Involta first opened the doors to our seventh industry-leading data center in Tucson, Arizona, in 2013. Fast forward ten years, and the Tucson team has completely reimagined the Arizona IT environment. From growing and upskilling our team and creating meaningful connections in the IT industry to positively impacting our community through regional charities and nonprofits, we’ve become the hybrid IT service and solution provider of choice in the Arizona market today.
To celebrate Involta’s seventh data center turning ten, we’re going to take a walk down memory lane, celebrating some of our favorite accomplishments and connections we’ve made along the way.
1. Creating a State-of-the-Art Data Center
Involta bought the 40,000 square-foot south-side Tucson property that would eventually house our seventh data center in August 2012. By January 2013, the colocation facility had officially begun its operations, providing secure data storage and housing critical systems for healthcare organizations, businesses, government and educational institutions nationwide.
Our state-of-the-art data center is complete with environmental systems and controls, redundant backup power and HVAC, reinforced concrete building construction and specialized fire suppression. With 20,000 square feet of conditioned data center space and 600 cabinets of computer equipment, Involta’s Tucson facility provides our customers with best-in-class solutions that help bridge their technical gaps.
And, our Tucson location was the first of Involta’s data centers to achieve 100% cold aisle containment in 2015! While other data centers had partially implemented cold aisle containment, Tucson was the first to fully leverage this setup.
2. Growing Our Team of People Who Deliver
Good relationships require trust, communication and collaboration. That’s why we hire, train and retain the best employees to ensure that these qualities are present in all of our valued partnerships. When the Tucson data center doors first opened, we had a small but mighty data center staff of three. Now, our facility is bustling with 14 in-person employees after a burst of momentum in the past five years.
Our People Who Deliver show up each day excited to find new ways to transform our clients’ worlds through technology, and they’ve gone beyond the hardware and software to make a positive impact on the Southern Arizona community.
3. Tri-Lambda: Tech Nerds Unite!
Our beloved Tucson Techies made their mark in the region when they launched Tucson’s first-ever IT networking group in 2020, which was also Involta’s first monthly IT networking group. The Tri-Lambda: Tech Nerds Unite! gatherings have shaped the way we interact with our community, broadening our connections in Arizona’s technology landscape to support technology innovation and our important Involta Cares initiatives in the market.
Tri-Lambda was born during the pandemic, starting as virtual gatherings to keep the IT community connected as we tried to navigate a new, remote world. In three years, we’ve gained over 20 official members and have had the pleasure of hosting over 70 people at our events each month.
2023 is the third anniversary of Tri-Lambda, and we’re partnering with the Arizona Technology Council to celebrate! Join us for pickleball, brews and delicious food on November 8 at Corbett’s in Tucson.
Fun Fact: The Tri-Lambda: Tech Nerds Unite! name was inspired by “Revenge of the Nerds,” which was filmed at the University of Arizona in the 1980s.
4. Involta Cares
Involta launched our Involta Cares initiative in 2018 after recognizing the impact that our People Who Deliver had on the communities we serve. The Tucson team ran with this opportunity, supporting a diverse array of nonprofits and charitable organizations with initiatives like STEM outreach ,electronics recycling and spreading holiday cheer.
In 2022, Involtans chose to adopt a family for the holidays, partnering with Tri-Lambda members to collect an incredible amount of donations and provide a struggling family in Tucson with gift cards, food and fun gifts to brighten their holiday season. This summer, they rallied to collect old, outdated electronics and donated them to organizations like SimpleBits, which revamps and revitalizes the electronics for further use.
The Tucson team will take any opportunity to help their community succeed; they’re a shining example of People Who Deliver, in and out of the data center.
5. Cinco de Mayo
In 2022, the Tucson Involtans held their inaugural Cinco de Mayo Annual Charity Golf Classic in support of the Southern Arizona Center for Sexual Assault (SACASA). The event was a huge success, raising over $22,000 to support survivors of sexual assault.
At the second annual Charity Golf Classic this year, Tucson hit a hole-in-one yet again, surpassing last year’s proceeds to raise over $45,000 to support SACASA. Co-hosted by the Tri-Lambda IT networking crew, the tournament received overwhelming support from golfers, sponsors and other attendees.
6. TUSIX
In 2023, Involta launched the Tucson Internet Exchange (TUSIX). TUSIX is transforming internet connectivity and decreasing service costs by creating local peering opportunities and additional internet access points in the Tucson area.
Arizona has long enjoyed a favorable and growing business climate with beautiful sunny weather, low risk of natural disasters and easy-to-access capital. Despite these advantages, the Tucson area, like much of the nation, is dealing with workforce shortages, intense competition, market saturation and internet congestion.
TUSIX allows a range of participants—from mobile and content providers to internet service providers (ISPs) and users—to exchange internet traffic inexpensively through a shared switch fabric hosted in Involta’s Tucson data center. More direct peering opportunities mean less dependence on third-party carriers, which allows TUSIX to keep costs low by strengthening local peer-to-peer connectivity between participants.
The entire Tucson area can benefit from the more reliable internet connections formed by strategic internet users working together to improve local connectivity, and we’re excited to watch this initiative grow and take shape!
7. Arizona Technology Council Member Organization of the Year 2023
Involta was recently announced as the Arizona Technology Council’s Southern Arizona Member Organization of the Year! This award recognizes an organization that has demonstrated support and alignment with the Council’s vision statement, helping to drive its overall growth and mission impact in Southern Arizona.
The Arizona Tech Council is the driving force behind making Arizona the fastest-growing technology hub in the nation, focused on connecting and empowering Arizona’s technology community. Involta, alongside other industry trailblazers, was recognized at the 11th Annual Southern Arizona Tech and Business Expo on October 18, 2023. Attendees gathered to learn what’s new and trending in the technology landscape and celebrate the technology innovations in Southern Arizona.
Involta’s first decade in Tucson has been spectacular, and we can’t wait to see what the next decade will bring. Thank you to our People Who Deliver for your commitment to providing superior solutions and operational excellence, and thank you to our valued customers, partners and community in the Arizona market for your continued support. We couldn’t have done it without you—cheers to ten years!
