Agreement represents continued successful execution on QTS’ strategic growth plan
QTS Realty Trust (NYSE: QTS), a leading provider of software-defined and mega-scale data center solutions, today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with GDT, an international provider of managed IT solutions, representing a key step in QTS’ strategic growth plan announced in February 2018. Under the agreement, QTS will transition certain cloud and managed services customer contracts and support to GDT. QTS expects to complete its transfer of approximately 200 specific customers to GDT by the end of 2018.
Under the terms of the agreement, GDT will expand its colocation presence within QTS facilities to support customers as they are migrated to GDT’s platform. As GDT is an existing QTS partner and CloudRamp customer, QTS will facilitate a seamless integration with GDT through its Service Delivery Platform (SDP), which will provide customers enhanced visibility and control of their IT environments. Upon transition of the customers, GDT will maintain the current service level and support pursuant to the terms of each individual customer contract.
“We are pleased to partner with GDT, a leading managed IT provider and current QTS CloudRamp customer, to extend our hybrid solution capabilities while maintaining the consistent world-class service and support our customers have come to expect,” said Chad Williams, Chairman and CEO – QTS.
“This agreement also represents the next step in our strategic plan to accelerate growth and profitability,” Mr. Williams continued. “Consistent with our goal of narrowing the scope of cloud and managed services that we directly deliver, this partnership improves our ability to continue to deliver a differentiated hybrid solution, while unlocking enhanced profitability and future growth opportunities for QTS. Through SDP, we can enable a broader set of services for our customers through partner platforms including public cloud providers, Nutanix for Private Cloud, Megaport and Packetfabric for universal software-defined connectivity, and now GDT for managed hosting and other IT solutions.”
As part of the agreement, GDT will pay QTS a recurring partner channel fee based on revenue that is transitioned, as well as future growth on those accounts. While the financial benefit to QTS during the year will be relatively modest as the accounts are transitioned, this partnership arrangement is expected to support future revenue growth and profitability, beginning in 2019 and beyond, without significant cost to QTS. QTS expects that, in transitioning customer contracts to GDT, the Company will be able to drive accelerated leasing performance and growth, improve predictability in its business and significantly enhance overall profitability.
“We are pleased to expand our partner ecosystem with QTS, one of the leading innovators in the data center space,” said GDT CEO, JW Roberts. “This new partnership will greatly enhance our customer-first focus and our ability to consistently deliver innovative solutions to the IT industry. We look forward to managing a smooth customer transition and delivering additional value.”
In connection with today’s announcement, QTS also announced that the Company will issue its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 before market open on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The Company will also conduct a conference call and webcast at 7:30 a.m. Central time / 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The dial-in number for the conference call is (877) 883-0383 (U.S.) or (412) 902-6506 (International). The participant entry number is 7555289# and callers are asked to dial in ten minutes prior to start time. A link to the live broadcast and the replay will be available on the Company’s website (www.qtsdatacenters.com) under the Investors tab.
About GDT
Headquartered in Dallas, TX with approximately 700 employees, GDT is a global IT integrator and solutions provider approaching $1 Billion in annual revenue. GDT aligns itself with industry leaders, providing the design, build, delivery and management of IT solutions and services.
About QTS
QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS) is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 6 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space throughout North America. Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities. Visit QTS at www.qtsdatacenters.com, call toll-free 877.QTS.DATA or follow on Twitter @DataCenters_QTS.
Under the terms of the agreement, GDT will expand its colocation presence within QTS facilities to support customers as they are migrated to GDT’s platform. As GDT is an existing QTS partner and CloudRamp customer, QTS will facilitate a seamless integration with GDT through its Service Delivery Platform (SDP), which will provide customers enhanced visibility and control of their IT environments. Upon transition of the customers, GDT will maintain the current service level and support pursuant to the terms of each individual customer contract.
“We are pleased to partner with GDT, a leading managed IT provider and current QTS CloudRamp customer, to extend our hybrid solution capabilities while maintaining the consistent world-class service and support our customers have come to expect,” said Chad Williams, Chairman and CEO – QTS.
“This agreement also represents the next step in our strategic plan to accelerate growth and profitability,” Mr. Williams continued. “Consistent with our goal of narrowing the scope of cloud and managed services that we directly deliver, this partnership improves our ability to continue to deliver a differentiated hybrid solution, while unlocking enhanced profitability and future growth opportunities for QTS. Through SDP, we can enable a broader set of services for our customers through partner platforms including public cloud providers, Nutanix for Private Cloud, Megaport and Packetfabric for universal software-defined connectivity, and now GDT for managed hosting and other IT solutions.”
As part of the agreement, GDT will pay QTS a recurring partner channel fee based on revenue that is transitioned, as well as future growth on those accounts. While the financial benefit to QTS during the year will be relatively modest as the accounts are transitioned, this partnership arrangement is expected to support future revenue growth and profitability, beginning in 2019 and beyond, without significant cost to QTS. QTS expects that, in transitioning customer contracts to GDT, the Company will be able to drive accelerated leasing performance and growth, improve predictability in its business and significantly enhance overall profitability.
“We are pleased to expand our partner ecosystem with QTS, one of the leading innovators in the data center space,” said GDT CEO, JW Roberts. “This new partnership will greatly enhance our customer-first focus and our ability to consistently deliver innovative solutions to the IT industry. We look forward to managing a smooth customer transition and delivering additional value.”
In connection with today’s announcement, QTS also announced that the Company will issue its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 before market open on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The Company will also conduct a conference call and webcast at 7:30 a.m. Central time / 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The dial-in number for the conference call is (877) 883-0383 (U.S.) or (412) 902-6506 (International). The participant entry number is 7555289# and callers are asked to dial in ten minutes prior to start time. A link to the live broadcast and the replay will be available on the Company’s website (www.qtsdatacenters.com) under the Investors tab.
About GDT
Headquartered in Dallas, TX with approximately 700 employees, GDT is a global IT integrator and solutions provider approaching $1 Billion in annual revenue. GDT aligns itself with industry leaders, providing the design, build, delivery and management of IT solutions and services.
About QTS
QTS Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: QTS) is a leading provider of data center solutions across a diverse footprint spanning more than 6 million square feet of owned mega scale data center space throughout North America. Through its software-defined technology platform, QTS is able to deliver secure, compliant infrastructure solutions, robust connectivity and premium customer service to leading hyperscale technology companies, enterprises, and government entities. Visit QTS at www.qtsdatacenters.com, call toll-free 877.QTS.DATA or follow on Twitter @DataCenters_QTS.