Cardin Bransgrove (Data Exchange Network)
Data Exchange Network (DXN) has named James Butler as the provider's first channel boss, with the responsibility of developing the business' channel strategy.
Specifically, Butler will be in charge of channel partners as well as wholesale and alliance partners for the modular data centre builder and operator's Data Centres business unit, which utilises the company's own pre-fabricated modular design architecture.
Wholesale partners are telecommunications carriers, internet services providers (ISPs), larger managed services providers (MSP), integrators and cloud providers.
Smaller managed service providers, IT companies, telco dealers and smaller niche cloud providers with multiple rack requirements fall into the channel partner category.
Butler has 20 years of experience in the industry having worked for Pure Storage, NetApp, F5 Networks and Metronode.
"I have been round the data centre space for many years and seen many different data centres," Butler told ARN. "They all looked the same and had the same limitations.
"When you look at DXN’s truly modular approach to design and their data centre within a data centre offering it really does mean that smaller vendors are actually closer to owning their own small piece."
The company's strategy is to use all three indirect channels above to drive sales. DXN also expects both data centres to reach "close to" full capacity by 2023.
"We have over 25 interested partners that we have had initial discussions with," said Cardin Bransgrove, head of sales for data centre services at DXN. "Part of James' role when he starts will be to ink some of those partnership agreements and ensure that we bring on partners that are the best fit for both us and the partner."
DXN has two business units, Data Centres and Modules, through which data centre solutions and services are delivered to customers' sites globally. Bransgrove is responsible for running the Data Centres unit.
"We believe we offer a very unique proposition to the market," Bransgrove told ARN. "Because our data centre is purely based on a modular design we can offer our customers an entire module. Not a cage, but four walls and a locked door.
"This is perfect for our wholesale customers who want to segregate their colocation space from other parties thus not leaving them vulnerable to accidental downtime caused by things like an Argonite gas cylinder going off."
According to Bansgrove, DXN offers partners long term financial rewards for both the partner and their customers and no cross over between direct and indirect sales.
DXN, which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange on April 2018, is currently building two data centres, one in Sydney which is expected to be ready in July 2019 and another in Melbourne, expected for January 2020.
The publicly-listed company recently announced the closure of its Manila office as a result of a business restructure. The company expects annual savings of $500,000.
In March, the company received approval from the Sydney Olympic Park Authority to begin to build its Sydney data centre, after having to postpone the constructions of the facility due to the delay in development approvals, which came more than two weeks later than expected.
