Contact: Jim Laird
Photo by: Beth Wynn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A leading Mississippi-based communication and technology solutions provider will build a new $20 million, 22,400-square-foot data center in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park.
C Spire Wireless officials announced their plans during a Thursday afternoon [Oct. 3] news conference at Mississippi State University's High Performance Computing Collaboratory, which is also located in the park.
"This is a great day," said David Shaw, MSU's vice president for research and economic development.
The state-of-the-art facility will offer businesses a full suite of cloud solutions to help them manage mission-critical data, infrastructure and enterprise applications.
"Now, more than ever before, businesses need to intelligently manage their data and critical operational processes to handle the explosive growth of mobile, Internet and corporate-based data demands through cloud-based solutions," said Kevin Hankins, chief operations officer for C Spire, citing recent trends that show data center IP traffic is continuing to grow at an annual rate of 31 percent.
"Business is not going to the cloud. Business has gone to the cloud," he said.
Construction on the 6.5-acre site is scheduled to begin in November, and is expected to take about a year to complete, according to Hankins. The company has plans for two more phases.
Along with its location in a low-risk geographic zone, the center boasts direct access to C Spire's ring-protected fiber network and will be managed 24 hours, seven days a week and 365 days a year by the company's locally-based IT staff.
"This project is an excellent example of how a university-led research park can make a significant economic contribution to the communities it serves, particularly in a rural state like Mississippi," Shaw said, following the announcement.
"We are very pleased by C Spire's decision to build in the park, and look forward to working with them further as this project moves forward," he said.
The 272-acre park is a joint venture of the City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County and the university, with the MSU Research and Technology Corporation responsible for day-to-day management. The park is home to more than 1,500 employees, 11 buildings and a diverse lineup of tenants, including private businesses, start-up companies, government offices and research centers and institutes.
A recent expansion added an additional 45 acres complete with roads, dual-fiber capabilities and utilities.
For additional information about Cochran Research Park, please contact Marc McGee at mmcgee@research.msstate.edu or 662-325-9575.