ODATA colocation in Mexico: what they don’t tell you in the RFP

ODATA landed in Mexico in 2022 with its QR01 campus in Querétaro, followed by QR02 and QR03 — the latter with announced capacity of 300 MW and the largest data center in the country by 2026. It is one of the fastest-growing hyperscale operators in Mexico, part of Aligned Data Centers. For companies evaluating hyperscale colocation in Querétaro, ODATA appears on the short list almost every time. But between the commercial pitch and the contract there are points that RFPs (Request for Proposal) don’t capture and that a corporate user discovers only after 6 to 12 months. This article enumerates those points with the detail a traditional RFP does not address.

The hyperscale colocation market in Mexico is small: ODATA, Ascenty (Digital Realty), Equinix and Alestra are the recurring names for capacities above 1 MW in Querétaro and CDMX. ODATA stands out for its campus model: complete campuses with 200 to 300 MW, shared infrastructure, and direct connectivity to Tier-1 carriers. What is not always obvious in the RFP is how that scale translates into day-to-day operations for 1 to 5 MW customers. That gap between hyperscaler and average corporate user is where the most expensive information gaps hide.

Anchor data: according to Uptime Institute, a Tier III data center delivers 99.982% availability, equivalent to less than 1.6 hours of downtime per year. ODATA’s promise in its RFP is Tier III with Tier IV possibility per individual site. But operational compliance metrics are not the same for every site within the same campus. A campus can have a freshly-built site with verified Tier III while another site in the same campus is still at designed Tier III waiting for audit. That granularity is what the RFP doesn’t specify and is worth validating.

A typical ODATA RFP covers these points with official documentation: total campus capacity (in MW), current Tier certification per site, carriers available in the main MMR, guaranteed response time for critical incidents, maintenance policy, contractual SLA, monthly price per kW, installation cost per circuit, redundancy options (N+1 vs 2N), availability of preconfigured cabinets, hyperscaler integration (AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute), and onboarding process for new customers.

All this information is real and verifiable. What the RFP usually does not cover are the following points that make the difference between a smooth operational relationship and one with permanent friction. I list them in order of operational and financial impact.

What the RFP does not tell you: 8 critical points

• Real lead time for cabinet and circuit delivery: the RFP says 30 to 60 days. In practice, with rapidly expanding campuses and active civil works, real lead time can reach 90 to 120 days for specific cabinets or for circuits with diverse redundancy. If your project has hard dates, ask about projects already queued before yours.
• Rollback policy for major operational failure: if ODATA has a serious incident at your site (fire, electrical failure, flood), what compensation do you receive beyond the SLA credit? The RFP typically limits compensation to the credit for SLA breach, not covering lost profit or temporary migration costs.
• Real availability of power capacity: the campus may have 300 MW total but distributed across multiple sites. Your specific site may be a 20 MW one with 60% occupancy, leaving only 8 MW free. If you plan to scale 5x in 2 years, ask about availability in the next sites of the campus, not in the campus as a whole.
• Hidden costs in configuration changes: the cost of adding a cross-connect, moving a cabinet, or increasing amperage in a PDU is typically charged per event and can add up to between USD $200 and USD $2,000 per change. These costs are marginal for hyperscalers that change little, but significant for corporate users with frequent evolution.
• Subcontracting policy for technical services: ODATA operates with its own staff on site, but additional services (smart hands, special installations, network support) are typically subcontracted. That means the technician who arrives at your rack may not be direct ODATA staff, which impacts the reliability of the chain of custody for your equipment.
• Out-of-business-hours response capacity: the typical SLA guarantees response in 15 to 30 minutes for critical incidents 24/7. But the quality of after-hours response can vary: if the available technician is junior or has less expertise, the incident escalates more slowly. Ask about the after-hours technician profile.
• Operational restrictions from campus construction: during campus expansion, there are windows with active civil works that can temporarily affect access to certain sites, noise, dust, vibration, and controlled electrical interruptions. Ask about the campus construction roadmap for the next 12 months and how it affects your specific site.
• Migration exit policy (offboarding): if in 3 years you want to migrate to another operator, what is the process, cost, and transition time? Offboarding in hyperscale colocation is typically more complex than in local Tier III operators due to site scale. Without explicit contractual clause, you may face 6 to 12 month exit times.

How to use this information in your decision

ODATA is a serious operator with verifiable Tier III infrastructure in Mexico. The points above are not to discard the option — they are to incorporate them into the RFP process as explicit questions with documented answers. If ODATA responds clearly to all 8 points, the option remains viable. If it does not respond or gives vague answers, that lack of transparency is information about how the post-sale operational relationship will be.

The final decision depends on your operational profile: if you are a hyperscaler or a company with 5 MW+ loads, ODATA Querétaro has the scale and connectivity you need. If your load is 1 to 5 MW with rapid evolution, also evaluate Ascenty Querétaro and local Tier III operators with better contractual flexibility. The best option is not the cheapest nor the largest — it is the one that fits your load profile and 3-year evolution plan.

Verdict: when to sign and when to negotiate more

Sign with ODATA when your load is 5 MW or more, you have a clear evolution plan, and you obtained documented answers to the 8 points of this article. If your load is less than 1 MW or your evolution is uncertain, also evaluate Ascenty, Alestra and local Tier III operators before deciding. Post-RFP negotiation is where SLAs, delivery times, and offboarding contractual clauses are adjusted. Negotiating those points before signing is 10 times more effective than claiming them afterwards.

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