DC BLOX opens new data center in Huntsville
HUNTSVILLE — DC BLOX celebrated the opening of its new data center at Cummings Research Park in Huntsville with a ribbon cutting Oct. 3 at the new facility.
Several local, state and corporate officials attended the occasion. United States Congressman Mo Brooks noted the longterm economic value that the new data center brings to the Huntsville area.
“DC BLOX, as I understand it, is going to start out with a beautiful facility, and the employment is going to start out a little on the low side, but they have big plans and big dreams,” Brooks said. “Before long I fully anticipate … that you’re going to discover that this is a place to expand, this is a place to bring even more people than you’ve already assigned to this facility.”
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle echoed Brooks’ sentiments, emphasizing the need for data capacity in the area and recognizing DC BLOX’s ability to contribute to Huntsville’s economic growth.
“I will tell you today that DC BLOX is one of those companies that we need to have in our area—one of those companies that adds to the foundation of what we have to have to be able to grow on,” Battle said. “As we look at it and look at what y’all are providing for us … that will help us continue to grow not only for the next five years, but the next 10 years, 15, 20 years.”
Dale Strong, chairman of the Madison County Commission, said “the right team” is in place to propel Madison County to new heights. Aerospace Program Manager Robert Smith of the Alabama Department of Commerce represented the Montgomery part of that team at the event. He and Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield worked closely with DC BLOX CEO Jeff Uphues to bring the data center to Huntsville. Smith praised Uphues for coming to Montgomery last year with a plan to help Alabama businesses.
“From the state’s standpoint, we’re always looking for new partners and things that can add value to our state, and so when someone comes forward with an idea, created solutions to data storage and data transfer that can help our current industries, that’s great news,” Smith said.
Uphues expressed his own excitement to open DC BLOX’s first data facility in Alabama.
“To DC BLOX, Huntsville is almost mythical—the people, the hospitality, the technology presence, the power of American ingenuity is beyond inspiring,” he said.
Uphues recalled coming to Huntsville with some colleagues to evaluate the market and meeting with longtime friend and “pillar of the technology community” Danny Windham, who said a data center would be a great asset to fulfill the needs of the community. Based on Windham’s encouragement and Huntsville’s strong reputation, DC BLOX decided to create a presence in the area.
Uphues commended Brasfield and Gorrie for building the facility at “record pace.” Finished in only 22 weeks, the facility in Huntsville is the third DC BLOX data center in the United States behind Atlanta, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. A fourth data center is currently being built in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to data centers, Atlanta-based DC BLOX provides colocation, network and cloud services to its clients. The new data center in Huntsville will serve businesses in the technology sector, enabling them to “efficiently scale their infrastructure and ensure business continuity,” according to a news release. A Bloomberg analysis ranked Huntsville third in the nation’s most technical workforces with almost 17 percent of the workforce being in the math, science, technology or engineering fields.
The Huntsville data center aims to serve “any organization that handles, possesses, shares and receives” Controlled Unclassified Information. It features conference rooms, staging areas and hoteling space. In addition, the facility possesses hot aisle containment cabinets, pods or suites, as well as secure receiving and storage. The release stated that the facility will have 46,000 square feet of data hall space and a maximum of 15MW of critical IT power at final buildout.
For more information on DC BLOX, visit dcblox.com. The new data center is located at 333 Diamond Drive NW in Huntsville.
