Open Data Centers Joins FISPA, Looks Toward Expansion

Open Data Centers, a carrier-neutral data center operator in New Jersey and New York City, is the latest company to obtain membership into FISPA, an association of Internet Service Providers and Competitive Local Exchange Carriers.

FISPA membership helps small and mid-sized CLECs and ISPs compete against and work with incumbent carriers to “build a better business model while opening the door for partnership opportunities and increasing exposure”, according to the organization's charter. Open Data Centers takes single tenant data centers in power rich areas and repurposes the facility once the tenant downsizes or moves away. By doing so the company creates a seasoned data center with two end facilities at a substantially lower price point.

In a recent interview with TMCNet, Open Data Centers' CEO Erik Levitt noted that to better understand how the Cloud is affecting his data center operations, it is important to note what the Cloud is exactly.

At its core, the Cloud is servers in a data center with high volume Internet access running some form of software with the purpose of delivering an application to the customer. The Cloud begins with the data center itself, according to Mr. Levitt.

“The data center is the foundation of the power for that system, the environments to that system and where the Cloud gets its access to the public Internet,” said Levitt. “The Cloud does not kill the data center, it empowers it”.

Open Data Centers opened its first operation in Piscataway, New Jersey and is currently eying facilities in the Southwest and West to provide redundant locations to its customers.

Levitt's company already has fiber for most of the incumbent providers in the area, including Zayo and FiberTech.  As data growth increases, Mr. Levitt noted it is important that those providers are set to scale in the new locations.

“All of these scalability aspects need to be built into the plan that each data center has going forward, and as the Cloud service providers choose their data centers, they need to be aware of the recovery, power and upgrade capabilities of each facility.”


Edited by Cassandra Tucker