Central Minnesota just got a little more connected.
Minneapolis-based
Vaultas, a data center, colocation and business continuity provider, is expanding into the St. Cloud market, following completion of the company's newest data center facility in Alexandria.
The decision to build in the area was driven by demand, notes Vaultas president John Unger: "Outstate Minnesota really didn't have a colocation environment that local businesses could use, outside of the metropolitan area. There was one in St. Cloud, but that's somewhat private."
During the recent tough economic times, many companies throughout the state increased their use of managed services, making data center usage more popular. Rather than pay for power and cooling, as well as technology licensing, on their own, companies have been turning to data centers like those run by Vaultas to manage their data and drive down costs.
Although these types of arrangements can be utilized from anywhere—a company in Duluth could outsource to a data center in Denver, for example—there are advantages to having a data center close by, Unger believes.
"Not everyone is so eager to put data into a cloud computing environment," he says. "For some companies, it can be a high risk environment." Also, he adds, having a provider so far away doesn't give an entrepreneur or executive the ability to walk through the data center's doors and check on operations.
Factors like these are driving growth for Vaultas, which has been hiring more sales professionals and contractors in the past year, Unger says. More hiring could come in the future as well, if the provider stays on track with its goals. Unger is considering putting more data centers between Minnesota and Utah, taking advantage of the region's chilly weather to reduce overall cooling costs.
"Absolutely, we're on a growth track," he says. "We're looking forward to seeing what's ahead."
Source: John Unger, Vaultas
Writer: Elizabeth Millard