The Ann Arbor area is becoming a smidge more regional thanks to one less data center. The city and county have combined their data centers into one centralized operation in the Ann Arbor City Hall.
Before the move, the county's IT center was located in the basement of the County Administration Building in downtown Ann Arbor. Local officials were worried an unexpected disaster, such as a basement flood, could wipe out the electronic capabilities for all 30 some county departments.
So staff moved the county's 120 computer servers to the City Hall. The idea is to provide a safer, more appropriate place for IT infrastructure with room to grow. It will also help save costs. Data centers are notorious energy hogs since all of those servers have to be cooled. Often places where they end up, like basements, are ill equipped to efficiently handle the job.
Source: City of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke
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