It began not with an explosion of fanfare, but with the click of a digital pen—Colt Technology Services, the international connectivity juggernaut, quietly shook up Europe’s data landscape with a move that will reverberate through server rooms and boardrooms alike. In a deal that’s equal parts strategic chess and ecological manifesto, Colt has sold off eight of its prized European data centers to NorthC, the ambitious Dutch player with a taste for continent-wide domination. But don’t be fooled by the transaction’s clinical spreadsheet allure: This is a story of ambition, sustainability, the digital arteries of Europe, and, yes, data center drama.
To outsiders, the world of data centers can seem as dry as a server rack left unplugged. But beneath the hum of cooling fans and the whir of hard drives, tectonic shifts are playing out across Europe’s network corridors. Demand for secure, scalable infrastructure is skyrocketing as cloud, AI, and digital services entwine themselves ever deeper into economic DNA.
Enter Colt Technology Services. With 32,000 buildings connected, more than 275 Points of Presence (PoPs), ten undersea cable systems, and a claim to co-manage the world’s most widely-peered internet network (AS3356 for those keeping score), Colt is not just a telco—it’s the skeleton and sinew of European digital commerce. But even digital titans have to make strategic choices. By selling eight data centers—in Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and a matching pair in London—Colt has lobbed a thunderbolt into the status quo.
The latest Colt deal is a coming-out party. By absorbing Colt’s eight freshly acquired facilities—assets originally picked up by Colt when it bought Lumen EMEA in 2023—NorthC plunges straight into the big leagues. Suddenly, it boasts a power availability of more than 25 megawatts (for context: enough to keep a small town glowing merrily through winter), and has coverage stretching luxuriously over Benelux, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
But under the hood, this is less about real estate and more about philosophy. For Colt, jettisoning the data centers is about focus—on “building sustainable digital infrastructure,” nurturing customer experience, driving growth, and delivering on the kind of future-forward network that gives CIOs both sleep and sleeplessness. For NorthC, it’s about muscle. As CEO Alexandra Schless put it, the move is a “major milestone” that propels NorthC into the role of regional champion, especially in Germany—which just happens to be the continent’s biggest, most lucrative market.
In a digital world obsessed with latency (the time data takes to zip from A to B), proximity suddenly becomes a very sexy concept. NorthC’s regional network now offers these businesses near-instant access to major European markets, lowering response times while raising the stakes for competitors.
Colt’s deal would ring cynical if not for its broader context: by removing itself from direct infrastructure management, it can invest even more heavily in next-gen, eco-friendly network upgrades. NorthC, meanwhile, inherits facilities in some of Europe’s most innovation-centric cities—think Amsterdam with its famously strict power controls and Germany’s relentless push for carbon-neutral IT.
There’s a virtuous cycle in play: as demand for data rises, so does the pressure—and the incentive—to build smarter, leaner, greener. Whoever masters sustainability at scale will not just save the planet’s kilowatts but also win hearts, minds, and contracts.
Why? Connectivity is no longer a simple linear supply chain—it’s a web, and strong partnerships are the glue. NorthC gets a major boost from Colt’s best-in-class fiber networks, while Colt stays embedded in the heart of a rapidly expanding regional data center provider. It’s a win-win with a sprinkling of mutual dependency—less dog-eat-dog, more “let’s eat the cloud together.”
For NorthC, picking up Colt’s eight established sites looks less like land-grab and more like hedging against future gridlock. These facilities have already cleared the regulatory thicket—and as Europe’s rules tighten, existing stock becomes a vastly more attractive, inflation-immune asset.
This is about more than status. A single modern hyperscale data center might use anywhere from 10 to 50 MW. By acquiring eight mid-to-large sites, NorthC instantly jumps from regional contender to cross-border powerhouse, with the flexibility to serve everything from start-ups to Fortune 500s. Plus, power availability translates directly to service guarantees—when every second of downtime can cost millions, watts are worth far more than their retail price.
NorthC, flush with new assets and a swelling client base, finds itself at a hinge moment. The challenge: preserve the high reliability and customer service of a local provider, but with continental reach. Schless and her team have signaled their intent: Germany is not just large but strategically invaluable, and regionalism—knowing your market, culture, and regulatory nuances—remains their signature move.
But the real tale is about Europe’s own digital destiny. As AI, machine learning, edge computing, and cloud services mushroom in complexity and appetite, the underlying bedrock—who powers the switches, cools the racks, and keeps the packets hopping—matters more than ever. This isn’t just an infrastructure play; it’s laying the groundwork for European data sovereignty, security, and long-term competitiveness.
