After the much-publicised Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage in October that reportedly cost companies nearly £7,000 per minute in downtime globally, the ripple effects were felt much closer to home.
Across Teesside, businesses saw systems stall, payment processing freeze and customer portals go down – and it wasn’t just companies who suffered.
Many individuals found their personal internet banking disrupted and social media accounts refusing to load.
This incident was a stark reminder of how dependent the economy and daily routines have become on digital infrastructure, while it also highlighted the crucial role Middlesbrough-based Durata is playing in the rapidly expanding digital world.
Durata, based at Tees AMP business park, is leading the evolution of critical infrastructure and empowering its customers with uninterrupted performance in a world where downtime simply isn’t an option, by delivering the next generation of resilient high-speed data centres for global hyperscale companies.
John McGee, Durata’s group CEO, said:
“The AWS disruption highlights how resiliency is a non-negotiable. Our customers operate in fast-moving, high-stakes environments and they increasingly rely on us to deliver their critical infrastructure with certainty and speed.”
This increase is being seen across the data centre industry, with predictions of a 33% annual rise in demand for AI-ready data centre capacity in the next five years.
And Durata’s latest flagship product, the AI:20, is revolutionising this landscape.
Unveiled at DCD>Connect|London in September, the AI:20 is a fully modular, prefabricated “AI factory” that delivers an impressive 20 megawatts (MW) of compute capacity.
Simplified, that amount of power is equivalent to the electricity demand of a small town, or around 12,000 to 15,000 average homes.
Durata’s scalable AI:20 is a game-changer, offering a flexible and efficient solution designed to meet explosive demand. Its agility combats the high cost of delays, addressing the industry’s need for fast and
reliable deployment.
John said:
“AI:20 delivers precisely what the market is demanding. It’s a fully branded, customisable and ready-to-deploy AI factory, constructed from modular units engineered entirely in-house, bypassing complex global supply chains
“This complete control over the build process is what sets us apart and allows us to deliver 20MW of compute power reliably and rapidly to any location in the world. And from right here on Teesside.”
The AI:20 allows for phased deployment in just 12 to 15 months, significantly reducing lead time compared to traditional data centre construction.
This is exactly the kind of solution the industry is seeking, with reports showing 60 per cent of operators plan to deploy some form of modular or prefabricated design in the next three years.
Durata’s delivery model is supported by its strong local footprint in the North-East. Every module is engineered and fabricated in-house at the 80,000-sq ft Durata Fabrication facility in County Durham.
Once complete, they are shipped globally via Teesside Freeport, showcasing the region’s strong logistics network. Durata is the only company in the UK that controls the entire production process and installation of modular data centres at such scale, delivering the
speed, quality and scalability demanded by clients.
This worldwide capability is bolstered by its recent expansion into the US, with a new entity established in Atlanta, Georgia. That move ensures seamless installation and after-sales support across the Atlantic.
The foundation of this capability lies in the Durata Group’s heavy and ongoing investment in its UK manufacturing base, driven by the strategic acquisition of Tolley Fabrication in May.
Alan Tolley, project director at Durata Fabrication, said:
“The committed investment in additional computer numerical control (CNC) machinery and robotics enables our fabricators and engineers to work faster, smarter and with increased accuracy. The equipment doesn’t replace our incredible team; it strengthens them.
“By handling the repetitive tasks with pinpoint precision, the technology significantly improves our speed and turnaround time, allowing our people to focus on the higher-level engineering and quality control that defines Durata’s product.”
This period of explosive growth has triggered a major team expansion. From its Middlesbrough head office, Durata is providing exciting opportunities for local talent to build careers in this exciting, growing sector.
The focus is particularly strong in core engineering and fabrication trades, with demand for skilled professionals including welders, fabricators, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers.
“The Durata Group is going from strength to strength. The launch of our game- changing AI:20 solution showcases our ambition,” John said.
“Adding a US entity in Atlanta has cemented our global reach, and this is just the beginning. We’re expanding rapidly and we’re growing our team to ensure we continue to lead the way in the global critical infrastructure market.”
