PARIS (04/04/2000) - IBM Corp. is to construct 18 Internet application hosting centers across Europe for network operator KPNQwest BV, the companies announced today.
The hosting centers, to be branded KPNQwest CyberCenters, are expected to generate more than $4 billion in revenue over 10 years, to be split equally between the two companies, IBM and KPNQwest said in a statement.
IBM will lease 25 percent of the available space in the centers to host its applications for its own customers, according to the statement.
IBM's Global Services division, which will carry out the work, has already struck a similar deal with one of KPNQwest's parent companies, Qwest Communications International Inc., to deliver similar services in the U.S.
KPNQwest already has 12 CyberCenters, hosting sites which it gained through its acquisition of business Internet service provider (ISP) EUnet. The company plans to construct up to 18 mega-CyberCenters linked straight into its high-capacity fiber-optic backbone network to provide Web-hosting and application sharing services.
The first six hosting centers will be in Frankfurt, Paris, Munich, Stockholm, Milan and London, and will be in operation by the end of this year, the companies said.
KPNQwest, in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, can be contacted at +31-23-56-87-676, or at http://www.kpnqwest.com/. IBM, in Armonk, New York, can be reached at +1-914-499-1900 or at http://www.ibm.com/.