As Colt pivots toward network wizardry and NorthC squares its shoulders for continental expansion, the message is clear: infrastructure is not dull, not even close. In a world built on clouds and code, ownership of the physical underpinnings—where our digital dreams sleep and wake—matters intensely, even if most of us never see the miles of blinking lights or feel the buzz of a substation’s heart.
In the end, the sale of eight data centers is more than a business transaction. It’s proof that the story of Europe’s digital future will be written not only in lines of code, but also in steel, silicon, watts, and—most importantly—sheer strategic vision. Colt and NorthC are betting big that they understand where the real value lies. For the rest of us, the outcome will shape how we connect, communicate, and compete for years to come.
Source: IT Pro Colt Technology sells eight European data centers
Changing of the Guard: Why Europe’s Data Center Market Is Suddenly Interesting
To outsiders, the world of data centers can seem as dry as a server rack left unplugged. But beneath the hum of cooling fans and the whir of hard drives, tectonic shifts are playing out across Europe’s network corridors. Demand for secure, scalable infrastructure is skyrocketing as cloud, AI, and digital services entwine themselves ever deeper into economic DNA.Enter Colt Technology Services. With 32,000 buildings connected, more than 275 Points of Presence (PoPs), ten undersea cable systems, and a claim to co-manage the world’s most widely-peered internet network (AS3356 for those keeping score), Colt is not just a telco—it’s the skeleton and sinew of European digital commerce. But even digital titans have to make strategic choices. By selling eight data centers—in Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and a matching pair in London—Colt has lobbed a thunderbolt into the status quo.
NorthC: From Dutch Start-Up Spirit to Continental Colossus
If you haven’t heard much about NorthC, you probably will soon. Formed via the 2020 fusion of The Datacenter Group and NLDC, NorthC has been assembling a Netherlands-Germany-Switzerland axis faster than you can say “redundant power supply.” Buying IP Exchange in Germany and the Netrics sites in Switzerland, NorthC has racked up 13 Dutch data centers, two in Germany, and four in Switzerland.The latest Colt deal is a coming-out party. By absorbing Colt’s eight freshly acquired facilities—assets originally picked up by Colt when it bought Lumen EMEA in 2023—NorthC plunges straight into the big leagues. Suddenly, it boasts a power availability of more than 25 megawatts (for context: enough to keep a small town glowing merrily through winter), and has coverage stretching luxuriously over Benelux, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Unpacking the Deal: What Really Changes?
At first glance, it’s a simple handoff: NorthC gets the bricks, mortar, and—here’s the kicker—the colocation business, complete with approximately 400 clients. Colt keeps its network blinking along inside those facilities, and the two become unlikely partners, continuing to interweave as Europe’s businesses demand ever more speed, resilience, and reach.But under the hood, this is less about real estate and more about philosophy. For Colt, jettisoning the data centers is about focus—on “building sustainable digital infrastructure,” nurturing customer experience, driving growth, and delivering on the kind of future-forward network that gives CIOs both sleep and sleeplessness. For NorthC, it’s about muscle. As CEO Alexandra Schless put it, the move is a “major milestone” that propels NorthC into the role of regional champion, especially in Germany—which just happens to be the continent’s biggest, most lucrative market.
The Power of “Colocation”—And Why 400 Customers Matter
Buried inside the technical jargon of this seismic deal is a business goldmine: colocation services. For the uninitiated, colocation lets companies rent space and power in someone else’s hyper-secure, hyper-redundant data center, instead of kitting out their own IT fortresses. For hundreds of Colt’s customers, it means continuity: same blinking servers, different ownership badge; more importantly, access to NorthC’s growing continental platform.In a digital world obsessed with latency (the time data takes to zip from A to B), proximity suddenly becomes a very sexy concept. NorthC’s regional network now offers these businesses near-instant access to major European markets, lowering response times while raising the stakes for competitors.
Sustainability: Marketing Buzzword or Sincere Mantra?
Let’s address the green elephant in the server room. Data centers get a bad rap as energy guzzlers—space-age fortresses drawing gigawatts from the grid, their exhausts breathing heated air into suburban skies. But the winds have changed. Every operator from hyperscalers to regional providers touts sustainability, and European regulators are pushing them to prove it.Colt’s deal would ring cynical if not for its broader context: by removing itself from direct infrastructure management, it can invest even more heavily in next-gen, eco-friendly network upgrades. NorthC, meanwhile, inherits facilities in some of Europe’s most innovation-centric cities—think Amsterdam with its famously strict power controls and Germany’s relentless push for carbon-neutral IT.
There’s a virtuous cycle in play: as demand for data rises, so does the pressure—and the incentive—to build smarter, leaner, greener. Whoever masters sustainability at scale will not just save the planet’s kilowatts but also win hearts, minds, and contracts.
