Potawatomi Business Development Corp Opens 1st Wholesale Data Center

Secures CDW as First Tenant
The Potawatomi Business Development Corporation (PBDC)—the economic diversification arm of the Forest County Potawatomi (FCP)—announced today that Southeast Wisconsin’s first wholesale, Tier III, carrier neutral data center is now operational. The $33 million data center known as Data Holdings, LLC, is located in a two-story, 46,000 square-foot facility at the tribe’s 11-acre Concordia Trust Property, 3135 W. Highland Blvd., Milwaukee.

PBDC also announced that Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW, a leading provider of technology solutions, will be Data Holdings first major tenant. Data centers are specially constructed buildings with abundant electrical power and Internet bandwidth and are staffed by information technology (IT) specialists. Based on their design and utility service, they are classified by Tiers I through IV, with IV being the most stringent standard.

“Until now businesses dependent on huge datasets, managed and cloud services, and growing amounts of ‘big data’ which takes tremendous electrical power to ‘mine,’ could only find the level and scale of technology needed in large metropolitan cities,” explained Dan McGrath, a data center industry executive with more than 30 years’ experience and CEO of NewAge Data Center Solutions. “The Data Holding's facility differs from hosting or colocation services currently available in Milwaukee, because clients place their own equipment in their private, dedicated suites and operate the IT portion themselves. They no longer have to concern themselves with running a facility because the data center is managed by our expert staff 24/7, 365 days a year.”

Data Holdings will initially employ 10 staff members. The facility provides tenants a cost-effective, flexible, secure and highly reliable IT facility for primary data center and secondary disaster recovery data center needs. Additionally, Data Holdings’ proximity to Illinois makes the data center attractive to businesses in Chicago and Northern Illinois.

“When evaluating additional data center space to serve customers of CDW’s expanding managed services business, we consider proximity to our customers, access to multiple carrier services, and especially high design standards,” said Tom DeCoster, vice president, services Solutions at CDW. “The Data Holdings facility meets or exceeds each of our data center selection criteria and offers the flexibility to accommodate additional growth.”

As part of CDW’s services agreement with Data Holdings, the CDW suite consists of 1,600 square feet with the ability to expand to 2,600 square feet with an initial power allocation of 240 kW, expandable to 500 kW. The suite is configured to accommodate more than 50 IT cabinet positions, a typical metric used to measure data center capacity, with the ability for CDW to increase its footprint to 90 positions.

The Milwaukee Institute, a non-profit information technology organization that provides cloud-based-technical computing systems, plans to locate its third high performance computer at Data Holdings in the fourth quarter of 2013. McGrath, whose company manages Data Holdings’ marketing, sales and operations, says several other active agreements with prospective Data Holdings’ users are in the negotiation stage. Data Holdings will also support the technology infrastructure for the FCP’s Milwaukee-area business and tribal government operations.

The Data Holdings site is ideally located because of access to diverse power sources and multiple fiber carriers, each which provides the necessary redundancy and back up customers require. Additionally, the location poses no threats and vicinity risks that have the potential to disrupt power or connectivity.

PBDC has applied for U.S. Green Building Council LEED Silver certification for the data center. Data Holdings includes a high efficiency chilled water system to provide tenants with year-round free-cooling when ambient conditions are suitable and an ultra-efficient "power usage effectiveness" (PUE) of 1.28. (PUE is a measure of how efficiently a data center uses power. The ideal number is 1 and the industry average PUE is 1.8.)

“The opening of this first-of-its-kind Milwaukee data center helps position Southeast Wisconsin as relevant, progressive and attractive from an IT perspective and begins an exciting phase of new development for the Forest County Potawatomi,” said Kip Ritchie, Potawatomi Business Development Corporation COO and Potawatomi Tribal member. “We commend tribal leadership past and present for their vision and commitment to the data center and broader development projects here at the Concordia site.”

TMI, one of the nation’s leading data center services companies and a NewAge Data Center Solutions affiliate, designed the Data Holdings center along with Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. Greenfire Management Services, a PBDC-subsidiary, led Data Holdings construction with several local companies providing sub-contracting work including Johnson Controls Inc., Uihlein Electric, Graybar, NACR and OneProspect Technologies, another PBDC subsidiary.

