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Terremark is always 'up time'
Designed to be one of the most innovative datacenters in the world — and one of the most secure — Terremark opened its NAP (Network Access Point) of the Capital Region exactly one year ago today – June 25, 2008 in Culpeper. While in construction since early 2007, the facility, located on Technology Drive with Germanna Community College as a neighbor, took about a year to officially open its doors. Other locations include facilities in Europe and Latin America with their corporate office located in Miami, Florida.
And as far as senior vice-president and managing director Norm Laudermilch is concerned, things couldn't be better.
"We're doing very well," said Laudermilch who noted that their Data Center A, at 50,000 sq. ft., is over 80 percent full and their Data Center B — which is slated for completion in early 2010 — is already 30 percent sold.
Just what goes on at Terremark and why are customers — like small and large businesses, major corporations and a heavy hitter like the federal government — flocking to feed at what Terremark offers?
If you're not a cyber-space junkie, Terremark may be too state-of-the-art to comprehend but if you crave absolutely quaranteed 100 percent up time with no single point of failure, unparalleled connectivity and unrivaled security, then what Terremark offers may be exactly what you need.
Currently, the federal government has over 40,000 jobs available worldwide. Checking them out is fairly simple at usa.gov. However, applying for them can be complicated taking you through a series of steps to submit a resume, veterans preference, references plus answering lengthy questions. You can set up an account, save your data, and check on the status of your application. It's all done through a sophisticated software system and staying connected in computerland is key. When you click on to usa.gov – whether in Nome, Alaska, Houston, Texas, Rindge, New Hampshire, or Culpeper, Virginia, you're networking through Terremark which has the contract with the federal government to manage usa.gov
Similarly, major banks, accounting firms, tax preparers and gaming companies use Terremark's services.
Fueled by energy from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Dominion Virginia Power, Terremark has 55 of its own generators that can produce 2.25 megawatts of power should one of these commerical suppliers ever fail.
Huge and powerful, each generator takes roughly 8 seconds to start. That eight seconds is backed up by stored kinetic energy using rotating flywheels.
"We offer basically two services," said Laudermilch. "There is co-location and managed services."
Walking through an immaculate air cooled room of huge metal cages, Laudermilch pointed to customer's computers that are housed there under lock and key. For super-sensitive clients, like some government agencies, there are separate, closed off areas. While it may sound fuzzy, managed services enter the realm of the Enterprise Cloud or Internet-optimized computing platform. Within the cloud, you can configure your computing resources for the applications you need — like additiomal web servers when you need them.
Terremark is not the only provider of managed IT infrastructure services in the world but what sets them apart is security. Blast walls, bullet proof glass and wedge barriers are only some of the physical deterrants. There are no cars inside the compound, packages are screened and bomb sniffed at a location on the periphery of the facility.
"It's run like a military base for critical IT infrastructure," said Laudermilch.
Culpeper County proved to be the ideal location for NAP of the Captial Region. "We've got 30 acres outside the blast zone of Washington, D.C. that is secure," said Laudermilch. "We were able to purchase power at a good price. We have good communication here with fiber optics and we have a community that has welcomed us with open arms."
"We are big supporters of live where you work," said Laudermilch who moved to Culpeper from Northern Virginia when the project started. Germanna Community College has proved to be a great neighbor. Terremark helped get its CISCO program going and Laudermilch says that in future they will no doubt be hiring students from the college.
"We can do it all, right now we're having great success."
For more information about Terremark, go to www.terremark.com
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