New QTS Lab Will Advance High-Security Federal Clouds

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A look at some of the data center space inside the QTS Richmond campus (Photo: QTS)

QTS (Quality Technology Services) wants to help federal agencies get comfortable with cloud computing, and is dedicating some of its data center space toward this goal. The company, in conjunction with i2 Sentinel Associates, has set up a testbed inside its massive data center campus in Richmond, Virginia that will focus on creating highly secure cloud computing capabilities based on the needs of the U.S. Department of Defense, federal agencies and the U.S. intelligence community.

QTS sees the continuous transformational environment (CTE) lab at its Richmond data center as an exciting development in the federal sector's adoption of cloud computing.

“The Richmond CTE lab contains some of the most advanced technologies in cloud computing today," said Scott Shinberg, executive vice president, federal systems group – QTS. "Its technology paired with the unbiased and secure environment will provide a gateway to enhancing the performance and interoperability of critical government applications. Today’s ribbon cutting marks the start to speeding the development and deployment of tomorrow’s cloud computing services.”

CTE is housed within QTS’ 1 million square foot Richmond Data Center campus, where a grand opening was held today. The lab provides a stable environment for critical testing and analysis of off-the- shelf software and hardware for commercial and government users. The lab will be used to evaluate and improve the development of secure cloud computing technologies.

The goal is to develop production-ready software and hardware for high performance computing, cloud computing, cross-community partnerships and shared knowledge transfer, which is an important priority for the intelligence communities within the U.S. government.

"With industry and more federal players looking to cloud computing, physical and logical security in this area will continue to be a critical element," said i2Sentinel CEO Thomas Preston. "QTS has long played a role in this space with the presence of its Richmond facility, and the addition of this lab solidifies the company as a major player in the federal market for cloud computing."”

Attendees at the CTE lab’s grand opening include John A. Marshall, Deputy Director of the NGA National System for Geospatial Intelligence Program Management Office, Brigadier General Brian D. Beaudreault, USMC, Deputy Director, Future Joint Force Development, Joint Staff J7, and , among others. Attendees were given technology demonstrations anda  tour of the CTE lab.