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LightEdge opens a second data center, now needs a deep talent pool

September 28, 2017

The newest 48,000 square-foot data center for LightEdge in Altoona will serve Iowa residents and companies.

It just needs graduates from Iowa colleges to hire.

Des Moines-based LightEdge provides enterprise-grade cloud services, colocation and consulting for Iowa companies. Its second data center in Altoona sits across from its current 30,000-square-foot data center building and between data centers for Facebook and Microsoft.

On Wednesday, LightEdge CEO Jim Masterson, COO Jeff Springborn and CSO Jake Gibson took Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Lt. Governor Adam Gregg and about 15 high school students in cyber security programs on a tour of the new facility.

This second data center has two 10,000 square-foot data center suites, with plans for two more.

It cost $30 million to construct.

LightEdge Solutions
Chief Security Officer Jake Gibson (left) explains some of the security features in the new data center for LightEdge in Altoona.

Recruiting is tough

Masterson said LightEdge is a company made up primarily of engineers, they just have a tough time finding employable ones.

“There’s a tremendous shortage right now,” Masterson said. “We do a lot of recruiting out of the local community college and the local universities. Some of the guys in our network operations center here are from the DMACC program.”

His message to the students: Jobs are available.

“You future in this space is so bright,” Masterson says. “You cannot find people nearly in the numbers we need that are as bright as we need.”

Springborn said LightEdge supports programs that develop sources for talent.

“We need people who know network, cloud, IT, security, all of those types of skillsets,” Springborn said. “We’re big supporters of developing the skillset in this market place. The shortage here in Iowa is more skilled workers. We can’t find enough.”

 

So the workforce came to them

That shortage is why Sam Oppel—Information Technology Instructor for the Des Moines School District—brought 15 students to tour the LightEdge data center Wednesday.

Students can take classes in cyber security, mobile app development and game design.

He said the tour hopefully got the kids excited about a career in IT.

“And then keeping them in Iowa,” Oppel said. “That’s another big push for a lot of businesses in Des Moines. There’s a lot of cool stuff happening in IT here in Des Moines, there’s no reason to leave.”

Oppel said classes meet every-other day for three hours.

“Our courses line up with DMACC’s cyber security program,” Oppel said. “So they are taking DMACC college courses in high school and getting college credit.”

Gage Akes is in the ‘Cyber Security 1’ and Joshua Spencer is in the ‘Cyber Security 2’ program at Central Campus.

Akes is learning about hardware and connecting different things. Spencer is in the more advanced class, learning networking, configuring routers and about the physical connections.

Both were excited to check out the LightEdge data center and see what a data center looks like.

“When my teacher told me I thought it sounded cool,” Spencer, 16, said.

“It’s really intriguing all the stuff you can do,” Akes, 15, said. “I wanted to come visit one for myself.”

LightEdge opens a second data center, now needs a deep talent pool | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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