Solid Systems Opens Two Data Centers
Web integrator targets managed services

May 30, 2001 -- Systems integrator Solid Systems Inc. said this week that it has entered the data center business with the opening of facilities in Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge, La.
Houston-based Solid Systems, an 18-year veteran of the computer systems integration business, will use the two facilities to offer managed services to a regional client base. The company said it intends to build a "series of facilities" in the Southeast.
The move illustrated the growing attraction of managed Internet services as a profit engine.
"Since 1983, we have built a reputation of reliability among our hundreds of systems integration customers by providing the highest quality service,'' said Ken Cruise, co-founder and chairman of Solid Systems Inc. "We saw an opportunity to transfer that specialized skill set and service ethic to the managed services space.
"We learned that many of our customers were evaluating opportunities to control costs while maintaining efficiencies," Cruise added. "Our data center represents a tremendous advantage for companies affected by the current economy.''
In July 2000, Solid Systems raised $20 million in equity financing from BancBoston Capital and Alta Communications to build the Houston and Baton Rouge data centers.
The Houston data center has seven customers, GrandBasin and Network Oil. The Baton Rouge data center, housed in the Louisiana Technology Park, is a collaboration of Solid Systems, the Research Park Corporation, the ECOstructure, an alliance comprised of EMC, Cisco and Oracle, and the State of Louisiana.
Last year, the Louisiana State Legislature approved a capital outlay allocation of $2.75 million as the first of a multi-year financial commitment for the Louisiana Technology Park project.
"As a systems integrator, we know there is a great deal involved in protecting a company's data,'' said Cruise. "We offer a cost effective alternative to expanding their in-house data centers, while keeping their servers nearby and providing a suite of managed services.
Based in Houston, Solid Systems has offices in Austin, Dallas, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.