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Cedar Rapids Firm Offers Secure Computer Data Center

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 00:00 CDT

By George C. Ford, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Jun. 10--CEDAR RAPIDS -- Space may be the final frontier for explorers, but building and equipping additional space for expanding computer systems can be a major expense for any business.

CoVault Technology, 230 Second St. SE in downtown Cedar Rapids, is marketing a secure data center where companies can store computers and gain access to a high speed network, redundant power, and environmental monitoring and control.

Bruce Lehrman, CoVault chief executive officer, said several partners formed the company to take advantage of computer rooms in the Granby and Armstrong buildings formerly used by Global Crossing. The telecommunications provider equipped about 4,000 square feet of space that CoVault has upgraded with a new security system and other improvements.

"One of the problems that companies have as they grow is the addition of computer servers, which generate a certain amount of heat," Lehrman said. "Eventually, their existing cooling system cannot handle all of that heat.

"Businesses also need a lot more security today, especially if they are doing anything with credit cards. Their servers need to be stored in a secure facility with proximity card access and video monitoring."

With the upfront cost of setting up the data center borne by Global Crossing, Lehrman said CoVault is able to offer a cost-effective solution to upgrading an existing computer storage facility.

"Once they start looking at what they are paying for network connectivity, electricity, cooling and maintenance, we generally offer a more reasonable solution with a shared facility," he said.

Randall Rings, CoVault chief operating officer, said the company is talking with at least one investor group that wants to store a mainframe computer in CoVault's data center. It would lease portions of the computer to other users, such as Internet Web-hosting companies.

Disaster recovery is another area where CoVault offers an off-site location that can get a company up and running quickly in the event that the main office is hit by a fire, flood or other damage. Businesses install computers in data centers like CoVault to "mirror" the computer operations at their main office.

CoVault offers some strategic advantages in that it is serviced by three Interstate Power and Light Co. substations and has a diesel-powered backup generator. It also is connected to high-speed networks operated by McLeodUSA, Qwest Communications and Verizon Communications.

"We are buying network bandwidth in such quantities that we can pass the savings along to our customers," Lehrman said. "We're not in the business of making money on network, just as we're not trying to make money on the electricity that we provide."

Lehrman said CoVault will employ between eight and 10 people at capacity.

"We will need people who know how to configure networks," he said. "They will primarily be network engineers who can eliminate problems so they don't affect our customers."

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To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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GBLC, LNT, MCLD, Q, VZ,

Source: The Gazette - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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