INDIANAPOLIS—Advanced data centers have popped up across the Midwest, as developers seek to meet increased demand from companies that need cloud computing and other cutting-edge services but don't want to depend on facilities in Chicago or New York. Online Tech, for example, just opened its first data center in downtown Indianapolis. Company officials say the 44,000-square-foot facility, its fifth in the Midwest, becomes the first in Indiana to offer businesses secure and compliant cloud computing.

The Ann Arbor, MI-based Online Tech acquired this existing data center, located at 505 W. Merrill St. near the Colts stadium in downtown Indianapolis, last May from Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., an energy company. Online Tech has committed to investing $10 million into the facility and making extensive improvements.

“We saw a gap in secure cloud and data center infrastructure serving Indiana,” said Mike Klein, co-chief executive officer of Online Tech, in a prepared statement. GlobeSt.com could not reach him by press time. “Our culture of compliance drives us to invest in annual, independent audits of how we protect the most sensitive financial, health and personal information. It's not a checkbox for us, and our clients appreciate that we provide our complete audit documentation to help address their own requirements.”

Baseline Data Services, an offsite disaster recovery firm based in suburban Plainfield, has become the first tenant. “As we were evaluating sites to expand our colocation options, we quickly learned that Online Tech is the only operator in the state that takes security and compliance as seriously as we do,” said Lance Thompson, founder and president of Baseline.