Since Expedient Communications bought the commercial ISP and data center businesses of Stargate.net in 2003, the company’s commitment to Pittsburgh has consistently grown. In the last six years, the nationally managed service provider has expanded its presence in Pittsburgh to include two best-in-class data centers, its corporate headquarters and 60 employees in the region. Even in the incredibly tough economic climate, Expedient has experienced rapid revenue growth over the last year – posting its best year to date in 2008 and its best month to date in January 2009.

“We offer customers a set of well-defined services that compliment and enhance the contribution of their internal capabilities by leveraging a common IT infrastructure within our data centers,” Jonathan H. Rosenson, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Expedient, said. “Demand for this type of environment has steadily increased as a method of cost-savings and operational efficiency. Services like virtualization, for instance, reduce the physical hardware required to operate technology, which translates into less space, power, cooling and other ongoing maintenance expenses required to maintain availability.”

In October 2008, the company opened its second Pittsburgh-based data center, a 18,000-sq.-ft. facility in Allegheny Center on the North Side, to accommodate customer growth and supplement the 12,000 sq. ft. of raised floor space in the Greentree facility that is already filled.

Rosenson pointed out that Expedient’s business model is “recession-resistant” mainly because the company provides customers with a suite of utility-like managed services that they would have a difficult time getting customized as easily or cost-effectively anywhere else. With Expedient, customers gain access to an enterprise-grade national network of data centers without the capital investment, plus the flexibility of scalable infrastructure that can grow along with them.

Not only did Expedient grow its investment in its data center business here, the company also migrated its corporate finance operations to Allegheny Center from Norfolk, Va. in May.

“Bringing finance and administration closer to operations facilitates agile decision-making that allows us to react quickly to customer requests,” he explained. “The ability to work side by side on a daily basis is very beneficial and it makes our leadership team stronger. This continuity on an executive level gives us a tangible advantage in the market.”

Expedient has used several strategic mergers and acquisitions to drive growth and add capabilities in diverse markets since its founding in 2001 as Cleveland-based US VoiceData. Presently, the company’s national network of data centers consists of eight facilities in six different cities, including Pittsburgh (2), Cleveland (2), Boston, Baltimore, Richmond and Indianapolis. Cleveland and Pittsburgh are especially good locations for data centers because the risk of natural/catastrophic disaster occurring is very low.

“The building blocks of our service offerings are our data centers, network connectivity and managed system services. We combine them in different ways to create customized solutions by leveraging our staff’s expertise in these areas. Ultimately, what we provide is IT availability,” Rosenson said.

The Greentree facility hosts Expedient’s main Network Operations Center (NOC). It is the hub for all of Expedient’s data centers, watching more than 5,000 devices across the country on a 24/7/365 basis and collaborating with regional NOC staff at each facility.

“Customers are the reason for our continued success. We listen intently to their needs and then we apply customized versions of our standard set of services to exceed their expectations. They let our IT implement and support a best-in-class infrastructure, and we in turn let them focus on their business,” Rosenson continued.

Going forward, Expedient plans to further solidify its position as a leading provider of managed data center services by leveraging its world-class infrastructure and relying on the seasoned expertise of its professional staff. If the company’s expansion in Pittsburgh is any indicator of its national position in the managed data center market, Expedient’s growth here is only the beginning.