Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. James Peters.
Marie Collins originally started the data center as NSN Wireless in 2004. She later changed the name to Zogmo in 2005 to focus primarily on colocation services after Hurricane Katrina survivors from New Orleans came to Houston with their company servers looking for a place to host their IT equipment. Nearly three years later on September 1, 2008, Marie changed the name to Lakota Data Center, LLC and brought in a new management team to run the facility. Over the next 15 months, growth was stagnant due to lack of capital investment for additional power systems, HVAC overhaul and facility infrastructure improvements. On January 4, 2010 with the company struggling financially, Marie brought in Kirk Smith, Dr. James & Brenda Peters as new minority managing partners. The new minority partners provided an immediate capital infusion for additional power, hardware and infrastructure expansion, expense reduction and operation improvements to Lakota resulting in 50% growth over the next 6 months. In addition, the minority partners completed a SAS70 audit of the facility, expanded the products and services offered and developed expansion plans. The minority partners executed an asset buyout of Marie Collin and DBA name of Lakota in July, 2010 becoming the sole owners and changed the name of the facility to Quasar Data Center.
Quasar Data Center is a Woman Owned Small Business and Texas HUB located in Houston, Texas. Quasar offers a wide range of 24/7 products and services that can be tailored to meet the needs of any Customer requirements. Quasar’s main product and service lines include: 1) Cloud services; 2) Colocation and Hosting Services; 3) Managed Services and Network Consulting; 4) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Solutions; 5) Data Backup and Storage; 6) Cyber-security and Intrusion Detection & Mediation; and 7) Premium Bandwidth. Quasar Data Center is a carrier neutral facility and provides connectivity to our clients through carriers such as Alpheus Communications, AT&T, NTT, Cogent, XO, Century Link, Grande, Abovenet, Phonoscope, Level 3, Verizon Business, Comcast, TW Telecom, Windstream and others.
Quasar Data Center maintains high standards for assuring the integrity and functionality of its hosted computer environment. Quasar Data Center is Tier III capable per the TIA-942-2 standards and checklist. This is accomplished through redundancy of network servers, fiber optic cables, facility access control, one of the finest firewall systems in the business, partnerships with redundant data center facilities in Dallas, Texas, dual underground power grids and emergency diesel generator backup. CCTV cameras throughout the facility are standard Quasar protocol and continually monitored in the Network Operations Center.
The building was originally established in 1983 as a communications carrier hotel by AT&T and Verizon offering disaster recovery assistance to businesses in the Gulf Coast area. Today, 29 years later, Quasar has proven itself as a reliable, hardened data center that can withstand any natural disaster. Quasar has never lost power or had to operate from backup generators. Disruptive events, such as natural disasters and loss of power, are mitigated through building and infrastructure design. Quasar has dual, underground, CenterPoint Energy power grids that supply 13.7 megawatts to the building and two backup generators- the primary generator is mounted 6 feet above street level with a secondary generator mounted on the roof. The building windows are rated for winds over 250 mph, and the demising walls are built from floor to ceiling. Quasar is on the same CenterPoint Energy power grid as the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Corrections Department– top priorities for CenterPoint.
Quasar has a Customer Focused team aimed at satisfying customer requirements through its established processes, procedures and people. Quasar also implements a Continuous Process and Facility Improvement strategy with the primary objective of lowering operations cost and carbon footprint, which translates into competitive pricing for the customer. Internal controls are continuously evaluated and monitored by the Quasar management team and Network Operations Center through the use of Quasar’s CRM and datacenter management systems. All customer requests, changes and discrepancies are tracked in Quasar’s ticketing system and reviewed by the appropriate manager before it is closed. In addition to daily on-the-job monitoring of the operations of the internal controls, the General Manager (GM) has implemented Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) for employees to reference as part of their daily activities. The GM conducts weekly meetings with the managers and staff to maintain oversight of the team activities and company operations.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The business “road” getting started was bumpy for a number of reasons ranging from aging equipment failures, incompetent and undependable vendors, expanding the services and customer base, and securing capital for infrastructure improvements and expansion. Quasar has had a number of challenges since taking over a failing data center in 2010. Initially, the biggest challenge was making the company profitable and rebuilding an aging, dilapidated infrastructure. Quasar did this by investing in infrastructure (power, thermal, network gear, facility remodeling), modifying the power grid to add customers, and expanding the services from just colocation to cloud services, IT managed services, disaster recovery, business continuity, data storage & backup and premium bandwidth. Quasar also updated the website, hired sales personnel and met with all existing customers to expand their services and seek referrals. Our strategy has been very pragmatic and methodical to reinvest our net profits to continue building the company without loans or personal guarantees on leases. Quasar has built the company into a robust facility with dual underground power grids, independent primary & backup thermal control systems, enhanced security and redundant core network switches.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Quasar Data Center – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Quasar is a full-service data center that provides cloud computing and IT network services for businesses, educational institutions and charity organizations. Quasar delivers on competitive pricing, performance and network security. However, what sets us apart is our customer service and willingness to solve customer IT and Network problems. Quasar is a family owned business and our motto is always family first, business second…but the two are seemingly interchangeable. The business supports the family and has been instrumental in providing the additional income needed to afford home care for elderly parents (one with Alzheimer’s disease). Quasar is a source of pride to the family and has brought the family closer together. We have helped our customers succeed in their businesses by providing reliable, affordable and secure network and cloud services. Quasar has also enabled us to give back to the community. For example, this past year, Quasar provided Christmas gifts to over 70 families for one of our long term customers that supports abused women. We have also given to a number of charities and would like to continue doing more.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Quasar’s future plans are continued customer service, growth and expansion. The majority of Quasar growth has been through word of mouth and referrals from existing customers. Quasar plans to spend more resources on advertising, marketing and social media. In addition, Quasar is expanding business operations internationally in Countries such as Mexico and is formulating a franchise model for entrepreneurs in the IT industry.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1001 Texas Street, Suite 310
Houston, Texas 77002 - Website: www.quasardata.com
- Phone: 713-936-0591 or 866-928-5174
- Email: jpeters@quasardata.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/quasardata
- Twitter: twitter.com/quasardata
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