Venyu Expands in Louisiana With New Baton Rouge Facility

Data center service provider Venyu has opened a second facility in Louisiana, investing $14 million to develop a 23,000 square foot data center in Baton Rouge. Venyu says the new facility will feature its "disaster proven" data recovery services, a reference to the company's experience supporting clients through hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

With its exposure to hurricanes and high temperature and humidity, Louisiana is not conducive to data centers. But there are plenty of local businesses that need mission-critical IT space, and need it within the state. This is where Venyu steps in, providing data center space that tries to exceed current industry standards and protect these folks from the surrounding environment.

“Venyu is a company with its roots in Louisiana, and we’ve greatly benefited from the state’s increasingly strong economic climate," said Scott Thompson, CEO of Venyu. "We’re fully committed to the region and excited to further stimulate the economy with such an important facet of our business.”

Venyu, founded in 1989, has approximately 75 employees and offers managed hosting, cloud, virtualization, and data protection solutions. The company was acquired last year by regional telco provider EATEL. Venyu has carved out a business for backup and recovery services. It's a local business, as national service providers have little desire to enter the market due to the risks.

“In today’s highly competitive market, industry demand for crucial data center services such as colocation, cloud hosting, managed hosting and cloud backup are on the rise – as businesses seek more cost-effective IT solutions to drive efficiencies and generate revenue,” said Thompson. “This expanded footprint opens new doors for customers with heightened levels of elasticity and on-demand IT capacity – while enabling us to drive future innovation and services.”

The new facility features biometric and ID card authentication at all entrances, 24-hour surveillance, and redundant HVAC and fire suppression. The HVAC equipment is placed at an indoor mezzanine level so the company can perform upgrades and maintenance with no disruption to the customer.