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Archive for the ‘green datacenter’ tag

April is Earth Month!   2 comments

Posted at Apr 5, 2013 @ 5:28pm green

environmental conservationWell, everyone, we are officially one week into April. A business week, anyway. But still, can you believe it? 2013 is flying for us at TurnKey Internet, and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon, if at all.

Did you survive April Fool’s Day? Surprisingly, it didn’t get too out of hand here. I say “surprisingly”, since, although the TurnKey team may appear to be comprised of seriously awesome, talented, amazing, incredible, terrific, extraordinary, fabulous, additional adjective meaning “great” (because, why not?), super-charged IT heroes—that’s what we appear to be comprised of, right? RIGHT?! Right.—we’re all just a bunch of goofballs and jokesters at heart. Did anyone get you good (or bad) with an April Fool’s Day prank? Did you get anyone? If so, feel free to share… I need some ammunition for next year.

April Fool’s Day is fun, but we love April for dozens of reasons. Aside from a day devoted to being silly, there are, let’s see, blooming flowers… warmer weather—Hey! A girl from Upstate NY can hope, can’t she? My fingers are crossed, yours should be too, and I refuse to acknowledge the fact that it snowed twice this week.

Anyway, there is also Earth Day in the month of April. When you’re green IT fanatics like we are, April’s Earth Day morphs into a month-long celebration of sustainability and the environment. April, for TurnKey Internet and our community, has become Earth Month, if you will. And you will, because we’re devoting the entire month to showing you how cool it is to be green.

If you’re unfamiliar with the TurnKey Internet green initiative, we can’t imagine how, because we love to talk about it. Regardless—and since we love to talk about it—you can read our press release about it all right here.

Check in from time to time this month for green news, stories, announcements, and more, from here, there, and everywhere. We have lots to share!

Are you planning to celebrate Earth Day this month? How do you do your part for the environment? It’s so, incredibly important to take care of the planet. We LIVE here. All of us.

Happy Earth Month!

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Written by Emily on April 5th, 2013

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TurnKey Internet Receives SSAE 16 Type 2 Certification!   25 comments

Overheard at TurnKey Internet, straight from the CEO: “Attaining the SSAE 16 Type 2 certification was a significant goal and milestone for us. We pride ourselves on our unparalleled reliability, quality of service, and—most importantly—customer satisfaction. This certification not only proves that we are excelling in those areas, but also assures our new and existing clients that they are receiving the best possible service.”

You heard right, ladies and gentlemen! We are proud to add SSAE 16 Type 2 to the list of certifications that our green data center in Upstate NY has attained. “What’s that,” you ask? SSAE (or The Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements) No. 16 (SSAE 16) Type 2 certification is an internationally recognized compliance certification, that was created by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in April of last year (2012). It replaced the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) to better supplement international auditing standard ISAE 3402.

After a thorough examination, conducted by SOC audit specialists The Moore Group CPA, LLC., our facility was deemed compliant with the regulations required to attain SSAE 16 Type 2 certification. This audit investigates several core areas: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. It verifies that TurnKey Internet is of the utmost security, integrity, and reliability. It confirms that we have procedures and safety precautions of the utmost efficiency in place to ensure the security of our facility and our clients’ data within.

Needless to say, we’re pretty excited. We couldn’t wait to share the good news! You can read the full press release here >

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TurnKey Internet welcomes docSTAR to Latham data center   no comments

At TurnKey Internet, there is only one thing we like to do more than make new friends, and that one thing is tell everyone about it. That being said, we are so excited to announce that docSTAR, a document management software company and subsidiary of Astria Solutions Group, LLC., is moving into our Latham, NY data center!

docSTAR is located in Schenectady, NY, so we’re basically neighbors. This is one of the most noteworthy aspects of docSTAR’s move into the TurnKey  cloud. There has been quite a stir around here in regards to teaming-up with a fellow Capital Region small business, and we welcome them wholeheartedly to our facility. We like to think of it as a little ray of sunshine on the heels of Hurricane Sandy!

Greg Laird, docSTAR’s VP of Product Development commented, “The cloud powers our software and our business. Our growth required a bigger, faster, stronger cloud in order to continue to provide the highest level of service. The TurnKey data center exceeds all of our requirements, so our customers can continue to grow.”

We’re more than happy to help! To read the full press release, you can check it out here.

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Hurricane Sandy Preparedness Status Update – New York Datacenter   no comments

Posted at Oct 29, 2012 @ 12:17pm New York Datacenter

generator-newyork-datacenterEDIT: View our live Hurricane Sandy camera to watch as the storm reaches New York at http://sandycam.turnkeyinternet.net/

 

Hurricane Sandy is currently hitting the Northeast U.S. with hurricane-force winds and monsoon rains. It is expected to hit New York and Upstate New York today (Monday, October 29th, 2012).  The NY Stock Exchange has shut down, as have many businesses and schools throughout the North East.  At TurnKey Internet, we have already activated our Emergency Preparedness Stage II Plan as of Sunday October 28th – and we have already completed extensive on-site generator stress tests. We topped off our diesel tanks so we can run independent of utility power for several days, and have increased staff intervals to staggered shifts to ensure that on-site engineering staff and customer service coverage remains uninterrupted both during and after the storm.  We have additional staff on hand in case you wish to call in for a status update (518-618-0999), or you can view live status updates on our Twitter feed. There will be links to photos as the hurricane passes through the region, today and tomorrow, Tuesday, October 30th.

