A European Union science lab in the UK is tendering for a data centre worth up to ￡10 million.

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory - European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) is based in Cambridge.

The organisation is a non-profit academic organisation which manages databases of biological data including nucleic acid, protein sequences and macromolecular structures.

The EMBL-EBI resources are used on a daily basis by scientists worldwide, with around 300,000 different users.

The EMBL-EBI is seeking new data centre capacity to host its expanding IT infrastructure.

The data centre capacity will need to be "carrier neutral" (allow interconnection between multiple telecommunication carriers), and achieve the high-performing Tier III standard or equivalent.

The new facility needs to be no more than four hours away from EMBL-EBI, to enable staff to undertake installation, maintenance and upgrade work on the IT equipment in the data centre.

EMBL-EBI requires a provider to supply infrastructure that can house 60 racks and the space to increase this requirement by up to 30 racks more during the contract term of five years.

The contract is worth between ￡5 million and ￡10 million said EMBL-EBI.

(By Antony Savvas)