eStruxture's Unstoppable Rise in Canada's Data Centre Market

eStruxture's Unstoppable Rise in Canada's Data Centre Market

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eStruxture is at the forefront of Canada’s Data Centre evolution. Founder, President & CEO Todd Coleman tells us about how he is leading sustainable growth

eStruxture is a Canadian digital infrastructure provider, beginning as a newcomer to the market in 2017 and growing to become a leading data centre colocation platform today. With 15 facilities across the country, eStruxture is expanding to support the hyperscale demand driven by the cloud environment and the adoption of new AI technologies by companies of all sizes.

For Todd Coleman, the company’s Founder, President and CEO, eStruxture serves as the critical link between the infrastructure that houses the servers and the data itself, enabling connectivity within the data centre and to the outside world.

“We think of data centres as this boring infrastructure – it's not the most glamorous business sector. But data centres are the primary enabler of the internet economy,” says Todd. “If we think about data centres, we think of generators and cooling equipment, which doesn't sound all that exciting, but the ways in which we use them are ever changing.” 

Less than a decade ago, ‘high density’ in data centres referred to five kilowatts, but today, it means north of 100 kilowatts. Todd anticipates that this definition will continue to evolve as demand grows. However, most of the general public doesn't give much thought to the data centres that power the apps they use every day.

“People have no real sense about where their data sits,” he says. “They don’t know how their data traverses around the world and back in microseconds.”

Todd's role is to provide vision, strategy, leadership, business development, financial oversight, operational management, innovation and risk management to nurture eStruxture. The growth of the Canadian data centre market and digital infrastructure industry, may be a result of the above.

“We used to be a just-in-time development vehicle. Now, we're thinking 24 or even 36 months ahead. One of my biggest challenges was investment dollars and how do we keep up with the rapid pace of change and investment that's required,” Todd shares. 

Despite the challenges, opportunities have arisen, such as eStruxture’s CAN$1.8bn recapitalisation.

eStruxture's diverse team carries the company forward

Founded in 2017, eStruxture started as a young company with a vision to revolutionise the Canadian data centre industry. The company’s founding principles focus on the people it works with and supporting environmental sustainability.

“We built an incredible company, with incredible people from diverse backgrounds,” Todd says proudly. “One of the things we're super proud of is that 58% of our workforce identifies as diverse in some way.” 

That newcomer to the market has turned into one of the largest Canadian operators. Todd says that the key differentiator is in eStruxture’s employees, their diverse backgrounds and ideations, combined with their commitment to providing the highest levels of support to customers, has led to its success.

“We don't want to be everything to everybody,” Todd states. “We're not in every part of the world. We want to strategically deploy our capital in the right places where we have intelligent historical experience and knowledge.”

While most companies were affected by supply chain constraints, eStruxture strategically and successfully navigated the pandemic, including supply chain issues.

“A combination of intelligent risk taking, local knowledge, customer relationships, investors and partner relationships - along with some level of luck - are the things that are going to carry eStruxture forward,” he says. 

The recent news of eStruxture’s CA$1.8bn fundraise has created quite a buzz.

“It’s an incredible story. When we looked at the marketplace and recognised the growth opportunities of hyperscale and enterprise capacity that were, frankly, smacking us in the face – we took action.”

An incredible group of investors, led by Fengate Capital and Jon Wener, advised the company to raise incremental dollars and let existing investments roll, allowing the company to take off.

“We're deploying our capital in Canada, because we're attracting business from around the world. That's really what the CA$1.8bn recapitalisation does for us. There's no change in eStruxture’s business other than receiving plenty of financial dry powder to work towards growth initiatives.”

That's exactly what eStruxture set out to do and for Canada’s digital landscape, it’s an exciting time. The amount of investment that eStruxture is putting forth is opening doors. Alberta, known for its business-friendly environment, has reached out to eStruxture, seeking guidance on how to reduce delivery timelines.

“All that's going to do is attract further businesses into those markets across Canada and it won't be limited to data centres because, in effect, we're an infrastructure enabler,” says Todd. 

eStruxture’s goal is to work with local municipalities, provincial governments and customers to ensure that the markets in which the company operates its data centres are united.

