OVHcloud: Global Cloud Provider Investing C$145 Million And Opening Data Center In Toronto Area

By Amit Chowdhry • Mar 13, 2024

Leading global cloud provider OVHcloud US announced its parent company is expanding further internationally with the opening of a second Canadian site – which is the group’s 42nd data center. This supported a long-term investment of C$145 million.

Based in Cambridge, Ontario, the OVHcloud data center is in the right location for providing trusted cloud solutions meeting the higher demands of Canadian and international businesses in terms of performance, resilience, and governance. This new Toronto data center will be accessible to OVHcloud US customers and deliver improved latency compared to the existing OVHcloud data center near Montreal and the OVHcloud US data center in Vint Hill, Virginia. This data center opening continues to showcase OVHcloud’s momentum in the U.S. and North American markets.

OVHcloud was established in Canada in 2011. The company now employs 250 people and operates 90,000 servers hosted at eco-responsible data centers on the South Shore of Montreal. And OVHcloud opened its first site in Ontario, supported by a C$145 million investment in the next eight years, to support the growth of its customers. With a focus on developing its new data center, this investment includes hiring talent. Based in the Ascent TOR1 hyperscale development, this data center has a surface area of 1,000 m², which is a capacity of 10,000 servers and 2 MW of power. 

OVHcloud operates a vertically integrated model as the company builds its own servers (up to 600 a week in its Beauharnois plant), and the scale-up of its water-cooling technology is essential in providing an optimal performance-price ratio and a controlled environmental footprint.

OVHcloud’s arrival in Toronto provides a real alternative for companies looking to diversify and consolidate its cloud infrastructure based on trusted solutions that meet various requirements. This new data center is well-suited to companies requiring a second and geographically distant Canadian data center for deploying their backup or disaster recovery solution. They can depend on the robustness of OVHcloud’s network – connected to several points of presence (PoPs) in Montreal and Toronto, as well as over 40 worldwide.

Public services, healthcare, financial services, professional services, and telecommunications companies can utilize OVHcloud’s advanced levels of compliance with the strict industry certifications (ISO 27001-017-018, SOC 2 Type 2, CSA Star). To meet these requirements, a range of solutions are now available at the company’s Cambridge data center:

1.) High-Grade dedicated servers designed for complex infrastructures and optimized for complex workloads. Powered with the latest AMD and Intel processors, they meet the challenges of hyper-convergence, storage, and AI without compromising on performance.

2.) Complete Object Storage solution that is compatible with the S3 API, as effective for platform modernization as for data backup.

3.) Connectivity options like Additional IP for application flexibility and Load Balancer for efficient load balancing across multiple data centers. Ascent TOR data center has ultra-low latency in the greater Toronto region.

4.) The OVHcloud Connect solution enables 100% private and highly resilient interconnection (SLA of 99.99%) of its on-premises infrastructure with the OVHcloud network.

5.) Emblematic (and free) OVHcloud services like the vRack private network connect services between several OVHcloud data centers or Anti-DDoS to protect infrastructures against computer attacks.

This year, the Private Cloud solution utilizing VMware by Broadcom will be added, providing an additional option for companies wishing to boost their resilience by activating Veeam or Zerto virtualized solutions in a 100% dedicated environment.

KEY QUOTES:

“This new data center marks a major turning point in the history of OVHcloud in Canada, enabling our customers and businesses in the Toronto area to strengthen their infrastructure while retaining full control of their cloud journey, free from any form of technological or pricing lock-in. We’re also looking forward to making a difference by continuing to innovate for a sustainable digital environment.”

  • Estelle Azemard, Vice President Americas, OVHcloud

“Late last year, I was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Michel Paulin, CEO OVHcloud, and tour the OVHcloud facility as part of the WREDC mission to Europe. I am proud to welcome OVHcloud to Cambridge as they continue their international expansion by choosing Cambridge as their second Canadian location. OVHcloud is a leader in the industry and committed to sustainability, optimizing data center energy consumption through innovative and more efficient cooling systems, as well as reducing IT components waste. This long-term investment of $145 million helps to strengthen the Toronto-Waterloo Region Innovation Corridor, the 2nd largest technology corridor cluster in North America, and continues to position Cambridge as a top-tier destination for technology businesses, talent, and investors from around the world.”

  • Mayor Jan Liggett, City of Cambridge

“OVHcloud is an excellent fit in the Waterloo region tech ecosystem. An innovative company – a disruptor – that offers sustainable and secure cloud solutions, OVHcloud is not only an exciting new investment in our community’s success but also a respected partner to the startup community and businesses that value data sovereignty, like cybersecurity, fintech, insurance and more. Bienvenue dans la région de Waterloo!”

  • Tony LaMantia, President & CEO of Waterloo EDC

“We’re thrilled to have been selected to partner with OVHcloud. The team of engineers kept a customer-first focus and worked seamlessly together to deliver this unique project that is at the forefront of data center innovation. Our shared commitment is a testament to delivering unparalleled efficiency and effective solutions for highly secure data centers, that ultimately navigate the complexities of high-density demands.”

  • Robert Painter, President, Ascent