Deep Thoughts

Ultrasecure data centers are nothing new. Facilities such as the Exodus Vault combine biometric access restrictions, video surveillance, and fire-suppression systems to ensure that customers' servers are kept safe from unauthorized access.

But for the extremely paranoid, all the hand scanners in the world won't make a standard-grade office park into a secure facility. So some are securing data the old fashioned way—by burying it.

USDCO partners Irvin Wolfson and Bob Savage struck upon the idea of turning a nearby gypsum mine, established in 1903 and later turned into an underground food storage center, into an impregnable data fortress.

A chilly reception is part of the deal. Like a wine cellar, the six and a half miles of mine shafts and cavernous rooms remain a constant 50 degrees throughout. Wolfson and Savage say business is great because the company can offer space at a very competitive price—without the expense of air conditioning, the overhead is low. The company opened its doors in July 2001 and is already in the black.

Then again, mines can collapse, right? Anyone facing such fears should consider a new data center from company Titan I, built on the site of a former U.S. missile facility designed to withstand a 10 megaton nuclear strike.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.