On Thursday, May 23rd at 9 a.m. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and other dignitaries will join PBDC to mark the official grand opening of Data Holdings and recognize this significant milestone for Southeast Wisconsin economic and technology development.

Clearwater River Casino & Hotel Selects Software Suite from Agilysys

Expanding Casino Hotel Implements Solutions for Property Management, Point-of-Sale, Inventory and Procurement
Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative information technology and hospitality software solutions, today announced that Clearwater River Casino & Hotel in Lewiston, Idaho, has selected a comprehensive software suite from Agilysys, including the Visual One™ PMS, InfoGenesis™ POS and Eatec® inventory and procurement solution. The property, which includes a hotel, casino, convenience store, gas station and RV park, is currently undergoing a 35,000-square-foot expansion to add an event center and 200 gaming machines.

"We needed property management, point-of-sale and inventory and procurement systems that could handle the needs of a growing enterprise," said Troy Mariano, MIS director at Clearwater River Casino & Hotel. "The Agilysys solutions were the right fit, and the company's reputation for service and support was also an important factor in our decision. Other properties that had worked with Agilysys had only good things to say about the company's support, which has proven to be true. We are pleased with our partnership and are confident the technology will streamline operations, enhance guest service and give us a competitive edge."

Clearwater River Casino & Hotel is using the following Agilysys software solutions:

• Agilysys Visual One PMS, a comprehensive and fully integrated property management system that offers a wide range of features and functionality, including front office operations, guest history, housekeeping, reservations management and more. Its user-friendly screens are laid out in a logical and understandable format with quick-feature icons and drag-and-drop capabilities. The software, which runs on a Microsoft® SQL Server® database, has modules for accounting, activities, club management, comp accounting, condo accounting, guest marketing, sales and catering and spa management.
• Agilysys InfoGenesis POS, an award-winning point-of-sale software solution that combines powerful reporting and configuration capabilities in the back office with an easy-to-use touchscreen terminal application. Designed for multi-unit operations common in hospitality environments, the system can manage any combination of dining, bar service and retail operations. InfoGenesis POS features real-time reporting capabilities, packages and prix fixe menus, signature capture, multi-language capability and advanced sorting, filtering and grouping options. It interfaces with a wide range of host systems, such as gift card and guest management solution providers, and is available as an on-premise solution or hosted application.
• Agilysys Eatec inventory and procurement solution, a full-featured application designed specifically for the foodservice and hospitality industries. Along with its core purchasing, inventory, recipe, forecasting, production and sales analysis functions, the system also offers modules for buffet management, catering, nutrition, retail management and cycle planning. The modular structure enables customers to construct the exact set of features they need — whether it is an enterprise-wide solution for multiple sites or a single-site system for multiple functions. The solution also offers more than 400 standard reports, which enable purchasing staff to make more informed and intelligent business decisions.

"Hotels and casinos that want to remain competitive must implement technology that helps improve efficiency and productivity," said Tony Ross, vice president of sales at Agilysys. "Our software solutions for property management, point-of-sale and inventory and procurement are designed to streamline the entire operation. The Visual One suite, in particular, is ideal for small to mid-sized casino hotels that want a flexible and fully integrated property management system, and the InfoGenesis POS and Eatec systems work together to offer a complete and integrated package for managing food and beverage and retail operations. These solutions will help Clearwater River improve productivity in nearly every area while also enabling the property to provide seamless guest service from arrival through departure."

Clearwater River Casino & Hotel is situated on the beautiful and scenic Clearwater River in Lewiston, Idaho. The property features a 50-room hotel with indoor saltwater pool, 22,000 -square-foot casino, two restaurants, gift shop and lounge. It also includes an RV park, convenience store and gas station. A $16 million expansion, which will add a new event center, is scheduled for completion in May 2013. Clearwater River Casino & Hotel is owned and operated by the Nez Perce Tribe.

About Agilysys Agilysys is a leading developer and marketer of proprietary enterprise software, services and solutions to the hospitality and retail industries. The company specializes in market-leading point-of-sale, property management, inventory and procurement, and mobile and wireless solutions that are designed to streamline operations, improve efficiency and enhance the consumer's experience. Agilysys serves casinos, resorts, hotels, foodservice venues, stadiums, cruise lines, grocery stores, convenience stores, general and specialty retail businesses and partners. Agilysys operates extensively throughout North America, with additional sales and support offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.