As the old saying goes: It takes money to make money. In the case of Keystone NAP, the advanced data center operator has big growth plans. But the vision required financing. That's where a $15 million senior debt facility with White Oak Global Advisors enters the picture.
Indeed, Keystone NAP will use the proceeds to complete the purchase of its property from the US Steel Corporation. The remaining money will fuel expansion and growth, according to Peter Ritz, CEO, director and co-founder of Keystone NAP of Fairless Hills, Pa.
“Keystone NAP has near infinite expansion capability on the 2,500-acre campus," Ritz asserts. "Our modular innovation gives organizations ultimate flexibility to tailor power and cooling consumption to their unique data center demands, minimizing oversizing and up-front expenditures. It also allows for easy technology upgrades, removing the threat of obsolescence in today’s ever-evolving IT landscape."
The facility sets the stage for new services designed for Keystone's existing customers -- and new customers, according to Ritz. True believers include Comcast Business and Sunesys, both of which leverage the data center to offer network services to their respective clients.
Also, Keystone NAP recently expanded its relationship with two managed services providers. Xtium, an x86 managed cloud hosting, online backup and virtual disaster recovery services provider, recently selected Keystone as its third data center location. (Disclosure: Ritz was a co-founder at Xtium.) Similarly, Secure Infrastructure & Services (SIAS), a provider of mid-range IBM cloud computing solutions, choose Keystone NAP as its third data center location, offering AS/400, I-Series and P-Series IaaS.
“Enterprise customers and service providers are vacating antiquated facilities and leveraging our advanced data center campus due in part to our ability to provide sophisticated IT services,” Ritz said. “Not only do we offer a sophisticated data center facility with incomparable power durability, we work closely with our customers to solve business challenges and help customers gain market advantage using technology."
Keystone NAP expects to be cash flow positive in the very near future, but Ritz declined to say if the company plans to pursue more funding our financing to further accelerate growth. “Keystone NAP’s capital-efficient business model provides predictable revenue growth," he said. "We are excited to expand our services revenue line as the market seeks data center providers capable of offering ‘up the stack’ managed services."
To help manage its growth, Keystone NAP also strengthened management team. The company recently hired D.E. Shaw Research veteran Doug Hughes for engineering and services team; and Distributed Systems Services Inc. veteran Jack Gesualdi to help drives sales.
