Centersquare
Reliable Mission-Critical Infrastructure for Limitless Possibilities

When it comes to technology’s relentless march forward, businesses face the high-stakes task of keeping their crucial IT systems up to speed and consistently operational, highlighting the importance of continuous system management for many organizations. Within this landscape, Centersquare, a leading retail and wholesale data center provider, assumes an important role, directly addressing these needs with a brand promise firmly grounded in exhaustive research, ensuring “Infinite Flexibility and Absolute Certainty.”

“Our new brand promise is Infinite Flexibility and Absolute Certainty. We want our brand to showcase our ability to flex and grow with our customers as their needs change because of the evolving technology landscape,” says Jaclyn Mispagel, the company’s Chief Product and Marketing Officer.

We sat down with Mispagel to get her insights on the impact Centersquare is having in the industry and the customers it serves. She believes it’s an exciting time for Centersquare as it recently rebranded after merging two powerhouse legacy data center operators, marking a significant transformation in the data center industry.

Building on this momentum, Centersquare is now dedicated to expanding its technological leadership and market footprint. It operates over 55 data centers worldwide, with a robust presence in North America, making it one of the largest privately held providers in the sector. These facilities are meticulously designed to meet stringent security standards, featuring advanced security measures such as mantraps, biometric readers and continuous access control, ensuring the protection of vital infrastructure. A commitment to a minimum of N+1 redundancy ensures that its operations can sustain unexpected disruptions, solidifying its reputation for reliability and resilience.

When customers do business with us, they can feel certain that their infrastructure is safe, it will remain powered on and that we’re going to be there for them for the long run

“Our approach, whether internal discussions or customer engagements, is about identifying the problem first. We don’t lead with a product. Instead, we focus on understanding our customers’ needs and then providing the solution,” says Mispagel.

Customers can choose from various options tailored to their requirements, including secure cabinets customized to suit critical IT workloads. These cabinets come in standard and premium variants, with dedicated locking mechanisms and flexible power allocation options for four kilowatts and up. Customizable private cage solutions are available to support larger infrastructure needs and high density requirements. Cabling and interconnection services are also available, enabling low-latency connections to an average of 17 service providers within the data center’s meet-me-room, often times delivered in 24 hours or less.
However, Centersquare’s distinction is not confined to its scale or breadth of offerings; its strategic perspective on customer-centricity defines it equally. Moving beyond the limitations of standardized offerings, it embraces a deeply collaborative approach. Engaging closely with customers, it gains a thorough understanding of their evolving needs and challenges. This insight enables Centersquare to transform potential obstacles into opportunities, delivering highly adaptable solutions that can scale efficiently to meet changing customer demands. The approach has resulted in a high net promoter score, indicative of solid customer satisfaction and loyalty. Mispagel states, “We are proud of our 94 percent NPS score, which reflects the strong satisfaction our customers have with our services. Our extensive client base includes Fortune 500 companies and over 2000 customers, with many maintaining long-term relationships.”

Meeting the Demands of the Digital Era

When it comes to artificial intelligence and machine learning, businesses need robust infrastructure and support. This technological advancement demands substantial computational power, propelling companies toward data centers that offer the space and massive energy capacities necessary for efficient operations.

Centersquare helps such companies with its impressive provision of 320 megawatts of power and over 1.9 million square feet of space, tailored to accommodate the burgeoning demand for data center services.

They are not static facilities but dynamic solutions designed for the future. With over 100 megawatts of under-roof expansion capacity, the company is ready to scale operations swiftly in response to growing needs. This ensures businesses are able to increase their power and space without the delays associated with constructing new facilities, maintaining momentum in their operations. As Mispagel puts it, “We have the financial strength to execute expansions or special projects to meet our customers’ needs.”

The shift in workload distribution poses another significant challenge for companies as they recalibrate their IT strategies to find the optimal balance between cloud-based and on-premises infrastructures. Centersquare is at the forefront of this transition, offering hybrid solutions that enhance customers’ ability to precisely tailor their workload placements for improved cost efficiency, lower latency and enhanced performance. This strategic flexibility is vital for companies looking to adapt and thrive in a changing technology landscape.

Further enhancing Centersquare’s offering is its innovative Digital Exchange platform, which redefines how physical connectivity is managed by transitioning to a software-defined network. This transformation allows for on-demand service consumption and the establishment of virtual connections, facilitated through a user-friendly portal that enables quick and effortless setup. The provisioning process is significantly accelerated, shifting deployment times from days or weeks to mere hours or minutes, providing a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced market.

Pursuing Success, Hand in Hand

The Centersquare name reflects a core philosophy of placing customers at the center of everything it does, ensuring its infrastructure can flex alongside customers’ evolving business needs. This dedication has earned a proven track record gleaned from over thousands of customers, all of whom experienced optimal business outcomes by collaborating with Centersquare. Mispagel highlights, “When customers do business with us, they can feel certain that their infrastructure is safe, it will remain powered on and that we’re going to be there for them for the long run.”

One notable example is an AI SaaS provider focused on education automation. The enterprise faced significant challenges of rising network costs and the speed of support and deployment. Centersquare stepped in with a solution that combined colocation services and redundant, on-demand internet connectivity through its Digital Exchange platform. This allowed the AI SaaS provider to reduce network costs while accelerating their time to market. Looking to the future, the client plans to expand to 100 racks and leverage the Digital Exchange platform to offer AI-driven education automation services to other Centersquare clients.

In another instance, a leading U.S. insurance provider grappled with disaster recovery issues due to outages in their active/passive locations. Without in-house data center expertise, they required a partner with deep knowledge and reliable solutions. Centersquare met this need by establishing two secure cage environments with robust site connectivity. It also facilitated connections to the insurer’s preferred carriers and integrated their public cloud workloads. The proven uptime record and service quality of Centersquare’s data centers made them an ideal choice, ensuring compliance with stringent audit requirements and offering the flexibility needed for future growth.

“Our new brand promise is infinite flexibility and absolute certainty. we want our brand to showcase our ability to flex and grow with our customers as their needs change because of the evolving technology landscape”

Accomplishments like these stem directly from the synergy within the company’s dynamic team, where each member contributes expertise, innovation and vision to propel the evolution of data centers and IT solutions. A dynamic team culture centers around empowerment, with every team member encouraged to contribute ideas and suggestions.

Investing in Customer Confidence

In response to the high demand for data center space, Centersquare strategically plans to expand and optimize its infrastructure. With approximately 100 megawatts of expansion capabilities within its existing footprint, the company is poised to rapidly accommodate its clientele’s growing needs. Centersquare is also exploring the possibility of establishing additional facilities, backed by secured funding, to augment its capacity in alignment with escalating demands.

Recognizing the market’s evolving requirements, Centersquare is gearing toward supporting higher-density deployment. The company has observed a significant uptick in power consumption per rack, with customers demanding up to 60+ kilowatts per rack, a substantial increase from the previous norm of 10-15 kilowatts per rack. In anticipation of this shift, Centersquare is exploring solutions such as liquid cooling to enhance the efficiency and performance of its data centers, ensuring seamless support for the evolving needs of its clientele.

Centersquare seamlessly integrates customer-centricity with cutting-edge technology and epitomizes reliability in mission-critical infrastructure. Moving forward, it seeks to ensure prosperity for its cherished clientele, pointing toward a future bursting with promises and limitless possibilities.