Team Technologies

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Mon, 28 May 2012 19:55:00 +0000

TEAM Raises the Roof
For the third year in a row, TEAM’s women have lent a hand in helping to construct a house for the Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build. This year Kate Wicker, Sandy Fulks and Staci Jackson volunteered during Women Build week which was May 7th through May 11th. The main project during our day of construction was installing the roof trusses.

To learn more about the Habitat for Humanity, view more info on the Women Build 2012 Project that we have participated in, or find other volunteer opportunities for the Habitat for Humanity you can visit their Website at http://www.heartlandhfh.org/2012-women-build.html.

“I have been involved in Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build for the past three years and I am looking forward to many more. Helping a family realize their dream of home ownership is so fulfilling. Eah year I get to try something new and be a part of an amazing group of women. This year hanging from the rafters with my colleague, Sandy Fulks, was especially fun and challenging; and, watching my colleague, Staci Jackson, operate a table saw was impressive. I can’t wait until next year!”

--Kate Wicker, Director of Marketing, TEAM, a TDS Company

“This year we were literally hanging from the rafters constructing a roof for Karis who is the recipient of this year’s Women’s Build home. Habitat for Humanity is such a wonderful program. I’m proud to leave my mark on each home we help build. It’s an amazing experience.”

--Sandy Fulks, Senior Accountant, TEAM, a TDS Company

“This year was especially fun for us since we got involved earlier in the construction of the home. It’s such a great experience to do something that you’ve never done before – like run the table saw and still come home with all of your fingers! The women did a great job getting all of the roof trusses up before lunch! Working alongside Karis and her friends and family that came out to help with the construction and support her was a great experience. It was fun to hear the stories about how excited she and her daughter are to get moved in. We wish them well and many happy years in their new home! Habitat for Humanity is a great program for these families and we are proud to support them and to lend a hand! We’ll be back next year!

--Staci Jackson, Executive Assistant, TEAM, a TDS Company

About TEAM and TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS]. TEAM also works closely with its sister companies, VISI and OneNeck® IT Services, to support the IT needs of Midwest businesses as part of TDS Hosted & Managed Services (TDS HMS) operation. TEAM was acquired by TDS in Dec. 2010.

TEAM operates three data centers in Madison, Wis., Cedar Falls and Des Moines, Iowa. VISI operates two data centers located in Eden Prairie and St. Paul, Minnesota. OneNeck®, headquartered in Arizona, is a global leader for hosted application management, ERP system support, and infrastructure services. They have three data center locations in the U.S. and joined TDS in June 2011. Together, TEAM, VISI and OneNeck form TDS HMS.

Open Compute Project - One Year Later

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:01:00 +0000

By John Rath, TEAM Cedar Falls Data Center Facility Manager

A year ago the Open Compute Project (OCP) was founded, with a lofty goal: build efficient computing infrastructures at the lowest possible cost. The project began at Facebook, which then used the design standards developed to build its own data center. The OCP then released the technologies developed in the project as open hardware, with the goal of developing low-cost compute server and energy efficient data centers. Information at opencompute.org details everything from the server chassis to data center mechanical designs, with complete technical specifications and CAD drawings. Open Compute's mission is to openly share ideas, specifications and other intellectual property in order to maximize innovation and reduce operational complexity in the scalable computing space.

On May 2nd and 3rd over 500 people attended the 2012 Open Compute Summit, for keynotes, conversations, and learning. This year the group put another design on the table and introduced Open Rack, an open server rack specification. Open Rack adheres to a common 24 inch wide rack space, but the Open Rack equipment inside is 21 inches wide, instead of a common 19 inches. The rack can accommodate 19 inch equipment, however the wider equipment bay allows for implementations with three motherboards or five 3.5" disk drives side by side in a chassis. The notion inside Open Rack equipment is to disaggregate compute components like CPU, hard drives and network cards so as to replace components as needed, instead of an entire server - thus maximizing the product life cycle of each part.

The concept of open source designs for data center infrastructure and servers is fairly disruptive, to an industry that remains relatively challenged by such radical change. Much of the drive for design efficiencies throughout the data center ecosystem are fueled by hyper-scale requirements from companies like Facebook. To feed the demands of growing digital dependencies, companies like Facebook, Google and Microsoft have put concerted efforts towards building out warehouse scale data centers, and achieving extreme efficiencies in their computing capabilities. The incumbent vendors that have made custom-built servers in the past can, and have, easily adapted to the OCP server design. Commercial vendors like Dell and HP have joined the party also and announced new, clean-sheet server and storage designs that will be compatible with the Open Rack specification.

The Open Compute Project continues to gain significant momentum and industry attention as the open source, transparent vehicle for innovation in the data center. Open source and transparency in many other aspects of computing has seen wild success - the potential of OCP to foster innovation and apply principles used in hyperscale deployments to the enterprise is pretty exciting.

About TEAM and TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS]. TEAM also works closely with its sister companies, VISI and OneNeck® IT Services, to support the IT needs of Midwest businesses as part of TDS Hosted & Managed Services (TDS HMS) operation. TEAM was acquired by TDS in Dec. 2010.

TEAM operates three data centers in Madison, Wis., Cedar Falls and Des Moines, Iowa. VISI operates two data centers located in Eden Prairie and St. Paul, Minnesota. OneNeck®, headquartered in Arizona, is a global leader for hosted application management, ERP system support, and infrastructure services. They have three data center locations in the U.S. and joined TDS in June 2011. Together, TEAM, VISI and OneNeck form TDS HMS.