 

TurnKey Internet’s new, multi-million dollar data-center located in the heart of New York’s Tech Valley Region already has multiple redundant systems in place to remain online in the event of power loss, fiber network outage, or natural disaster.  The facility is a former government building, built with concrete walls that are over a foot thick, on a self contained secure lot, over 2,000 feet above sea level.  There is no risk for flooding, and the facility is built to withstand hurricane-level winds, as well as tornado-level winds. Rest assured our role is to ensure uninterrupted and continuous 100% operation for all cloud services we provide to our clients, and the activation of our Preparedness Stage II Plan ensures exactly that.  For businesses and clients with data located at their offices, homes, etc. – we strongly urge you to copy and back-up your data to a secure data-center such as TurnKey’s immediately, so you will have access to your data in the event your business loses local power due to Hurricane Sandy.  TurnKey Internet’s facility and cloud services will remain at full operation status, with additional staff on standby to assist you.

 

Our best wishes go out for the safety and health of our clients, staff, friends, and family.

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Written by Adam on October 29th, 2012

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Why Green Data Centers Should Be Given More Consideration   2 comments

Posted at Aug 21, 2012 @ 9:47am green

Green Business Initiatives!

Business success is relying increasingly more on proper computing software and hardware. Regardless of the type of business, computing plays a role of some sort. Small contracting service type businesses use computing for accounting  and to market to their clients, while a larger business with hundreds of staff members manage computer networks to carry out all of the various processes of their respective business.

One of the common denominators  I have seen in many of today’s  businesses is the promotion of green initiatives and making environmentally correct changes  in their business as an image builder to their clients. These green practices range from energy efficient lighting to utilizing biodegradable cleaning products. Most of these businesses make sure it is well known and promoted that they are doing their part in protecting our environment. It has become almost a necessity for many industries that they promote green initiatives to be accepted by their customer base.

As someone knowledgeable with both computing and how we can all do our part to protect the environment, I question the sincerity of many business managers that on one hand self-promote when they make a decision to switch to something like recycled paper while their computing infrastructure is having an increasingly negative effect on the environment. I am not saying they should eliminate their computers and just use recycled paper to run their business. I am suggesting they should become educated on the effects outdated computing has on our environment and make the appropriate decisions to upgrade their computing infrastructure to one that is more technologically advanced and more energy efficient.

The latest studies have revealed that the average PC which is 3-5 years old uses approximately 176 Kilowatt hours of electricity at a cost of about $.17 per kilowatt hour or $30 a month. A server for the average office would generate about double the cost and electrical usage of the PC. To succeed business managers need to keep both costs in line as well as do what seems to be politically and environmentally correct. What many are considering  is moving some or all of their computing infrastructure to an energy conscious green data center. Cloud Computing as it is referred to is growing in record numbers for several reasons such as cost savings, security, accessibility as well as being the right thing to do environmentally. So depending on the amount of computers your company utilizes you could easily determine your savings along with the numerous other benefits of moving to cloud computing.

At Turnkey Internet’s company owned data center we feel we have done as much as we could have regarding green initiatives. We utilized the latest technology that would allow the systems we put in place to be the most energy efficient available. You can learn more about just how we managed this by viewing a short video about our data center. Additionally the electricity we use to power all of our systems comes from 100% renewable resources. We utilize our own rooftop solar system along with hydro-electric power fed directly from Niagara Falls.

So if you are considering moving to cloud computing for your business, I would hope you consider Turnkey Internet not only for the technology, service and security we could provide for your company’s computing needs, but also because you would also be making an environmentally correct choice.

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Written by Tim Kirsch on August 21st, 2012

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Post Office Evolves to Modern Datacenter – Ribbon Cutting Event   no comments

Posted at Apr 27, 2012 @ 11:06am green,New York Datacenter,News,Small Business

US Post Office Modernized to become Datacenter

Former Latham New York U.S. Post Office
This building once stood as the U.S. Post Office serving as a communication hub for thousands of residents here in Colonie. Today it now stands as a modern hub from which millions of people communicate from across the globe.

 

 

 

TurnKey Internet purchases this vacant U.S. Government building in 2010 which had been previously used for 35+ years as the Post Office for Latham, New York. After invested millions in retrofitting the facility with high capacity redundant power, fiber optic and cooling systems to make it a state of the art of Datacenter – TurnKey Internet launched it as their new flagship GREEN Datacenter in 2012.  The official ribbon cutting was April 18th, 2012 – and here is the video of the entire event, as well as the transcript of the speech from our CEO, Adam Wills.

