- Secure cloud and colocation provider LightEdge announced the acquisition of an Uptime Tier III Design Certified, 76,000-square-foot, 3.6 MW data center in Chaska, Minnesota. The team – which is committed to power client innovation through secure cloud solutions – plans to invest toward deploying its enterprise LightEdge Cloud, fully redundant network, cloud on-ramps and managed services for local businesses in the Minneapolis market.
“We are excited to enter the Minneapolis market, invest in this rapidly growing region and deliver our best-in-class IT solutions to a new state,” said Jim Masterson, CEO, LightEdge. “We are dedicated to building and supporting tailored cloud solutions delivered from in-market data centers that meet the rigorous demands of enterprise-grade operations and empower local companies with seamless connectivity and the robust infrastructure needed to thrive in today’s digital landscape.”
The Minneapolis data center is part of Minnesota’s Data Center Tax Incentive program, which promises cost savings and up to 40 percent reduction in total occupancy cost. Client incentives include no sales tax on all IT equipment, data center infrastructure, computer licensing, software and electricity used at the facility, as well as no personal property tax. A highly secure facility designed to withstand 185MPH winds, the data center offers two utility feeds from two substations and a disaster recovery office space backed by 2N or N+1 Tier 3 concurrent maintainable configurations. The facility houses 30,000 square feet of data hall space across three private data center suites.
The facility is ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SOC (1, Type 1 & 2, Type 2), and LEED Silver certified. LightEdge is expected to expand certifications at the location, including HIPAA, HITRUST, ISO 20000, ISO 22301, NIST, ITAR and CJIS, catering to highly regulated sectors such as finance, insurance, and healthcare.
Founded in 1996, LightEdge now owns and operates 12 purpose-built data centers across the U.S. In 2021, GI Partners acquired a controlling stake in LightEdge to support and accelerate growth of the business. Since then, LightEdge has made three acquisitions, added five data centers, expanded its network capacity and upgraded its cloud portfolio.
The data center in Minneapolis has immediately available capacity, and can readily support AI workloads with 50+ KW racks and high-density deployments. LightEdge is planning to hire additional sales and support staff in the Minneapolis market as the team expands operations.
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