Governance Matters in the Data Center

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Humans in the Data Center make processes matter. ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) provides a solid governance framework for IT service management.

Looking at either scientific studies, or pouring through stories of data center outages, you will frequently find that the root cause of an outage can be linked to a process that wasn’t followed, or a lack of appropriate processes documented for infrastructure being worked on.

"The most effective, agile data centers run with highly available equipment, matched with people, process and technology for a three-pronged success strategy, orchestrated by ITIL."

In a mission critical environment, such as the data center, the majority of attention is placed on the infrastructure that runs the facility -- ensuring that it is redundant, monitored, managed and operational around the clock. While this certainly warrants the lion’s share of attention, the critical mission of the people whose job it is to operate the facility, and the processes they follow, often doesn’t receive the amount of attention it deserves. People make mistakes; after all, they are just human. However, it would be a bigger mistake to ignore the risks of humans in the data center and not manage processes to reduce those risks.

Disaster Preparedness for Data Centers

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 16:45:00 +0000

By John Rath, TEAM Cedar Falls Data Center Facility Manager

When referencing a data center, it is almost always preceded by the words 'Mission Critical'. While it is practically assumed any more that a data center is mission critical, it demonstrates the importance placed on the data housed within by the stakeholders, and the critical mission the data center fulfills by protecting IT and preparing for any and all events that could impact the facility.

Ensuring mission critical uptime has a price tag. In order to put the price of uptime in context, the cost of downtime must be understood and appreciated. Downtime can be viewed from the perspectives of employee productivity loss, regulatory or compliance impact, reputation damage, and loss of revenue. With a rising number of business revenue models depending on IT in the data center being available all the time, the cost of downtime surges by the minute.

Disaster Resilience
Risk mitigation for data center site selection comes in the form of reducing exposure to the risk of natural disasters. From a macro view TEAM's Midwest data centers already have an advantage by not being subjected to a number of risks such as major earthquakes and hurricanes. No area of the world is impervious to natural disasters though, and so the data center must be built to protect against what it’s susceptible to. For TEAM this is primarily tornadoes, as a result, facilities are built to stringent standards guaranteeing protection against wind speeds in excess of 200 mph. Risk mitigation is further achieved at TEAM by facilities which are built far away from flood zones, away from major traffic arteries and airports, and away from proximity to hazardous materials manufacturing and storage.

Preparedness
Studies investigating the cost of downtime regularly list the number one cause as people and process issues. TEAM's disaster resilience inside the data center fortress is achieved through qualified staff who are prepared for anything, along with processes that are documented, tested and audited. TEAM regularly achieves passing reports for audits completed on its people, processes and technologies. A passion for excellence in internal processes is evident through quality programs and implementation of ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) guidelines. Matched by a passionate workforce who reliably protect and operate each facility, TEAM is well prepared to power mission critical data centers.

Business seeking greater agility for their IT look to colocation and managed services as a way to mitigate risk and improve reliability.

Protecting against natural disasters through world-class facilities and superior services is just one aspect of how TEAM delivers mission critical data centers.

About John Rath
John serves as the Facility Manager for the TEAM Cedar Falls Data Center and can also be found blogging about data center news and trends at his own site, http://datacenterlinks.blogspot.com.

About TEAM and TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS]. TEAM also works closely with its sister companies, VISI and OneNeck® IT Services, to support the IT needs of Midwest businesses as part of TDS Hosted & Managed Services (TDS HMS) operation. TEAM was acquired by TDS in Dec. 2010.

TEAM operates three data centers in Madison, Wis., Cedar Falls and Des Moines, Iowa. VISI operates two data centers located in Eden Prairie and St. Paul, Minnesota. OneNeck®, headquartered in Arizona, is a global leader for hosted application management, ERP system support, and infrastructure services. They have three data center locations in the U.S. and joined TDS in June 2011. Together, TEAM, VISI and OneNeck form TDS HMS.

Out with SAS 70 and in with SSAE 16

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Many organizations choose to be audited in order to demonstrate their commitment to providing quality offerings and services. For organizations providing services, the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 70 was the most prevalent audit performed, but that has changed.

Out with the Old
As of June 15, 2011, service organizations could no longer be audited utilizing the SAS 70 guidebook which has been used for over twenty years. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has completed a new framework to replace the aging and often misused SAS 70 guidebook, the Service Organization Control (SOC) reports.

In with the New
This refresh of guidebooks has created three separate reporting structures, the SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3. The SOC 1 report is performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization while SOC 2 and SOC 3 utilize the Trust Service Principles in accordance with the AT Section 101-Attest Engagements standard.

What is SSAE 16?
Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements 16 essentially performs what the SAS 70 was originally designed to do, communicate the organization’s and auditor’s attestation on assertions made by the organization through a structured report. The SOC 1/SSAE 16 description supersedes the SAS 70 making many improvements upon the original guidebook, including management attestation.

Our Approach
Similar to the SAS 70, the SOC 1/SSAE 16 report may be issued in two formats, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 reports are a point-in-time assessment of controls in place to ensure the stated control objectives are adequate. Type 2 reports build upon Type 1 reports by requiring the collection of detailed evidence throughout a period of time which demonstrates that the control objectives defined are not only implemented, but being practiced throughout the audit period. TEAM has always elected to have the Type 2 audit performed.

