VISI installed a new 2.25MW generator this weekend. The generator will more than double the capacity of our St. Paul Data Center. I had the opportunity to watch as a massive crane lifted the generator over the downtown skyway and lowered it into the sub-basement of the 180 East 5th Street building in Downtown St. Paul. The generator weighs over 38,000 lbs and runs on diesel fuel.
After the success of our March webinar series, we have decided to host monthly webinars, typically on the first Wednesday of every month. In July, we are pushing it back a week so you can enjoy the July 4th week.
If you have any topics that you’d like VISI to host a webinar on, leave a comment and let us know.
Topic: Server Virtualization: Incorporate Virtualization into Your Hosting Environment.
Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 (this isn’t the first Wednesday in July!)
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM CDT
VISI’s CTO, Jason Baker, will provide an overview on virtualization and then talk about how it relates to our dedicated server products. Virtualization is rapidly changing the way companies do business. Virtualization reduces hardware expense and provides for rapid server deployment. Register online for Server Virtualization.
Topic: Web 2.0 and Social Media: What Your Business Needs to Know.
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM CDT
Web 2.0 and Social Media have changed the way companies do business. Learn what is behind these buzzwords and how they can help your business grow. Catch this webinar on Social Media and Web 2.0 by registering online.
Topic: Eden Prairie Data Center Highlights: Hear the New Facility Buzz!
Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM CDT
Virtually explore the features of VISI’s new data center at our Eden Prairie location. Find out how VISI’s world-class data center can accommodate your company’s need for 24/7 uptime. Reserve your seat to explore the newest data center in the Twin Cities.
VISI launched two products on May 20th 2008, our NEW Backup-To-Disk and our expanded Secure Socket Layer (SSL) offering!
Our remarkable, innovative and enterprise-class Backup-To-Disk is a significant step forward offering our customers the following feature set:
(1) Off site backup solution which allows extremely fast file recovery and restores;
(2) 31 days of data retention are now offered versus the previous 21 days;
(3) Restores of a customer’s data are significantly faster since no tape is involved;
(4) Colocated customer’s have a variety of visibility options via an HTML enabled interface (which is VISI branded); and,
(5) Backup-To-Disk offers our customers a truely Enterprise-level backup solution.
Our Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificates offering is significantly enhanced! VISI now offers the choice of certificates from three vendors; GeoTrust, RapidSSL and VeriSign. VISI also introduced a monthly SSL Certificate for businesses who require additional flexibility.
Please call our Sales staff at 612/395-9090 to enquire about either of these new VISI innovations!
Enjoy!
Bill
On Monday this week we passed a major milestone – we received approval from the Duluth City Council for the JOBZ program.
So, what is JOBZ anyway? JOBZ (pronounced job-zee) is a state sponsored program that tries to bring jobs and business to areas that are economically distressed. Most of the JOBZ zones fall in more rural areas where there are not many jobs. The program is currently set to go through 2015.
The benefits of JOBZ can be great for a business. The state waives sales taxes on purchases for the location and charges real estate taxes on land only. There are also income tax benefits and employment tax benefits. The benefits will allow companies to be competitive and pass these savings unto their customers. Without these types of benefits, companies would charge higher rates to recoup the costs of building in these economic development areas or forego expansion entirely.
Why is the JOBZ program in the paper so much? The state auditors found areas of concern with the program. There have been large companies building in areas with the benefits and the not hiring the people they said they would. Some businesses would have expanded even if they didn’t receive the benefits. The auditors are concerned about the potential lack of accountability and oversight.
But, there have also been many success stories which have helped rural communities greatly. On the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) website there is a list of completed deals. The total jobs created so far is 5,140 and the capital invested is approximately $723 million.
The VISI datacenter will provide needed technology infrastructure and jobs for Duluth. Apex, the economic development group for the area, met with business leaders and asked what the area needed most. The consensus was that they needed a data center. Many businesses house their computers in their own facilities and lack the redundancy that is needed to meet the IT needs of businesses today. Apex believes that the project will serve as a catalyst for future industrial technology development in Duluth and will attract other tech companies and jobs to the area.
So, we passed the first hurdle – the Duluth City Council voted unanimously in favor of our JOBZ request. Now we will have to get through the state and county approvals. If all goes well, we will purchase the land and start building our new data center in the coming months.
It’s official. After several months of searching, VISI has purchased a 50,000 square foot facility in Eden Prairie for its new headquarters and data center. VISI will be located in what is known as the Golden Triangle business district, a prestigious part of Eden Prairie that is home to Compellent, Digital River, Fingerhut Direct Marketing and ShopNBC.
The new Eden Prairie headquarters – an approximately 50,000 square foot building located at 10230 70th Street West, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 – quadruples the size of VISI’s previous headquarters and provides room to build a world-class data center. Construction on VISI’s new offices will begin immediately and the move-in date is scheduled for May 1st, 2008.
Want to learn more about VISI? Check out the About Us page.
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