TelecityGroup

TelecityGroup plc was a prominent European provider of carrier-neutral data centers, specializing in the design, construction, and management of secure colocation facilities. The company's history is a story of consolidation, originating from the merger of three separate entities: TeleCity Limited, Redbus Interhouse Limited, and Globix Holdings (UK) Limited. TeleCity Limited was established in April 1998 by Mike Kelly and Anish Kapoor from Manchester University.

The business operated on a colocation model, providing highly connected and resilient environments for customers to house their IT and telecommunications infrastructure. This allowed clients, which included financial services firms, cloud service operators, mobile operators, and content companies, to outsource their data center needs and focus on their core operations. TelecityGroup's facilities were strategically located in key European internet hubs, offering access to numerous network providers, which fostered a rich ecosystem for connectivity and peering. Revenue was generated by providing services such as colocation, managed hosting, security, disaster recovery, and various managed services.

A significant figure in the company's growth was Michael Tobin, who became CEO of Redbus in 2003 and orchestrated the merger with Telecity. He then led the combined entity, TelecityGroup, from 2006 until 2014. Under his leadership, the company expanded significantly, growing from a £6 million business to a FTSE250 company with a market capitalization of £2.5 billion. Tobin, an entrepreneur with over three decades of experience in the technology sector, was instrumental in the company's success before his departure. The company's growth trajectory included several strategic acquisitions, such as Redbus Interhouse plc and the European assets of Globix Corporation in 2006, which were all rebranded under the TelecityGroup name in 2007. By January 2016, TelecityGroup was acquired by the U.S.-based data center company Equinix, Inc. for approximately $3.8 billion, a move that more than doubled Equinix's capacity in Europe and solidified its position as the largest retail colocation provider in the region. At the time of the acquisition, TelecityGroup operated over 40 data centers in key European cities.

Keywords: data center, colocation, carrier-neutral, interconnection, European data centers, managed hosting, network infrastructure, IT infrastructure outsourcing, Telecity, Equinix acquisition, Michael Tobin, data center services, connectivity, peering, cloud services, disaster recovery, information security, colocation provider, FTSE250, digital economy