The SOC1/SSAE 16 report now provides further insight into the people, processes, and technologies implemented to effectively achieve the control objectives outlined by management. TEAM’s control objectives include items related to:

Administrative Duties—ensuring TEAM maintains a trustworthy workforce;
Physical Security—ensuring TEAM facilities are protected by strong policies and practices;
Change Management—ensuring effective policies for managing changes to infrastructure are followed;
Availability Management—ensuring TEAM’s infrastructure is properly maintained and that the data center environment is protected and conditioned in line with industry best practices;
Incident and Event Management— ensuring that tools are in place and TEAM personnel are properly trained to address potential business impacting events; and
Request Management—ensuring that service requests flow through a proper lifecycle.

TEAM’s Success
Providing what we promise is very important to TEAM. This was demonstrated once again in 2011, achieving an unqualified, passing, SOC 1/SSAE 16 Type 2 report. To receive a copy of TEAM’s unqualified, 2011 SSAE 16 Type 2 report you are encouraged to contact TEAM’s Sales department at sales AT teamnet DOT net

-Posted by Aaron Kirkpatrick, TEAM

About McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
McGladrey & Pullen, LLP operates under the McGladrey brand as the fifth largest U.S. provider of assurance, tax and consulting services, with nearly 6,500 professionals and associates in more than 70 offices nationwide. McGladrey & Pullen is a licensed CPA firm, and is a member of RSM International, the sixth largest global network of independent accounting, tax and consulting firms.

Industry Reputation and Leadership
McGladrey & Pullen is a member of the Center for Audit Quality and the Private Company Practice Section of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. We are also registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

About TEAM/TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM operates Tier III data centers in Madison, Wis., Des Moines and Cedar Falls, Iowa. All TEAM facilities are designed according to the highest industry standards, including Tier III, SAS70, and receive a “fail-safe” facility classification. TEAM’s suburban locations in Upper Midwest markets offer safety and security for any organization’s mission-critical IT systems and sensitive data. For the past three years, TEAM has been named one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine.

TEAM is owned by Fortune 500® Telephone and Data Systems Inc. and managed by subsidiary TDS Telecommunications Corp. in Madison, Wis.

VIDEO: Customer Experience - Cancer Treatment Centers of America

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

View on Mobile, HD Option Available Above

At TEAM we value the relationships that we build with our customers. We are especially proud to be partnered with Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) and to play a role in their mission to provide patients with the best available options for cancer treatment. Everyone at TEAM takes great pride in what we do and has a thorough understanding of how the work that we do affects our customer’s mission, values, and goals.

But don’t take our word for it; take a look at what Chad Eckes, Chris Cashell, and Eric Sato of CTCA have to say about the capabilities of our facilities and expertise and dedication of our employees.

To learn more about TEAM, our data centers or to take a tour of any our facilities, visit us at:
www.team-companies.com.

More Videos

Construction Time-Lapse
Modular Chiller Building Installation
TEAM on WisBusiness: The Show
Basis of Design
TEAM/TDS Data Centers Virtual Tour
Phase 2 Project Flyover

Community Involvement: Berbee Derby "Wild Turkeys"

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:45:00 +0000

Back Row (left to right): Andrea Roach, Josh Short, Mike Wicker, Kate Wicker, Dave Espie, Renae Jacobson;
Front Row: Lauren Espie

TEAM employees, Kate Wicker, Mike Wicker, and Josh Short gathered together this Thanksgiving but it wasn’t for turkey and mashed potatoes. They gathered in Fitchburg on Thanksgiving morning to run the eighth annual Berbee Derby. Andrea Roach, Dave Espie, Lauren Espie, and Renae Jacobson joined and the team, “Wild Turkeys” was formed. “There is no better way to kick of the holiday season then with good friends and a fun run” said team captain, Kate Wicker.

All proceeds from the run go to the Technology Education Foundation, started by Berbee to enrich the lives of students and give our next generation a leg-up on the power of technology.

For information on other community projects involving TEAM employees visit: http://www.team-companies.com/index.php/the-right-company/community-involvement/

VIDEO: TEAM Madison Phase 2 Construction Time-Lapse

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

View on Mobile, HD Option Available Above

With a Certificate of Occupancy in hand and all construction activities nearly completed, now is a great time to look back at this time-lapse footage that documents the entire expansion process from start to finish.

To learn more about TEAM, our data centers or to take a tour of any our facilities, visit us at:
www.team-companies.com.

More Videos

Modular Chiller Building Installation
TEAM on WisBusiness: The Show
Basis of Design
TEAM/TDS Data Centers Virtual Tour
Phase 2 Project Flyover

VIDEO: Modular Chiller Building Installation

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:30:00 +0000

View on Mobile, HD Option Available Above

Recently a major milestone was completed with the delivery and installation of the modular Epsilon Industries Chiller Plant Building. Weighing in at over 250,000 lbs and completely pre-built in Ontario, Canada, the building was delivered and installed over the course of two very exciting days. Designed to take advantage of Free Cooling, the building will allow TEAM to stay very energy efficient while supporting the overall data center expansion.

