As a startup that saw its user base swell rapidly, Facebook historically leased its data centers. But now as the company matures and finds its cash position improving, it is changing gears and building a new data center in North Carolina, the second the company will own and operate.
That’s good news for North Carolina, which has been courting high-tech firms to set up shop in the state. One of those firms, Google, has seen tensions with Facebook rise in recent days, as the two Web firms are locked in increasing competition for users’ attention and have begun sparring over data portability. Datamation has the story.
Facebook has announced plans to begin construction this week on a $450 million data center in southwestern North Carolina, slated to open in 2012.
The facility near Forest City in Rutherford County will be Facebook’s second owned and operated data center in the United States, continuing the company’s efforts to move away from a leasing model and bring its infrastructure in-house, according to a company spokesman.
