Cloud Computing: IO raises $90M to rethink the corporate data center

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Derrick Harris.

IO Data Centers has raised $90 million for its suite of offerings that rethink the way data centers are built and managed. Its IO.Anywhere units are fully contained data centers in a small package, and its OS software can manage a data center from a smartphone. Building 500-square-foot modules that act like fully functional data centers is capital-intensive work, so when a company like IO Data Centers raises money, it raises a lot. On Wednesday, the company announced a $90 million round led by New World Ventures that follows a $56 million round in 2008 and a $105 million round in 2011.

IO Founder and CEO George Slessman told me during a phone call on Tuesday that the company raised the latest money in order to capitalize on a huge opportunity. One industry group estimates that companies will spend $105 billion building and managing data centers in 2012, and Slessman thinks IO can address a significant portion of that spending, especially as it relates to costs around designing, building and generally operating facilities…

IO’s modular data centers include their own cooling units and backup power and can go pretty much anywhere a customer has room to put one. The company also has developed its own data center operating system software, which lets users analyze, automate and manage their data centers with a fine-tooth comb using a rather slick interface. The goal is to cut down on excessive data center build-outs to account for future needs, wasteful cooling practices and unintelligent resource management…

Read more from the source @ http://gigaom.com/cloud/io-raises-90m-to-rethink-the-corporate-data-center/