QUICK FACTS

Customized, Pre-Engineered, Assembled, and tested in factory controlled environment
Shipped from Kingston, Ontario Canada
Total Operational Weight: 250,000 lb
Alerton Chiller Plant Controls Designed to TEAM standards for Uptime and Concurrent Maintainability
McQuay 550 Ton Premium Efficiency Centrifugal Chiller with VFD, manufactured in Staunton, VA
Evapco Cooling Towers utilizing ultra quiet package composed of low noise fans and water silencers, manufactured in Taneytown, MD
Integrated Free Cooling to take advantage of colder Northern Climate, thus decreasing Data Center PUE
Set by crane in two days
Building composed of 4 sections: Indoor chiller building section, pre-piped mezzanine section, Evapco Towers, Screen wall
All piping hung from ceiling to maximize maintenance personnel space
Cooling Towers placed on top of mezzanine section and fully supported by building

Video: TEAM on WisBusiness: The Show

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:30:00 +0000

View on Mobile

Regional Sales Manager Mike Wicker was recently featured on the Wisconsin Technology Council's "WisBusiness: The Show," a twice-a-month Web show covering state business news and issues. In this episode, Mike speaks about how TDS and TEAM are providing data center services for Wisconsin businesses and beyond. Mike also shares some more insight into why Madison and the Upper Midwest are great places to locate your data center services.

The full episode can be viewed here.

Learn more about the Wisconsin Technology Council at http://www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/.

Video: Build vs. Buy Seminar Series

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:00:00 +0000

View on Mobile

The choice of whether to build your own data center or to lease space from a data center provider is one of the most critical business decisions you can make for your organization. Considerations such as overall ROI, operational flexibility, future growth and virtualization all have to be taken into account in order to find the solution that best meets your needs.

In this video, Jeff Gilmer of Excipio Consulting introduces the "Build vs. Buy" question and lends some insight into the risks and benefits of either decision.

TEAM Seminar Series - REGISTER NOW!
To learn more about the "Build vs. Buy" question from Jeff and TEAM in person, visit http://www.teamseminarseries.com to sign-up for the next Build vs. Buy Seminar near you.

TEAM will be hosting a number of these sessions throughout the Upper Midwest this fall. Each session will also feature time for networking and a happy hour.

Dates and times for each session are listed below.

Please note that all event agenda times are identical.
Networking: 3:00pm - 3:30pm
Seminar: 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Happy Hour: 4:30pm - 5:30pm

Milwaukee, WI - September 29, 2011
Pfister Hotel
424 E Wisconsin Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Madison, WI - October 13, 2011
The Madison Club
5 E Wilson Street
Madison, WI 53703

Fox Valley, WI - TBA
Coming Soon

Des Moines, IA - October 26, 2011
Hotel Fort Des Moines
1000 Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50309

Cedar Falls, IA - October 27, 2011
Voodoo Lounge
314 Main Street
Cedar Falls, IA 50613

Davenport, IA - November 10, 2011
Hotel Blackhawk
200 E 3rd Street
Davenport, IA 52801

Register Here:
http://www.teamseminarseries.com

More Videos

Phase 2 Basis of Design
TEAM/TDS Data Centers Virtual Tour
Phase 2 Project Flyover

Community Involvement: TEAM Employees Work Hard to Cure MS

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:30:00 +0000

TEAM at the Finish Line (L to R): Mike Wicker, Kate Wicker, Josh Short, Andrea Roach

On August 6-7 TEAM Companies sponsored a team of riders that took part in the 2011 MS Best Dam Bike Ride. The team raised $1,800 toward finding a cure for MS. Andi, Josh, Mike, and Kate made up team, “Mary Riders” in honor of Kate’s mom, Mary Ellen Miller. As you will see from their comments below, their experience was amazing! If you are interested in joining, “Mary Riders” in 2012, please contact Kate at kate.wicker@teamnet.net. For more information on The National MS Society or next year’s event, please visit http://nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

“My experience riding the MS 2011 Best Dam Bike Ride was an unforgettable one. It was amazing to see so many people come together for such a good cause, and raise a substantial amount of money to help free the world of MS. The camaraderie of all the riders made the 150 mile trek so much more enjoyable; everyone was so friendly and helpful. The best part about the ride was the number of people with MS who were not only there cheering us along, but also riding. The determination of these individuals to not let MS ruin their lives is quite an accomplishment in and of itself, and it gave me strength watching them conquer such a demanding task. I had an absolute wonderful time, and will be back next year!”
-Andrea Roach

“I’m so glad I participated in this amazing event! It was so inspirational and fun to be surrounded by almost 2,000 athletes and volunteers as we pedaled through beautiful rural areas and small towns throughout Wisconsin en route from Waukesha to Whitewater to Madison. And I’m happy that I was able to participate in an event that generated over $1Million dollars to help people with MS, and to fund research dedicated to curing MS.

I was inspired to do the ride by my courageous mother-in-law, Mary Ellen, who is the wonderful woman behind our team’s name, the “Mary Riders”. Her incredible spirit and positive energy is a driving force within our family, and she brings joy to everyone she meets.

