Andy Kochanowski was looking for a business to buy when he came across a listing on BizBuySell that caught his eye.
It was for a data center in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, operated by Elevated MSP LLC, an IT services company in Lemoyne. Elevated was looking to exit the business in order to focus on its core IT services, Kochanowski said.
“It just seemed like a perfect match,” said Kochanowski, who has more than three decades of experience in telecommunications, including stints with Comcast, Sprint and the former D&E Communications in Ephrata.
“I just felt at this point in my career, it’s a good time to apply all the things I’ve learned over my 30 years and run a business that I really understood well,” he said.
He ended up buying the data center in a deal that closed July 1. He declined to disclose the terms but said he sees plenty of opportunity to grow the business.
“It’s not like I had to start from scratch,” said Kochanowski, who formed a company called Alerify to purchase and run the data center. “The foundation was already there.”
What’s a data center: It is basically a collection of computer servers and routers, typically in a building featuring secure entrances, as well as backup power and internet connections, reducing the likelihood of downtime.
Some companies turn to data centers rather than buy and manage their own servers. They lease server space as they need it. Others may have their own servers but prefer to host them at a data center, a practice known as colocation.
Data centers are more common in larger metro areas, like Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C., suburb of Ash burn, Virginia.But companies in Central Pennsylvania may be looking for centers close to home, where they can more easily drop in and talk to the staff.
“That’s really starting to appeal to a lot of small to medium-sized businesses that don’t have their own technical staff,” said Kochanowski.
What’s next: Kochanowski is upgrading the data center, which occupies leased space at 2330 Vartan Way.
For now, he is relying on Elevated’s technical expertise to maintain the center, which has customers in seven states. But he plans to begin hiring his own staff as the enterprise expands. And, over time, he may add a second data center in the region.
“It’s a small business but I have a lot of intention to grow it,” said Kochanowski.
In a statement, Elevated MSP owner Tom Hogue said, “I am encouraged by Andy’s vision and passion to continue the legacy of quality hosting services in Central PA. For this reason, I am more than happy to maintain a solid partnership with Alerify by committing our team to assist with the engineering support that is required to maintain this great business.”
