OneNeck® IT Solutions announced plans to expand its Tier 3 data center in Fitchburg, WI (just outside Madison). Already the largest commercially available data center in WI, the build-out will provide another 9,000 sq ft and increase the total available space in service to more than 50,000 sq ft.

Construction on the $5.2 million expansion is underway and should wrap up early in 2016. According to OneNeck, this data center was built in July 2008 and then expanded in 2011. As part of the expansion, this shell was constructed. Now, in response to customer demand, a portion of this shell is being fully developed. Construction will include installation of the internal infrastructure components — electrical, climate, and automation control systems.

“We’re pleased to be expanding another portion of this Tier 3 facility and adding the components to make it Tier 4 electrically,” says Hank Koch, vice president of Mission Critical Data Center facilities. “However, current data center customers have nothing to worry about. Construction will not alter their access to the building or impact availability of their highly critical IT equipment in any manner. We’ve designed it that way!”

When first drawn up, this building was designed to be constructed in phases that, once fully built out, the data center would total 60,000 square feet of space for customers. Koch said, “It was planned with the future in mind, while carefully ensuring the continued operations of live customers.”

Madison-area companies Tri-North Builders, Faith Technologies, North American Mechanical (NAMI) and Madison Gas & Electric are doing the construction. The design will continue to support common compliance requirements already secured by OneNeck, including Type 2 SSAE 16 (SOC 1) examination, ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, PCI DSS validation, and HIPAA/HITECH examination.

Security features at the facility include biometric iris dynamics scanners for personal identification, the ability to withstand an F3 tornado, 14-24 inch concrete and steel reinforced walls, a VESDA fire detection system, and multiple levels of redundancy and backup throughout the entire infrastructure. Similar to all OneNeck data centers, this facility is designed from the ground-up to be 100% available, as well as energy and cooling efficient.