I’d like to thank our Team Captain, Kate, for her incredible energy, hard work, and motivation in forming our team and making this experience so enjoyable. I’d also like to thank Josh and Andrea for joining our team and keeping everyone’s spirits up with their positive attitudes throughout the ride. And finally, the entire “Bike MS” staff, volunteers, and the fans that showed up to support and cheer on the riders all did a fantastic job and your efforts are greatly appreciated!”
-Mike Wicker

“When Kate approached me about joining the ride I was impressed with her dedication to her mom, and although I’ve never personally met Mary Ellen I could identify with having a family member who was ill. I thought ‘what the heck, a bike ride could be fun’. It turned out to be much more than that. I was amazed at the dedication of all the riders and the community of people who organized the event and supported us through the entire ride. It was challenging enough that when I crossed the finish line I felt a real sense of accomplishment and I’m proud to have been a part of that community and riders even if it was just for 2 short days. Thanks Kate, Mike and Andi for making it a fantastic memory that I will think about for years to come!”
-Josh Short

“I feel so proud to have represented my mom, Mary Ellen, in this challenging and amazing ride across Wisconsin. She has taught me so much about having a positive outlook on life no matter what it throws at you. The strength and determination that she displays every day is unmatched. The 1,800 riders and volunteers involved in this adventure are proof that there is hope for a cure to this disabling disease. I am lucky to have ridden alongside such amazing people and honored to have had Mike, Andi, and Josh part of the, “Mary Riders” team. Can’t wait for next year!”
-Kate Wicker

For information on other community projects involving TEAM employees visit: http://www.team-companies.com/index.php/the-right-company/community-involvement/

Data Center Strategies: Simplifying High-Stakes, Mission Critical Decisions in a Complex Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:45:00 +0000

TEAM Companies' own, John Rath, has just had another white paper published. This most recent article, published by industry website Data Center Knowledge, discusses data center strategies and how to leverage the knowledge of data center trends, engage stakeholders, and evaluate capacity. We've posted a short excerpt from the white paper below.

Business climate changes, business models change, Information Technology certainly changes, and data centers change. Wait - data centers change? Yes, the view that the data center is just a room or facility that is a large capital investment and built every 10 to 15 years, has changed. This doesn’t mean throw more money into it with greater frequency, it means approaching it in new ways and making intelligent decisions about the data center. The data center strategy is just as important as the IT strategy it protects and provides for and the business strategy that both empower.

A data center strategy is anything but a panacea. It must address the exclusive requirements of the business and take special consideration for the growing complexity of choices available. Strategic planning is not an attempt to eliminate risk or to forecast what the data center will look like in fifteen years, it is taking action to understand what risks to take and what paths will align with the business.

The full white paper can be downloaded at Data Center Knowledge.

For more information about how TDS Hosted and Managed Services and TEAM can help you with your Data Center Strategy, fill out our Information Request Form.

About John Rath
John serves as the Facility Manager for the TEAM Cedar Falls Data Center and can also be found blogging about data center news and trends at his own site, http://datacenterlinks.blogspot.com.

Design Insights: Why the Midwest is a Great Place for Data Centers

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:30:00 +0000

(Ed. Note: This is the 4th post in a series of design insights from TEAM and our Construction Partners related to the Phase 2 expansion. Read more here.)

Choosing where to locate your data center is a complex choice that should include a huge number of variables such as cost of power, real estate prices and more.

In this edition of Design Insights, Hank Koch, Infrastructure Services for TDS Hosted and Managed Services, shares his feelings about why the Midwest is a perfect location for a data center.

Why the Midwest? - Hank Koch, Infrastructure Services, TEAM/TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM’s website contains an informative map which overlays the possible/likely natural disasters that could plague a given region of the United States. TEAM’s business plans call for the siting of data centers in areas that minimize those potential natural threats (e.g., seismic, flood, hurricane, forest fire), as well as those which can be man-made (e.g., railroad, fuel depot, chemical plant, high people density proximities).

In addition, TEAM’s plans call for situating its data centers near diverse, stable, and economical sources of power, water, and talent. The optimization of all of these competing priorities is no small undertaking, but TEAM has concluded that the profile of the upper Midwestern states is much more likely to yield the optimal solution(s) to this complex siting problem.

To start with, there is ample access to talented staff with excellent work ethic. There is ample and economical access to energy and natural resources. There is very little threat from natural disaster sources if the data center is situated away from bodies of water that have flood potential. TEAM’s buildings can be and are engineered to deal with tornadic threats. And, as a bonus, there is ample cold weather to help keep the data center cooling costs low.

TEAM would also make the case, perhaps challenged by others, that the risk from malicious events is also lower. Large cities and populations are the more likely targets of such sensation-seeking malice. TEAM tends to site is data centers in smaller communities where unusual activities get noticed and population is less dense, but close enough to centers of business for purposes of convenience to its customers.

In short, the Midwest makes a perfect home for TEAM, its customers, and its prospective clients who are searching for the optimal data center co-location.

About Hank Koch

Hank plays a key role in infrastructure services for TEAM (and now TDS Hosting and Managed Services) including operations, facilities design and expansion. He has decades of IT and Data Center experience having served in several leadership and executive positions during his career in the industry.

About TEAM/TDS Hosting and Managed Services
TEAM operates Tier III data centers in Madison, Wis., Des Moines and Cedar Falls, Iowa. All TEAM facilities are designed according to the highest industry standards, including Tier III, SAS70, and receive a “fail-safe” facility classification. TEAM’s suburban locations in Upper Midwest markets offer safety and security for any organization’s mission-critical IT systems and sensitive data. For the past three years, TEAM has been named one of the fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine.

