COMPUTER DATA CENTER SET HERE

 $10 million project to open next March
  BY JOHN O’CONNELL
    joconnell@journalnet.com  
 September 2011
POCATELLO — A Utah businessman announced plans Wednesday to open Southeast Idaho’s first commercial computer data center in 27,000 square feet of vacant warehouse space at the former Garrett Freight Lines building.
   Heman Smith, CEO of Cayenne Technologies of Mona, Utah, said he intends to invest up to $10 million to get the business started and plans to open in March of 2012 with a staff of roughly 20, earning salaries in the $80,000 range.
   The center will fill a growing demand for businesses throughout Idaho, Utah, California and the Northwest in need of secure and reliable data storage space and information disaster recovery services, Smith said.
   Smith also assured a small crowd that included local business leaders and Lt. Gov. Brad Little his facility will attract other high-tech businesses to the area and should result in some companies locating disaster recovery equipment here and contracting with local information technology staff.  
   He intends to develop the space in three phases, with the longterm goal of growing to between 70 and 100 jobs in the local center by 2014. Some time next year, he also intends to seek space either in Pocatello or Idaho Falls to house a second center, which he would likely locate in new construction.
   “The demand for that storage capacity is huge,” Smith said. “Right now the demand   outstrips the supply.”
   Though there are about five data centers in Southeast Idaho — the largest of which is located at the FBI building — none of them lease space to private interests, Smith said.
   Internet-based services, such as Facebook and You-Tube, buy volumes of space from data centers to store their video files, he said.
   Other businesses often turn to data centers to protect their records and capabilities from disasters. While few companies have their own backup power systems, the data center’s power source will be backed up by diesel generators or fuel cells. The data center must also have access to at least two separate sources of fiberoptic cable in case one of the lines is severed.
   One fiberoptic line runs behind the facility along First Avenue, owned by CenturyLink, formerly Qwest. Syringa wireless had previously announced plans to build the second line directly in front of the facility along Garrett Way.
   In the first phase of operations, the facility will require 2 megawatts of power — equivalent to the power consumed by 1,300 homes. Idaho Power officials said they’ll supply that power from a   nearby substation.
   Smith, who said he’s backed by local investment interests, bank interests and his personal resources, chose Pocatello largely due to its reliable and cost-effective power supply. He was also enticed by the proximity to a major university, the region’s seismic stability, the affordable cost of living in the area and the cool and dry climate. Data centers require cool temperatures and low humidity to protect the equipment, he explained.
   Smith vows his facility will be much more efficient than traditional data centers, which typically pump in cool air through raised warehouse floors to keep equipment from overheating. He intends to keep the equipment in his racks cool and dry in individual refrigeration units.
   Smith, who attended ISU before graduating from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, intends to offer “colocation” services, through which businesses would lease his rack and bring in their own equipment, and more comprehensive “managed” services, entitling customers to the use of his staff and equipment.
   He worked with data centers   for the Utah business Altiris, and he also helped the genealogy website ancestry. com better utilize data centers.
   Little, who was in Pocatello to speak at the Bannock Development Corporation 20th Annual Economic Development Symposium, believes Smith’s announcement highlights some of the reasons why Idaho has been in a good position to weather the economic downturn.
   “The assets that we have here in Idaho that attracted Hoku, that obviously attracted Cayenne — affordable power, a good workforce, the weather — it continues to attract a lot of people,” Little said. “I’m optimistic that we’re in the right place. I think this is kind of an indicator of what’s going to take place all over Idaho.”
   Smith credited Gynii Gilliam, executive director of Bannock Development Corp., for assisting with research.
   The Idaho Department of Labor also assisted with research and data. Dan Cravens, regional economist for the Idaho Department of Labor, said with the multiplier effect factored in, the center’s initial phase of operations should result in the creation of 40-50 jobs.