Alegent Health, CoSentry Form Strategic Partnership to Build Data Center

Omaha-based CoSentry, a provider of data center and managed technical services, is joining forces with healthcare provider Alegent Health (Omaha), to build and operate an enterprise-class data center in Papillion, Nebraska.

The Midlands Data Center will provide the high availability requirements of Alegent Health's hospital and clinical applications as well as other security requirements for vital medical records electronic storage and retrieval. This facility will also address the high-density, high-availability computing requirements for many of the region's public and private organizations served by CoSentry. By combining the data center requirements of CoSentry and Alegent Health, significant economies of scale are expected in construction costs, cooling and electrical infrastructure investments and on-going operational expenses especially in the area of energy utilization efficiencies.

The facility is designed to be a Tier IV data center and will be constructed utilizing advanced concept designs for power, cooling, network and security infrastructure. Phase One of the facility, which is now under construction, will be a 50,000 square foot structure that will be built as a high availability, hardened facility. This structure will provide a safe and secure environment for the Health Information Systems and medical record management of Alegent Health. The data center will also be used as a hosting and collocation facility for CoSentry's clients and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009. CoSentry is planning to add a second building on the site.

"The timing of this facility is important," added Mike Steffan, president and CEO of CoSentry. "We've been driven by client demand and regulatory requirements to bring a facility like the Midlands Data Center online. This facility can accommodate local, regional and national clients who are battling the ever growing challenges of power consumption, environmental controls and the voracious growth in processor demand."

Peggy Bresnick Kendler has been a writer for 30 years. She has worked as an editor, publicist and school district technology coordinator. During the past decade, Bresnick Kendler has worked for UBM TechWeb on special financialservices technology-centered ... View Full Bio