2023: A Year In Review

As I sit down to reflect on 2023, I am reminded of what an incredible year it has been once again for the team at VIRTUS. We often say that great data centres are nothing without great people, and the whole team can be proud of our achievements this year, and excited for 2024 and indeed beyond that!

This year has been filled with ambitious expansion into exciting new cities and countries, ambitious sustainability initiatives, and industry recognition that propels us even further toward our vision of becoming Europe's leading data centre provider. 

Expansion into mainland Europe

In May, we made a bold announcement that set the tone for VIRTUS' European ambitions - the Marienpark Campus in Berlin. This brand new 56MW campus is situated in the heart of Berlin’s AI technology hub and is a testament to our commitment to providing cutting-edge data centre solutions that are “AI-Ready” and can become the home of AI infrastructure and Machine Learning. Hot on the heels of this announcement, VIRTUS unveiled plans for a 300MW data centre mega-campus in Wustermark, set to be one of the greenest in Europe. It’s an exciting time for VIRTUS Europe, but to meet customer demand we’re also still increasing our presence as the leader in the UK market, launching our new LONDON11 data centre in Slough in 2024, which will be followed by LONDON12 and LONDON14 in 2025, and 2026 respectively. Our portfolio across Europe approaches 500MW of power and space for our customers at the end of 2023.

Sustainability at Our Core

At VIRTUS, we understand the responsibility that we bear for the future of our planet. Our commitment to sustainability is unwavering, and in 2023, we took significant strides towards achieving our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The launch of our sustainability report marked a pivotal moment, showcasing our progress in reducing energy consumption, increasing the use of renewable energy, and revolutionising waste management practices. 

It's not just about being a data centre provider; it's about being a responsible global citizen, and we’re delighted to continue working to raise awareness and lead the way for the wider industry. We are working closely with our customers and design consultants to deliver datacentres that are AI Ready in a sustainable fashion, and I am pleased to say this year we delivered another industry leading liquid cooled system, building on again from our first of many such solutions going back over three 3 years ago.  We continue to innovate to lower our PUEs to 1.1, lower our WUE and in turn our reliance on generators. We already use only 100% renewable energy in the UK and next year we will enter into PPA’s to use dedicated solar and wind farms to power both our London and Berlin data centres.   

Awards and Recognition

I am thrilled to share that our efforts have not gone unnoticed. VIRTUS Data Centres has been honoured with multiple awards this year. Some notable areas that we were celebrated for include our work in pioneering sustainable data centre solutions, being at the forefront of innovation, recognition of exceptional leadership and most recently as an employer that’s truly invested in the future and career development of our people and making VIRTUS a great place to work. Our core Values drive our Vision and remain unchanged, centred around caring for customer and colleagues’ wellbeing, always delivering reliably and responsibly, being helpful and dedicated to safety, quality, and operational excellence.  I am pleased to say in 2023 our team delivered another year of Zero Downtime for our customers. 

Strategic Investments and Milestones

This year marked a significant milestone for VIRTUS as we welcomed Macquarie Asset Management as a strategic investor alongside ST Telemedia Global Data Centres as an existing majority shareholder. Their collective belief in our vision has fuelled our drive towards becoming the leading data centre provider in Europe. With over 200 talented individuals now forming the backbone of VIRTUS, we've built a family that shares a common goal—a commitment to excellence. 

Looking Ahead to 2024

As we stand at the cusp of a new year, it’s an exciting time to be a part of the VIRTUS team, and in the data centre industry. Against a backdrop of a global financial challenges and ongoing geopolitical situations, we are at the start of a once in a generational shift in computing with AI, changing the way the world uses and accesses its global store of learned knowledge - a shift as important as the birth of the internet in the early 1990s and then again with the burst in Cloud computing in the 2000’s. We remain committed to delivering data centres that underpin the ever-growing digital economy, powering the information and applications that we all rely on day-to-day. 

The continued growth of AI, predicted to triple that of cloud growth, opens up exciting opportunities for us to further push the boundaries of innovation and redefine what's possible in the data centre industry. Our commitment to excellence and sustainability remains at the core of what we do.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to our customers, investors, partners, and suppliers for their continued backing and support of our vision to lead the data centre industry. I also want to thank the whole of the VIRTUS team. It's our collective dedication, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence that drives our continuous growth. 

However you are planning to spend this holiday season, I hope that you have a restful and enjoyable time with those that you spend it with, and I look forward to reconnecting with you once again in 2024, when at VIRTUS we hope to continue to make a positive difference to the lives of our customers, employees, investors and the wider world.