 

 


Adam Wills, Remarks at Ribbon Cutting 4/18/2012

 

Thank you Mark, thank you for the kind words, appreciate it.  Thank you everyone for coming out here today.  I really want to thank the partners that helped make this happen.  Jim Conroy from NYBDC, Kevin Catalano from the Technology Accelerator Fund, Phil Engborg from M&T Bank – These guys helped see the vision to assist us in getting this project done.  Thank you guys, you stood up and helped get to the vision we had, and I really appreciate that.  National Grid and NYSERDA you were very helpful in funding some of the green technologies we were able to bring to the project that has helped set TurnKey aside from others in this industry.

This building at one time back in the 1970’s was the U.S. Post office.  It used to be the communications hub for about 8,000 residents here in Colonie, NY.  Today, it sits as the modern communications hub for millions of people across the globe.  Clients from 100 different countries access their data through this facility right now.  It’s the old vs the new, it’s the way people communicate today – its very different. 

Up above us on the roof is our own dedicated solar power plant.  We are producing clean renewable energy that is powering up to 75% of our facility right this very second.  We are focused on green technologies not because it’s just the ‘in thing’, but to be sustainable in this business for the next 20, 50, 100 years you have to look to these types of green clean efficient uses of technology. 

We have made significant multi-million dollar investments here in special green cold containment pods, smart aisle precision cooling, and many other things that you will have the chance to see when you go in for a tour.  All of these make this datacenter among the most green, the most efficient you will find not only in New York state but across the globe.

New York’s Tech Valley region has talked about being the leader in Green Business.  I really feel this facility, with the partners that helped make this happen; the Chambers, the funding partners, NYSERDA, National Grid; you have all shown the commitment to making Green businesses happen here in Tech Valley, and I think this facility is a monument to that.

Thank you all for coming today.

 

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Written by admin on April 27th, 2012

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Is Greenpeace Going to Protest You Next? How Clean is Your Cloud Provider?   no comments

Posted at Apr 22, 2012 @ 2:11pm green,New York Datacenter,Small Business

amazon-how-clean-is-your-cloudIt began April 17th, 2012 – Greenpeace ran it’s story about How Clean is your Cloud taking to task some of the industry giants such as Microsoft, Apple, Google and Dell – for not being as forthcoming about their energy consumption and lack of green technologies being utilized to their potential. This story set off a chain reaction of events from Apple, and even GreenPeace activists bringing awareness across the globe about Datacenters and energy utilization. It is currently leading to public protests in front of Amazon and Microsoft’s headquarters to bring awareness on the subject.

Just 18 hours later, after GreenPeace ran it’s report, TurnKey Internet unveiled it’s new Green Datacenter in New York’s Tech Valley Region showing off the latest in both Renewable Energy (both Solar, and HydroElectric) as well as massive investments in new state of the art technology that reduces energy consumption by up to 33% versus other datacenters across the globe. TurnKey Internet had already been working on this new Green Datacenter for over 12 months to release it, but the timing couldn’t be better to help everyone understand the importance of utilizing Green based technology for your “Cloud” and Datacenter.

Datacenters use massive quantities of energy, by 2020 the datacenter and Cloud Services industry will be as big of a polluter as the airline industry. Datacenters centralize power consumption, and help businesses greatly reduce their energy consumption through virtualization and shared/scaling of their Cloud resources- but as you place 100,000’s of businesses into a datacenter that makes that datacenter now consume the power of a small city or town all in one small location. True, that datacenter will still net huge savings on power consumption versus those same 100,000’s of businesses running their own office services or power consumption desktop pc’s all the time – but that doesn’t mean the Datacenter its self is exempt from being both efficient and leveraging every possible modern green technology and renewable energy resource available.

So how does this impact you directly? Well GreenPeace has fired the first bullet quite frankly, publicly shedding light on this subject to help promote awareness for Earth Day 2012. GreenPeace has now gone as far as to bring public demonstrations to protest the lack of green efficient technologies and lack of utilization of renewable energies for some of the biggest datacenter players world wide. GreenPeace’s message is simple:

■ Be more transparent about their energy usage and carbon footprint, and to share innovative solutions so that the rest of the sector can improve;

■ Develop a siting policy that demonstrates a preference to build data centers in areas where clean energy can power the facility;

■ Invest in or directly purchase renewable energy;

■ Demand that governments and electric utilities increase the amount of renewable electricity available on the grid.

We, at TurnKey also share this same vision. Knowing full well that our business model for providing Cloud Services is all about helping businesses to leverage lower cost, higher performing resources in The Cloud to replace their expensive, power-hungry in-office IT solutions of today is only 1 part of the equation. It’s vital every Cloud Service provider be leveraging advanced Green Technologies, and renewable energy or they will be part of the problem (and by 2020, among the worst polluters on the planet!).

So if your business is hosting with one of the ‘dirty’ Clouds as Greenpeace terms it – you better talk to your Cloud provider and tell them what you want, or find a Cloud provider that has made investments in the future, to responsibly provide for your IT needs now, and by 2020!

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Written by Adam on April 22nd, 2012

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