TEAM is owned by Fortune 500® Telephone and Data Systems Inc. and managed by subsidiary TDS Telecommunications Corp. in Madison, Wis.

Community Involvement: TEAM Construction Continues On and Off-Site

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:30:00 +0000

2011 Habitat for Humanity Women Build Crew in Cedar Falls, IA

As TEAM's Wisconsin expansion hums along, three of their employees decided to strap on a tool belt, put on their work shoes, and provide some construction assistance on a Habitat for Humanity home. Staci Jackson, Sandy Kramer, and Kate Wicker battled the heat this past weekend and helped build a home in Cedar Falls, Iowa during the annual Women Build.

“I encourage anyone and everyone to get involved and volunteer for the Habitat for Humanity. This is the first year that I was able to volunteer. I was a little hesitant about the physical labor in the summer heat; but, we had a blast, our site supervisor guided us along the right path all day and the time flew by. It was a very rewarding experience knowing that we’re helping a family get a place that they will be able to call their own."
-Staci Jackson, Executive Assistant”

“I’m really impressed with the Habitat for Humanity program. It gives more than just an affordable home to the recipients. Habitat for Humanity also provides the skills and lessons needed to be a successful home owner. I’m always excited to lend a hand.”
-Sandy Kramer, Senior Accountant

"It is always such a wonderful feeling to help out people in need. The women on our crew were so much fun and had such a passion for the community and the cause."
-Kate Wicker, Director of Marketing

TEAM Women Build Crew (L to R): Staci Jackson, Kate Wicker and Sandy Kramer

Teamwork

For information on other community projects involving TEAM employees visit: http://www.team-companies.com/index.php/the-right-company/community-involvement/

Design Insights: Overcoming the Fear of Power Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:30:00 +0000

(Ed. Note: This is the third post in a series of design insights from TEAM and our Construction Partners related to the Phase 2 expansion. Read more here.)

A data center is a complex ecosystem that requires a huge number of components to work together in order to keep everything up and running. However, without one key component functioning properly, power, the whole system falls apart.

In order to help lend some insight into how TEAM Madison is protected against power failures, we asked Pat McGettigan, President of CSS Power, former Wisconsin Badger and champion power lifter, to highlight some of the most important design features.

How is the TEAM Madison Data Center designed to be able to withstand a power event?
At a minimum, every component of the TEAM Madison Data Center's electrical systems have been designed to guidelines defined in the Uptime Institute's Tier 3 standards. That means that each component of the electrical system is supplied in at least an N+1 configuration (and sometimes 2N).

What does N+1 and 2N mean for the customer's power?
N+1 means that for every N number of components in a system, there is 1 more in place than is required to maintain operation. It's a bit like having a full-size spare tire in the trunk of your car. However in the data center, each one of those components is already running. Thus, if one generator were to fail, there is 1 more in place that would automatically take over its load. Taking the car analogy a bit further, it is like the spare tire is instantly able to change itself.

Fundamentally, 2N means that you have separate paths of power that are each capable of supporting the entire load. Here at TEAM, both the UPS and PDU's are in a 2N configuration. That means that there is both an "A" and a "B" power feed that is supplied to each rack from (2) separate UPS and (2) separate PDU's. Taking it one step further, each UPS is located in its own electrical room that is outside of the main data floor.

So how does this ultimately benefit a TEAM customer?
For the customer, that means that a UPS can be serviced and taken completely offline without effect to your load and without a technician ever having to approach your hardware. It also means that one electrical room could completely disappear and your equipment would never notice a difference. The bottom line is that you should never be without power.

Render showing redundant electrical rooms

About Pat McGettigan

As President of CSS Power, Pat McGettigan oversees all aspects of the company from sales and operations, to project design. In addition to his work with CSS Power, Pat is a nationally recognized power lifter and played football for the Wisconsin Badgers.

About CSS Power
CSS Power is a nationwide Single Point of Contact for mission critical power and infrastructure projects including design-build, consulting, equipment sales/installations and nationwide 7x24x365 emergency service. Having completed projects in all 50 States, Canada and internationally for some of the biggest names in telecom, data centers, manufacturing, health care, IT, call centers and defense, we know what it takes to get the job done right and with zero downtime.

Weekly Photo Review: Week 14 (Phase 1 Connection)

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Cutting the First Connection to Phase 1

Even though we're still a few months away from being fully operational, this past week it was finally time to make the first main connection between new and old. With the interior of Phase 2 and 3 rapidly coming together, crews were able to cut the main door that will connect the Phases.

View of Phase 2 from Phase 1

Making the connection between the Phases was hardly the only exciting thing taking place this week however. With delivery of the main electrical gear only a short time away, it was time to begin pouring the concrete floors of the data rooms and the mezzanine above the electrical rooms. As TEAM Madison does not feature raised flooring, this is a critical milestone in the construction process.

Pumping Concrete

In order to get the concrete into the interior of the data center, a huge pumping truck was used fee concrete up and over Phase 2 and through the roof. Crews from Badgerland Material Placing on the ground and up on the roof worked quickly to get everything poured and leveled.

Pouring Concrete in the Mezzanine

Data Room 3

(Click on Read More to view more photos)

Is Colocation Right for You?

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Is Colocation Right for You?

According to a recent Data Center Journal article, colocation, which is different from traditional hosting, may turn out to be a good option for companies looking for quick performance gains and cost savings too. Typically, a colocation, or colo, customer owns their own servers and other hardware as opposed to those in a hosting environment where the service provider owns the hardware, software and other infrastructure.

