Security cameras, high fences and access cards ? it?s not Fort Knox. It?s the Baltimore Technology Park.
Started in 2006, BTP is the $2.5 million baby of Baltimore-based Web hosting firm Alabanza. Through creating BTP, Alabanza dedicated a specific facility to help expand its own server storage capabilities and has built an independent entity that is now drawing clients from rapidly growing business markets such as Northern Virginia and the West Coast.
“We are building a large data center,” said James Weller, president of Baltimore Technology Park. “Some businesses are data centers and do a handful of other things, but we are infrastructure experts.”
Baltimore Technology Park?s facility on Russell Street is currently undergoing a $3 million-plus facelift. The new expansion will give the company about 30,000 square feet of usable space, and 15,000 of those square feet are planned to accommodate about 250 more server cages. This expansion will give BTP the ability to provide servers with at least 120 watts of power per square foot.
But expansion isn?t necessarily that easy.
Almost the entire building needs to be on raised floors 2 feet off of the ground to guard against leaks or a disaster, while also providing flexibility to move around wiring and cables. Extensive security measures such as biometric hand readers, round-the-clock monitoring, key-card entry and video cameras will all be put into place or expanded on. The company will also have three 1-megawatt generators in place to help power the building for at least 48 hours in case of an emergency.
Because of the extensive electrical demands of not only the servers but also the massive air conditioning system that keeps them cool, generators not only are a must-have, but also help to sell potential clients on BTP?s reliability.
Some clients of BTP include Idocuments.com and National Fidelity Mortgage.
“We co-located our IT infrastructure with Baltimore Technology Park to protect our core business systems,” said David Silverman, president of National Fidelity Mortgage. “BTP is essential to our long-term growth strategy.”