The Evolving Data Center Ecosystem: Partners, Not Just Competitors
One of the more fascinating wrinkles in Colt’s playbook is its decision to remain partnered with NorthC. Instead of burning bridges, Colt is leaving behind its network equipment inside the sold facilities, effectively maintaining a vital digital lifeline to its former assets. In an era when every firm seeks to carve out “competitive differentiation,” this openness to collaboration might just set a new industry norm.Why? Connectivity is no longer a simple linear supply chain—it’s a web, and strong partnerships are the glue. NorthC gets a major boost from Colt’s best-in-class fiber networks, while Colt stays embedded in the heart of a rapidly expanding regional data center provider. It’s a win-win with a sprinkling of mutual dependency—less dog-eat-dog, more “let’s eat the cloud together.”
The European Perspective: Regulation and Regional Power Plays
Against this backdrop, the broader European context adds complexity—and intrigue. Amsterdam, once the darling of hyperscalers, found itself in the crosshairs of regulation, as city governments imposed moratoriums on new data center builds to rein in energy and land use. Frankfurt, London, and several German cities have also faced scrutiny over land, grid capacity, and their carbon footprints.For NorthC, picking up Colt’s eight established sites looks less like land-grab and more like hedging against future gridlock. These facilities have already cleared the regulatory thicket—and as Europe’s rules tighten, existing stock becomes a vastly more attractive, inflation-immune asset.
Inside the Numbers: Why 25 Megawatts Echoes Loudly
Let’s talk power—not the kind measured in boardroom boasts, but in actual, physical megawatts. Data centers are ravenous: servers, cooling, backup systems, lights, and the army of blinking devices all hunger for watts, and lots of them. At over 25 MW, NorthC’s new assets place it among the continent’s brawnier players.This is about more than status. A single modern hyperscale data center might use anywhere from 10 to 50 MW. By acquiring eight mid-to-large sites, NorthC instantly jumps from regional contender to cross-border powerhouse, with the flexibility to serve everything from start-ups to Fortune 500s. Plus, power availability translates directly to service guarantees—when every second of downtime can cost millions, watts are worth far more than their retail price.
What’s Next for NorthC and Colt? The European Arm Wrestle Continues
This acquisition is not Colt’s swan song, nor NorthC’s final act. For Colt, the exit from physical data center management opens doors to broader ambitions: scaling its global network, doubling down on connectivity and customer experience, and targeting cloud-centric growth opportunities. With 32,000 endpoints and a world-spanning fiber network, the company can focus resources on what it does best—delivering the digital plumbing that’s indispensable to modern enterprise.NorthC, flush with new assets and a swelling client base, finds itself at a hinge moment. The challenge: preserve the high reliability and customer service of a local provider, but with continental reach. Schless and her team have signaled their intent: Germany is not just large but strategically invaluable, and regionalism—knowing your market, culture, and regulatory nuances—remains their signature move.
Winners, Losers, and the New Data Destiny
Who wins in this reshuffle? In theory, everyone. Colt sharpens its focus. NorthC injects scale and reach. Customers gain a broader, more resilient ecosystem. Even European regulators get a flashier, more sustainable data center operator pledging to invest in local power and talent.But the real tale is about Europe’s own digital destiny. As AI, machine learning, edge computing, and cloud services mushroom in complexity and appetite, the underlying bedrock—who powers the switches, cools the racks, and keeps the packets hopping—matters more than ever. This isn’t just an infrastructure play; it’s laying the groundwork for European data sovereignty, security, and long-term competitiveness.
Final Thoughts: The Invisible Web that Binds Europe
Spare a thought for the data center workers in Amsterdam and Berlin, those unsung custodians flicking switches and swapping hard drives at 2 a.m. They stand on the literal front line of Europe’s cloud revolution, their day-to-day rhythms now subtly altered by the machinations of corporate strategy. Data, after all, doesn’t just flow through cables and servers—it flows through human ambition, negotiation, and innovation.As Colt pivots toward network wizardry and NorthC squares its shoulders for continental expansion, the message is clear: infrastructure is not dull, not even close. In a world built on clouds and code, ownership of the physical underpinnings—where our digital dreams sleep and wake—matters intensely, even if most of us never see the miles of blinking lights or feel the buzz of a substation’s heart.
In the end, the sale of eight data centers is more than a business transaction. It’s proof that the story of Europe’s digital future will be written not only in lines of code, but also in steel, silicon, watts, and—most importantly—sheer strategic vision. Colt and NorthC are betting big that they understand where the real value lies. For the rest of us, the outcome will shape how we connect, communicate, and compete for years to come.
Source: IT Pro Colt Technology sells eight European data centers