The colo option turns out to be lower in capex requirements when compared to establishing a traditional data center. Colo is also a viable option for enterprises with latency sensitive apps that need to be housed locally.

Research from various firms shows a growing trend of companies moving away from ownership of data center space. A Frost & Sullivan study shows that data center space used by enterprises will increase by 15 % annually but the ownership of space will reduce from 70 to 64 % through the year 2013.

For more information please visit: Data Center Journal.

Weekly Photo Review: Week 13 (Inside Phase 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Working Inside Phase 2

After weeks of working outside, construction has finally moved indoors. Although there is still a fair amount of exterior site work yet to take place, this week marks the transition to the majority of the construction taking place indoors.

Walking through the main corridor with light streaming through the future penthouse doors, you are now able to fully grasp the amount of capacity that is being added to the Madison Data Center. It is amazing to see all of the careful planning and design becoming a reality as workers are cutting holes for cable tray in the concrete that only a few weeks ago were 3D models.

Of course, all of that pales in excitement to next week, as the first real connection between Phase 1 and the new construction is scheduled to take place.

Installing Temporary Lighting

Preparing to Connect to Phase 1

(Click on Read More to view more photos)

Aerial Photographs of Phase 2 Construction

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Flying Over the TEAM Data Center Site

There are many talented people at TEAM and Madison Facility Manager Eric Patterson is no exception. When he's not busy keeping things running 24/7 in Madison, he can often be found flying over the Wisconsin countryside in his small plane.

A few weeks ago, Eric was able to fly over the Phase 2 construction site and snap these great photos. The first half were taken in early May during Week 5 while much of the underground conduit was still in the process of being installed.

The second half were taken during Week 8 where all of the underground had been back-filled and right before the precast walls were about to go up.

Construction Site During Week 5

CSS Power Installing Underground Conduit

Backfilled Conduit

(Click on Read More to view more photos)

Design Insights: How to Withstand an EF4 Tornado

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

(Ed. Note: This is the second post in a series of design insights from TEAM and our Construction Partners related to the Phase 2 expansion. Read more here.)

If you've ever toured a TEAM Data Center, you've seen how every aspect of our purpose built facilities have been designed to showcase each unique element of the data center.

For the latest in our series of "Design Insights", we asked INVISION Architecture's Eric Ritland to talk about their approach to designing Phase 2 and how the facility is able to withstand an EF4 Tornado.

What factors and design considerations were most important when designing Phase 2?
The structural design of this building was designed around the basic guiding principal of protecting the data housed within the perimeter walls. As the goal of this facility is to be a high performance, purpose-built data center, the following elements were considered to be most important: Enclosure Design, Wind Rating and Roof Penetrations.

If someone is touring the data center, what can they see to visualize how the facility was designed to meet those goals?
Throughout the interior of the data center, the structural systems have been expressed within the building, along with the power and cooling distribution systems, for the purpose of showcasing the unique capabilities of this facility.

When you're inside the data and electrical power rooms, you can see all of the exposed structural elements including the 10" thick precast concrete walls and 16" thick prestressed concrete roof structure. These reinforced elements have been designed to withstand wind forces of 170 miles per hour, equivalent to those found in an EF4 tornado.

Interior pre-cast wall waiting to be lifted into place

One element that is more intentionally hidden is a rooftop penthouse to enclose the air handling equipment. This provides environmental protection for equipment maintenance along with sound control.

To minimize the potential for water leaks into the data room, Phase 2 is also designed with virtually no roof penetrations in the Data Rooms and all rain water is diverted directly to the perimeter walls. Flexibility is also provided with the use of underground conduit and clear span spaces.

What did you do with the design to integrate Phase 2 with the existing data center facilities and the surrounding area?
We used matching brick cladding and detailing to provide a strong tie to the guidelines and Masterplan of the surrounding area.

About Eric Ritland, AIA

As Principal at Invision Architecture, Eric Ritland oversees project contracts, planning and design. In addition to his work on Phase 2 Madison, he has worked with TEAM on previous projects.

About Invision
Established in 1945, INVISION, provides comprehensive architectural, planning and interior design services through our offices in Des Moines and Waterloo, Iowa. INVISION cultivates a diverse staff that enthusiastically caters to a variety of public and private clients. A leader in the design of healthcare, educational, hospitality, religious, office, and community facilities, INVISION is continually expanding in an effort to better serve both existing and new clients. We find architecture an exciting profession, and we apply our experience and enthusiasm in all of our work.

Weekly Photo Review: Week 12 (Precast Completion)

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Phase 2 and 3 Exterior Precast Shell Completed

This past week, the last major piece of the exterior precast walls was put in place. Where there was once open grass only a couple months ago, is now a fully formed structure. While there is still considerable work to be completed on the exterior walls, including spraying on the waterproof membrane and the installation of the exterior brick, most of the major work will now take place indoors.

Over the next few weeks the concrete floors will be poured, the first connections between Phase 1 and 2 will be cut and all of the interior gear will begin arriving. Before we know it, we'll be walking around a fully operational facility.

