Grubb & Ellis extends agreement with CT-based Aetna for 3 years. (Technology Update).

Grubb & Ellis Company announced that its facilities management services agreement with Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc. has been extended for three years and expanded to include the management of Aetna's Middletown and Windsor, Conn. data centers.

Grubb & Ellis Management Services is Aetna's facility management service provider for approximately five million SF of space in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In Connecticut, GEMS now provides facilities management for five office and data center facilities in Hartford, Middletown and Windsor totaling approximately 3.7 million SF.

"Working closely together, Grubb & Ellis and Aetna's Real Estate Services Group have achieved excellent results for several years," said David Flynn, a Grubb & Ellis senior vice president national accounts. "It was Aetna's confidence in our management team's performance and the strength of our resources that resulted in this expansion and extension of our assignment. We provide Aetna with a comprehensive package of facilities management services that include virtually everything except mail, security and food service."

He noted that Grubb & Ellis is one of the national leaders in providing facility management services to raised-floor data centers, with more than 3,000,000 SF under management for many Fortune 100 companies in such industries as information services, institutional and consumer finance, insurance, global products manufacturing, national transportation networks, telecommunications and global technology services (hardware and software).

"These more sophisticated, nerve-center operations have an absolute 'no unscheduled downtime' requirement," said Flynn. "While our clients manage their own vital operations, we operate the critical systems and manage the real estate in which these data centers reside."

Richard Needham, senior vice president--facilities management for Grubb & Ellis, added that "it is more common for companies to outsource the management of their office building properties than their data centers. Many data centers are still self-managed, but there is a growing trend towards turning over the reins to facilities management providers with data center expertise. There are clear advantages to outsourcing, and we believe that Aetna's decision to do so represents a milestone in this area."