Alberta is a key part of eStruxture’s growth strategy. Over the next several years, the company expects to be undertaking a number of construction and development projects in the province. 

“Alberta is super business friendly,” Todd continues. “It has the power, the telecommunications and people with the right skill sets.”

From Todd’s perspective, the company is in a strong position to expand in the province, as it runs a unique mix of data centre offerings, from individual cabinets to whole data centres.

Besides that, eStruxture also continues to work with the Quebec government and Hydro-Quebec, to address and support their power initiatives, underscoring the company's commitment to regional partnerships and energy solutions.

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Key partnerships enable sustainable success

eStruxture’s partnership with Vertiv is a critical component of its strategy to build and operate sustainable and reliable data centres across Canada. 

“At eStruxture, we are committed to delivering unparalleled infrastructure which meets the demands of our customers and Vertiv has been a trusted partner in this journey from the very beginning. Their expertise in critical power and thermal management systems is key, particularly as we expand our facilities and scale up to support the growing needs for AI and HPC workloads,” says Todd.

The partnership with JAVCO has been at the heart of eStruxture’s journey, where the construction and engineering partner, along with its network of subcontractors and trades, has shown dedication to its work and relationships. 

“JAVCO and the entire team of trades that support them have been a vital part of our story, consistently delivering the infrastructure that powers our data centres across Canada,” says Todd. “Their collective expertise and understanding of our industry and the unique challenges of the Canadian market have been instrumental in our rapid expansion, helping us to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers.”

What makes the collaboration truly special is JAVCO’s unwavering commitment to the shared mission: to bring state-of-the-art, scalable, environmentally responsible data centre facilities to the Canadian market. 

“JAVCO’s ability to manage even the most complex projects with speed and precision has been key to our growth, allowing us to keep pace with the ever-increasing demands of today’s digital economy,” Todd continues. 

The partnership between eStruxture, JAVCO, and its subcontractors is one built on trust, shared values and a mutual dedication to excellence.

eStruxture’s role in leading sustainable initiatives across Canada

Canada’s commitment to environmental conservation is evident in its vast natural resources, including 9% of the world's forests and 20% of global freshwater resources. As awareness grows about the environmental impact of the data centre industry, eStruxture has positioned itself as a leader in sustainable practices.

“Sustainability is absolutely at our core,” says Todd. “Every decision we make is driven by sustainability. When we build our data centres, it's always about the greatest efficiency levels and not just power efficiency.”

Operating in Canada provides eStruxture with a unique advantage: approximately six months of free cooling annually. The company also encourages its partner manufacturers to reconsider their sustainability initiatives and their approach to AI implementation. Todd believes that AI will be transformative for the industry.

“AI is going to change everything. It's going to put Canada - we believe - at the forefront of attracting technology leaders of today and tomorrow into these marketplaces. eStruxture is actively preparing to support AI workloads in a specific way, that is all part of our go-forward strategy,” Todd says. 

A decade ago, Todd was a believer in Canada’s untapped data centre potential. While he now considers the market relatively nascent compared to other parts of North America, he foresees substantial growth. 

“Today in Canada, there's over 600 megawatts of power capacity across multiple data centres. We think that it's going to be in the multiple of gigawatts six years from now,” he predicts.

The demand on data centres is evolving and with it, so is eStruxture. Power grids are struggling with data demands, increasing EV adoption and changing global temperatures. Todd feels that these challenges will be solved only by the industry working together. 

“This is a turning point,” he says. “It's a step function change in our industry globally and no one company has the roadmap, but instead it’s up to the industry to come together, partners and competitors alike, to work together in adopting and embracing change in support of global sustainability.”

Todd believes that data centres must be at the forefront of this. Doing his part at eStruxture, Todd will work with the right people, build long-lasting relationships and take intelligent risks.

“We are putting our money where our mouth is, eStruxture is making those investments today,” Todd says.

Cutting-edge data centres at eStruxture showcase innovation in digital infrastructure
eStruxture’s modern office exterior reflects its commitment to technological advancement and sustainability
Todd Coleman, Founder and CEO of eStruxture, leads with a vision for sustainable digital solutions
A welcoming office lobby at eStruxture sets the tone for collaboration and innovation

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