Funny enough I was thinking about the possibilities the other day, although I hadn't thought of "existing" holes in the ground. Sounds pretty exciting. Any web sites that advertise this space?

I'll buy dinner for their company for a year if they lease 5% of their space to data center users.

The market for this kind of hardened site probably does exist but is surely very narrow. The facts are that actual threats to a company's web architecture most often come from internal or external network threats. Being in a missile silo does nothing to prevent an authorized or unauthorized user from cracking your system. Plus, if you intelligently disperse your architecture across different geographies, there is no need to be in a mine shaft to protect against natural or man made disasters.

Are you kidding me! Good luck to them. We looked at a cave in Stockholm Sweden for a data center and it just didn't make sense. Where is the infrastructure going to go? How do you exhaust the generator? How are they going to dissipate the heat. Can they even have a contemporary mechanical system? At what cost? If there is nuclear attack on a major city, there are alot of other issues to worry about. It will always be a more cost effective proposition to just mirror data in a Tier 2 city. You can acquire space in Beaverton OR, Ft. Worth or St. Louis for next to nothing. These cities are all easier to get to than Grand Rapids. I feel sorry for the investor.

No, they are not kidding. The facility they have is perhaps the best in the world and in one of the best geographies. With close to a million square feet, I don't think they'll have much of a problem placing infrastructure. Exhaust and heat dissiaption are done through shafts, secured on the property and the mechanical systems are state of the art. The costs are actually less because of some of the inherent benefits of the facility and it's location. My organization chose this location to host our applications because of these benefits and the unique and intelligent way they have been utilized. In doing our research on this firm, it turns out their investor group has a long history, is very strong, and has a brilliant track record of success. Based on the growth that USDCO is experiencing, I would not feel sorry for the investor group.

I'd be more concerned about the telco facilities going into such a hardened infrastructure. Unless the underground conduit is planned and installed during the initial build of the facility, it's not going to be nearly as secure as the IT equipment inside, and if those lines get blown up in some sort of blast then what ever is inside is going to be useless.

Another point, I don't think any of today's major fiber providers would be able to afford to build into one of these remote locations from a major metro area. Good luck to who ever wants to tackle this one.

Good point, but with redundant SONET telco infrastructure going down separate shafts and leaving the facility in both aireal and underground ways they are very secure. Wireless connectivity offers back-ups and there is major fiber very close. USDCO is not as far in the boonies as you may think

You are all missing the point. USDCO is a high quality, cost effective colocation solution. We offer the best choice AND the best price. Scalable space, physical security and geo-thermal cooling certainly make us unique but we prefer to be judged by our service, infrastructure and value.

Let's be honest, Bob. The attention USDCO is receiving is not because of your service and value. It's the gimmick value of your "data center in a mine" that got your company written up in Wired and The Associated Press - and yes, CarrierHotels.com. To focus on the unusual nature of your location is hardly "missing the point." It's the entire reason for the conversation.