July 2, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- According to reports on Tuesday, software giant Microsoft (microsoft.com) announced it will be building a data center in Iowa.
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This is the second data center project Iowa has attracted in the past year, with both projects coming on the heels of new state tax breaks for Web portal businesses. In 2007, search engine giant Google announced plans to build a $600 million data center in the Council Bluffs area.
Microsoft's new facility will be located in the Des Moines area, although the specific site is yet to be determined, says Stephanie Bjornson, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The number of jobs the new facility will bring or the potential scope of the project have also not been released. It is believed the state is still discussing with the company on tax breaks.
"There are some tough negotiations that still need to happen," said Beth Jordan, a Microsoft spokeswoman in a press conference. However, she declined to say what kind of incentives Microsoft might seek.
Microsoft's investments must reach at least $200 million for it to qualify for business tax incentives in Iowa. The new incentives exempt businesses from taxes on computers, electricity and related equipment used in a data center. This is the same deal that was offered to Google a year ago.
Despite the lack of details that have been released on the Des Moines facility, Microsoft has pointed to its recently approved Texas data center project as a good indicator of things to come, in terms of size and scope.
The facility in San Antonio, that was announced in January, will be 400,000 square feet and cost Microsoft about $550 million, creating about 75 full-time jobs paying an average annual salary of $70,000.
The software giant has been aggressively investing in its data center network as of late as it battles Google and other major competitors in web-based services.
In March, the company announced it will be building out approximately two-dozen data centers, each spanning approximately 500,000 square feet, in an effort to accelerate its cloud computing initiative.
Microsoft currently has a data center in Quincy, Washington and is building three others in San Antonio, Chicago and Dublin, Ireland.
