre benefits from direct access to internet exchanges and network communities.

  Action taken

  EvoSwitch began exchanging internet traffic between its Virginia facility and LINX NoVA and maintained an agreement with IX Reach.

  Aftermath

  The arrangements strengthened WDC1’s documented interconnection proposition, although the sources do not quantify customer or traffic effects.

  Source

• 2012

  Enter the Northern Virginia colocation marketStrategy

  Background

  EvoSwitch sought a US presence in a major concentration of data-centre, carrier, and technology businesses near Washington, D.C.

  Action taken

  The company announced a long-term lease for three one-megawatt halls at the COPT6, or PowerLoft, facility in Manassas and designated the operation WDC1.

  Aftermath

  The move gave EvoSwitch a documented Virginia platform for colocation, interconnection, cloud, and virtual-services competition. Later operating or financial results are not provided.

  • Equinix
  • Savvis
  • Terremark

  Source

1. 1EvoSwitchen.wikipedia.org