Waterproof Membrane in the Process of Being Applied to the North Data Room Walls

Rear Entrance of Phase 2/3 and Loading Dock

Elevated View of all 3 Phases

(Click on Read More to view more photos)

Madison Phase 2 Blog Recent Posts

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:30:00 +0000

If you're new to the blog or you've just missed any of our recent posts, here are a few posts to catch you up on everything that has been happening with the Phase 2 expansion:

Video
Basis of Design

Design Insights
HVAC Efficiency and Reliability

Events
Phase 2 Ground Breaking
Data Center Strategy Seminar

Weekly Photo Reviews:
Week 11 (Precast and Interior)
Week 10 (Data Room Mock-Up)
Week 9 (Precast Walls)
Week 7/8 (Backfilling Underground)

Design Insights: HVAC Efficiency and Reliability

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

(Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of design insights from TEAM and our Construction Partners related to the Phase 2 expansion.)

When designing Phase 2, TEAM had the goal of providing new data center space that not only met our PUE targets, but also offered the overall reliability and concurrent maintainability that our tenant’s can’t afford to be without.

To learn more about how we are accomplishing this in the HVAC design, we asked NAMI's Mitch Hagens to share some insights into the Phase 2 HVAC design.

What makes the HVAC systems energy efficient?
We based our designs on the latest criteria from ASHRAE (ed. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), which allows for a larger acceptable range of temperature and humidity. As a result, the systems are able to be operated more efficiently. We will also be incorporating “free cooling” into the design. This significantly reduces the amount of energy consumed to remove “heat” during colder months.

Other things we incorporated into design include:

Use of a return air plenum in the Data Rooms to reduce the amount of energy consumed to distribute “cooling air.”
Use of high pressure atomization humidification significantly reduces the amount of energy consumed to humidify the data rooms and also eliminates the extra heat burden that steam type humidification places on the HVAC systems.
Separation of the heat removal and de-humidification functions, allowing for more efficient operation of the heat removal systems.

What is “free cooling” and why is it important to this project?
It is a system whereby the building chilled water is cooled via direct heat transfer to cold outdoor air, without the need to operate the mechanical refrigeration systems.

What makes the HVAC systems reliable?
In addition to the ASHRAE standards, we’ve also referenced the Uptime Institute’s Tier III design standards. So between our experiences with Phase 1 and the Tier III standards, we’ve done a number of things to ensure the reliability of the HVAC system such as:

Locating all air handling equipment indoors to virtually eliminate any impact on this equipment by outdoor conditions.
Requiring no penetrations to be made through the roof of Phase 2 for any HVAC system, to minimize potential water leaks.
All equipment, piping, ductwork, devices and controls that are needed to maintain the required temperature and humidity requirements within the Data Rooms are furnished with N+1 quantities for complete redundancy.
All supply air and return air ductwork, all chilled water piping and all humidification water piping has been designed with “dual paths” for complete redundancy in the case of failure of any one pathway.
All critical HVAC controls and chiller equipment will be powered by UPS units.
All critical control valves and dampers will be monitored.

Overall, we strove to make the HVAC system simple in concept and utilize standard off-the-shelf components to simplify operation, maintenance and replacement.

What is it about the HVAC systems that lowers the cost of ownership?
The energy efficiency and reliability of the HVAC systems result in lower annual costs, which reduce the overall cost of ownership for both the client and end user.

How does all of the above benefit the customer?
Energy efficiency reduces cost of ownership, which translates into lower lease costs to the customer. More reliable systems also reduce customer risk.

How does the HVAC design meet TEAM’s tight environmental requirements?
Each Data Room will be served by a dedicated set of air handling units and is positively pressurized to minimize negative influences from adjoining spaces and the outdoors. The temperature control routines to maintain temperature and humidity conditions in the Data Rooms are simple, direct acting and separate. Each Data Room All system components critical to maintaining these environmental conditions are redundant.

What were some of your other design considerations?
For the air systems:

Reliability, redundancy, energy efficiency, simplicity and ease of maintenance.

For the water systems:

All of the above plus compatibility with the existing central plant and neighborhood noise concerns.

For controls systems:

All of the about plus robustness of the overall systems and communications.

Thanks!

About Mitch Hagens

Mitch Hagens, PE and LEED® Accredited Professional, joined NAMI in 2004 to provide leadership for design-build and design-assist projects. He also provides senior-level management and support for business development, engineering and controls. Since 1980 Mitch has provided HVAC design and/or MEP engineering project management of hundreds of projects and is a member of ASHRAE and the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance.

About NAMI
NAMI, the premier HVAC contractor in Wis., offers clients the experience & expert resources to construct & perform a full range of mechanical services for commercial, institutional & industrial applications.

Weekly Photo Review: Week 11 (Precast and Interior)

noreply@blogger.com (Team Companies) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

The view down the Phase 2/3 Maintenance Corridor with redundant electrical rooms on either side

Even with the rainy weather, the installation of the precast walls is quickly progressing. Incredibly, where just a week ago there was open ground, you can now walk around the Phase 2 and 3 north data rooms. Admittedly they are a bit bare as of now, but it is easy to start imagining what the finished product will look like.

Looking into the entrance to Phase 2 from a Data Room

Future Loading Dock and Staging Area

Being able to make last minute tweaks to everything from cable tray placement to the color of the ceiling tiles has proven invaluable to the design team. By reviewing the design before the first build-out, we've been able to make sure that we'll have the best design possible for future tenants.

Pouring concrete

(Click on Read More to view more photos)