Governor Nathan Deal today announced that Switch, a global technology solutions corporation, will be building a PRIME data center in Douglas County. The new facility will create 65 jobs to along with its more than 1 million square feet of campus. Named “The Keep”, it will be the highest-rated data center in the Southeast.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Switch was founded in 2000, and is perhaps more accurately called a “technology infrastructure ecosystem corporation.” Founder and CEO Rob Roy is an expert in the data center world, with over 260 patent and patent pending claims on data center designs. The Keep will be the fourth Switch PRIME campus located strategically in the U.S. One of the strategic reasons for the location is its status as outside of normal natural disaster zones. Other PRIME locations in the U.S. are in Las Vegas, Tahoe-Reno and Grand Rapids. The Keep will be another Tier IV Gold data center – meaning the highest level of certification from the Uptime Institute. Tier IV means the center maintains “fault tolerant site infrastructure” and are essential for large companies.
“Georgia is committed to remaining on the cutting edge of high-tech innovation, and innovative companies like Switch are leading the way in this trend,” said Deal. “Georgia’s robust technology infrastructure and skilled workforce will benefit Switch in building this new data center and in the company’s future growth. By selecting Douglas County, Switch will enjoy our business-friendly climate and further secure Georgia’s status as the Silicon Valley of the South.”
Data centers are notorious energy users, with centers of this size using as much electricity as a small town. In the announcement today, Switch noted that it is working with local energy providers to ensure the campus will be powered using 100% green energy “from new, local, renewable energy resources.” In Douglas County, this will mean either Georgia Power or GreyStone Power Corporation.
The facility will likely grow to several million square feet as business is expanding and it will serve as a hub for Miami, northern Virginia (home to many contractors for a large employer based in Washington D.C. called the
Federal government) and the entire Southeastern U.S.
Switch’s executive vice president of strategy, Adam Kramer, was excited by the announcement. “Switch is extremely excited to bring the highest rated data center to the greater Atlanta metro to serve as a hub for the Southeastern United States. We look forward to becoming active members of the Atlanta community and supporting the growth of the vibrant tech environment throughout the state.”
The announcement is another win for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) in the tech sector. Pat Wilson, the GDEcD Commissioner, noted tech companies increasing share of Georgia’s economy. Technology companies in Georgia are positioned to perform at the highest rate and grow quickly. In fact, our more than 17,000 technology companies represent a $113.1 billion economic impact in Georgia. We are very excited to welcome Switch to this booming technology industry and we are well aligned to support their future growth.”
To get an idea of what is coming to Atlanta, Switch does offer tours of its facilities. If you happen to be in Nevada or Grand Rapids, see here: https://www.switch.com/schedule-a-tour/
