Nation’s First Municipal Community Data Center Breaking Ground in Westerville

 

Groundbreaking Scheduled for Tuesday, June 21

 

June 16, 2011(Westerville, OH) – The City of Westerville, in conjunction with Youngstown, OH-based technology firm DRS, LLC announces the groundbreaking event of the nation’s first municipal community data center on Tuesday, June 21, 10 a.m. at 35 Collegeview Ave in Westerville. The center is the launching platform for WēConnect, a program of the City of Westerville.

 

As the first-ever city-owned data center, Westerville will be able to offer community partners and the business community access to data center space (co-location), affordable broadband and managed services and cloud-based services (delivery of hosted solutions via the internet).

 

”This is what we heard when we asked businesses what they needed in Westerville in order to be a world-class destination for business,” said Todd Jackson, Chief Information Officer for the City. “A community data center centralizes the technology, security and infrastructure within a technology commons enabling businesses of all sizes in and around our community to reduce costs of doing business and compete on a global level.”

 

The 16,000 square feet data center will provide expanded capacity for future data storage and network needs, and also provide technology solutions for businesses that enable them to deliver products and services electronically as well as access new workforce and social media technologies including virtualization, cloud computing (including a community cloud for Westerville business) and web 2.0 social computing.

 

“The DRS staff is excited and honored to be a partner in this new “Public Private Partnership” This is a great opportunity for the business community in North East and Central Ohio.  We already have many business from the Valley and Central Ohio interested in utilizing the Data Centers and fiber connectivity in the adjoining areas for backup and disaster recovery services,” said DRS CEO Mike Meloy.

 

What:	WēConnect Community Data Center Groundbreaking
Where:	35 Collegeview Ave, Westerville, OH (behind the Otterbein University Department of Communication building; access from Cleveland Ave off Main Street.)
When:	Tuesday June 21, 2011 10 a.m.

 

About WēConnect

WēConnect embodies all the bold technology commitments currently underway for the next generation of Westerville, featuring this community data center and also including commercial advanced metering, fiber infrastructure and technology-related energy efficiency programs. WēConnect brings the latest cutting edge technologies to the business community by providing both an advanced fiber optic network and unprecedented IT managed services to local companies. The services provided by WēConnect are the first of their kind and aim to deliver and secure economic strength and development in the area.

 About DRS, LLC

DRS LLC is an information technology consulting firm and service provider specializing in Cloud services, Managed Services, data center operations, and network infrastructure deployment including local area networks, wide area networks, VoIP, and connectivity. For more information visit www.drsllc.net

About City of Westerville

Located in the northeast corner of Ohio’s fastest growing region, Westerville is a vital city of 37,000 residents, a leader in job creation, and located just 10 miles from the airport and the state capital of Columbus. Westerville has been nationally recognized as one of “America’s Best Places To Live” by Money Magazine. For more information visit www.westerville.org

 

 

Local Tech Firm Backs Up Mahoning Valley Scrappers

 

DRS, LLC Upgrades Scrappers IT Infrastructure

 

June 8, 2011 (Youngstown, OH) – Continuing its effort to support and connect the Mahoning Valley Community through technology, DRS, LLC has partnered with the area’s only professional baseball organization.

 

As part of a unique four-year deal, DRS will be giving its data center and support services and solutions to Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The deal will completely upgrade the Scrappers IT infrastructure, making it more secure and stable.

 

“The Scrappers organization can now focus on what they do best: baseball and community entertainment,” said DRS CEO Mike Meloy. By letting us handle its IT, the Scrappers won’t have to worry about the challenge of their infrastructure, and consequently be much more productive in their core business.

 

DRS will be managing all the IT services for the Scrappers, including server hosting, data backup hosting and IT support. The organization will have full access to a 24/7 help desk, faster internet connections, and a personal IT professional from DRS doing proactive maintenance on their systems.

 

“The Scrappers is a great organization that helps bring the community together through a shared love of baseball. Anything we can do to make things a little easier for them, makes things a little more fun for Mahoning Valley residents,” Meloy said.

 

 

About DRS, LLC

DRS LLC is an information technology consulting firm and service provider specializing in Cloud services, Managed Services, data center operations, and network infrastructure deployment including local area networks, wide area networks, VoIP, and connectivity. For more information visit www.drsllc.net

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DRS, LLC Offers Tips for Evaluating IT Needs

The information technology industry has been changing rapidly over the past few years.  Previously, businesses were able to employ one or two IT experts to maintain physical servers and software on premise. However, as the shift towards virtualization starts to take hold it is becoming more and more difficult for one person to be the expert in everything going on in IT. Companies need a team of people, each specializing in a different area, to manage technology needs.

As DRS, LLC COO, Dave Wilkeson points out, it can be difficult for companies to decide when it’s time to rethink their IT plans.  Wilkeson offers these tips to CEOs and business-decision makers to help them decide if they should reevaluate their IT needs.

-If you are questioning your IT budget. By moving to the cloud, companies can save between 20 and 50%.

-If you are looking for better business alignment and don’t want to keep dealing with the ever-changing IT infrastructure. The cloud allows you to be mobile without thinking about it. You have ubiquitous access to high-powered computing resources.

-If you are a growing or changing company or see growth in your future and therefore need a scalable model so expansion in seemless. The cloud enables companies to scale up or down to the level of needed service.

“By the end of this year, 20% of all business will be in the cloud and by 2013 cloud computing will be a $38 billion dollar industry,” Wikeson said. “However, there are a lot of businesses out there having a hard time wrapping their heads around virtualization and the cloud. People aren’t sure if it’s right for their business.”

Cloud services are not a one-size-fits-all formula. They are flexible to fit your needs, company size and future changes. That’s why Wilkeson encourages people to utilize a consulting firm, like DRS, to help design a customized IT solution.

About DRS, LLC
DRS LLC is an information technology consulting firm and service provider specializing in Cloud services, Managed Services, data center operations, and network infrastructure deployment including local area networks, wide area networks, VoIP, and connectivity.