New $362 Million IBM Data Center Designed to Support Cloud Computing

IBM announced the opening of a new data center to add support for new compute models like cloud computing. Only one of 450 IBM data centers worldwide, the 100,000 square feet facility will be located at the IBM Research Triangle Park, “RTP”, campus. The $362 million investment in North Carolina was welcomed by the Governor of the state with some warm words. North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue said:

“I thank IBM for its continued commitment to North Carolina. This facility promises to be one of IBM’s greenest data centers in the world, proving once again that green is gold for North Carolina. Growing North Carolina’s green economy plays a critical role in my mission to create jobs and to ensure our state’s economy is poised to be globally competitive in the long term.”

Following up on the Governor’s comments, IBM issued a statement of their own regarding the important role the data center will play for IBM. Pat Kerin, general manager of IBM North America, mentioned:

“Data centers have always been a critical part of IBM’s global technology services – and they will be even more important as the processes, infrastructure, and systems that define business today become increasingly connected and intelligent. This new facility not only sets new standards for energy efficiency, but provides the flexible capacity that allows IBM to deliver services that enable clients to reduce costs, improve productivity, and gain competitive advantage in their markets.”

One of the first customers to migrate was the United States Golf Association (USGA) and their USOPEN.com business. AlexWithers, managing director of Digital Media for the United States Golf Association, stated:

“The migration of our USOPEN.com operations to IBM’s new data center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina reduced our energy consumption by 38 percent and floor space requirements by 54 percent. We count on IBM to deliver a cost effective, reliable and scalable hosting environment that supports the presentation of our world-class championships to players and fans.”

Overall the move seems to be a win-win situation for everybody and is sure to provide jobs in North Carolina at a critical time.